QSR October 2022

72 PERCENT OF CONSUMERS CLAIM THEY RESPOND TO MARKETING MESSAGES EXCLUSIVELY CRAFTED TO THEIR CHOICES.

majority of consumer data—and the valuable insights they provide onhowto engage them more e ectively—on the table. “Quick-service restaurants provide their customerswith good service and great food,” says Jana Schmidt, president of LedgerPay. “Butwithout access to consumer data, these brands arehamstrung and are unable to el evate that good experience into a great one.” Compare the traditional restaurant experiencewithwhatmost customers have becomeused towhen shopping online. Whena customer uses a retailer’swebsite, that company knows exactlywhich items are in that person’s digital basketwhether they buy the itemor not through a combinationof digital tracking tools that seamlessly build online profiles. Additionally, the e-tailer can use previous purchasehistory todetermine what a customermight be interested inbuy ing in the future. This allows themto tailor recommendations ando ers tokeep the customer engaged, drive sales, and to ensure a personalized shopping experience that’s more satisfying andmore profitable. While restaurants have beenable todo the samewith their loyaltymembers, they havemissedout on the valuable trove of first-party data frompatronswhodonot use these programs, aswell as consumerswho simply fail to log in. “Loyaltyprograms certainlyhavea place and are an important part of the restaurant ecosystem,” Schmidt says. “But they present hurdles for customers, whohave todown load the app, create a profile, attach a credit card, and then remember to log inand scan the app every time they visit a restaurant. Sometimes they forget, but if they are buying a low-ticket itemlike a soft drink, theymay not bother.” Eliminating the Blind Spot This is a critical blind spot for quick-service restaurants because consumers overwhelm inglywant their experiences tobe person alized. LedgerPay data reports 80percent of customers aremore likely tobuy from a company that provides a personalized experience, while 72percent of consumers claimthey respond tomarketingmessages exclusively crafted to their choices. This iswhereLedgerPay’s Payments Intelligence® solution comes in. Rather than

B etweenhigh labor, real estate, and supply costs,margins in the foodser vice industry are incredibly thin. It comes as no surprise thatmost restaurants have adopted loyalty programs to increase customer retention. Though restaurants have seen loyaltyhelpdrive sales and tra c by o ering returning customers incentives to visitmore frequently or add items onto their usual orders, loyaltyprograms aren’t without their challenges. For starters, LedgerPay, Quisitive’s Global Payment Solutions company, reports thatwhilenearly 60percent of all restaurants o er loyalty programs, only 41.6percent of all quick-service customers actually belong toone, and they are often a restaurant’s best andhighest-frequency customers. Thatmeans that quick-service brands have beenunable to track the behaviors andpurchasing preferences of nearly 60percent of their customer base, and restaurants are leaving the vast

LEDGERPAY / ISTOCK