QSR December 2022

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“The reviews were fabulous for what we were doing. People loved it,” Rosen feld says. “Just exactly what I said—so many people say it’s the best pizza they’ve ever had. Well, that’s what we’re trying to do. Our reaction is, we want to introduce a new product to people. Most people in America have not seen this product, which is amazing. For me, it’s amazing because I started CPK 37 years ago, and it’s hard to imagine that there is a great product like this roman-style pizza that I’m describing that most of America has not seen.” Now the brand is gearing up to open its f irst two brick-and-mortar stores, which will both be grab-and-go restaurants in Los Angeles. One will debut at Palisades Village at the end of 2022—a venue that attracts a younger crowd and a place Rosenfeld calls “one of the Instagram capitals of the world.” The location, developed in part nership with billionaire real estate mogul Rick Caruso, features outdoor dining and a delivery window. Then in early 2023, ROCA will enter Marina Del Rey, an area that houses a 30-year-old CPK store that produces one of the highest volumes in the system. Each store will have display cabinets to showcase full pan pizzas and a section of pre-packaged salads and sandwiches made from pizza dough. “What’s really beauti ful about this is that this is going to be very clean, light-colored stone,” Rosenfeld says. “So basically, these are beautiful little bak eries, and we didn’t have the chance to do that in that way at the pop-up. You walk in, there’s pans lined up of all these colors. That’s what I think will really be attractive to people. They’re little jewelry boxes. Just the rainbow of f lavors is not something that a U.S. customer is really accustomed to.” The two shopping centers are small, but welcome dense traff ic and high-income customers. Rosenfeld believes they’re the perfect spots to build awareness, and that the next step would be nontraditional like ghost kitchens, airports, and stadiums. Rosenfeld also thinks ROCA is capable of going global via franchising, something he did little of while at CPK. When he sold, there were 212 company-owned units. q

this feedback is for restaurant businesses. Establishguidelines, FAQs and the appropriate brand voice for your replies. You train your staff on how to greet and interact with guests in person, so as you build your brand, make sure you’re employing those same tactics with online guest responses. Reply to all or nearly all your reviews on top sites. Don’t just reply to negative reviews. Guests who praise your brand may think you are not listening, and others will not post their positive comments. You also miss a wonderful opportunity to turn a positive guest into a loyal guest. Additionally, don’t try to take all your crit icisms off line with, “We are sorry. Please contact us at this email,” as it does not show how you address issues. Sometimes apologizing and/or explain ing issues publicly earns you more points with guests and prospects. Be authentic. Don’t “dumb-bot” your guests with canned replies. They can tell and so can review platforms, and there are consequences. Quid pro quo. Use short replies for short reviews and longer repl ies for longer reviews. Try to address the key themes mentioned in the review in your reply to show you are paying attention. Have a systemand policies in place to address issues. For example, f lag negative reviews for removal if they violate site content guide lines—removing a single one-star review is like adding four 5-star reviews. Escalate critical issues internally, includ ing disgruntled employees, upset guests with an axe and social media following to grind, legal threats (food poisoning claims, slip and fall, etc.) or bad actors threatening extortion. Establishing crisis management protocols and acting proactively can help combat the effects of negative, viral media. Remember that that CEO mentioned earlier? He prioritized guest engagement for his brand by increasing their reply rate from sub-20 to over 90 percent in a few short years. During that time, they saw dramatic unit growth and sold their brand for a remarkable valuation. Don’t miss your opportunity to make your mark. q AdamLeff is the cofounder and chief strategy officer for Merchant Centric, a leading reputationmanagement solution that caters to the restaurant, veterinary and automotive industries. Leff and his co founder DavidBay startedMerchant Centric in2010 tohelp companies of all sizes take advantage of online and social media technologies to market and build their business.

The risk of alienating some of your highest spending consumers is too great to over look. In fact, in 2021 Syntegon indicated nearly 80 percent of consumers shared a willingness to scan a QR code if the experi ence is easy for them . Contactless is no longer required; it’s time for diners to engage in a better way. It’s time for restaurants to offer a dynamic ordering experience. By design, PDFs are static, and static content is the enemy of engagement. Once a cus tomer tries to f ind and then perhaps gets the information they need, there is noth ing else for them to do. There is no action or incentive to stay on the page and no opportunity to build a relationship with the menu, the food, or the brand. If PDFs are f lat and lifeless, then what are the alternatives? The obvious answer may be to direct consumers to a website or ordering platform, but that creates the opposite problem: too much choice. A web site generally functions as a type of catch-all for brands. For customers coming from a QR code, this means that there is no clearly def ined action to take. If the user must navigate the site on their own to find what they need (or has to intuit what you want them to do) , they are unlikely to stay long and are even less likely to order more than what was first shown to them. Landing pages work better and can feature a single call-to-action that is designed to convert customers to buy, join, give feedback, claim an offer, or complete some other action. A QR code that sends users to a dedicated page with relevant content and a clearly defined action is the key to a positive and engaging experience. Ultimately, what separates a good QR experience from an exceptional one, is con text . While landing pages are a strong option for a QR-to-web strategy, their ability to suit a specif ic occasion or drive a certain action means little if they don’t fit the right moment in the consumer journey, espe cially at mealtime. The answer: create a dedicated experience for each informa tion, ordering and payment touchpoint so that consumers always get the most rele vant content possible. q Liz Moskow is an F&B industry expert with a Culinary Institute of America pedigree and over two decades of brand, culinary, hospitality and CPG experience. She is based in Denver and is Principal of Bread& Circus Ltd, a consultancy focused on the future of food.

Ben Coley is a senior editor at QSR . He can be reached at bcoley@ wtwhmedia.com

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DECEMBER 2022 | QSR | www.qsrmagazine.com