Subway, Baskin-Robbins and Foodco says the market is evolving fast, QSRs need to adjust and be agile
Subway, Baskin-Robbins and Foodco says the market is evolving fast, QSRs need to adjust and be agile
Find out how to keep up with the rest of the pack.
Gina Kahler, Regional Marketing Director (AUS & NZ), Subway; Geraldine van der Merwe, National Marketing Manager, Baskin-Robbins; Natalie Brennan, National Sevices and Support Manager, Foodco talks about what millenials want, the changing economy and how QSRs can keep up with the fast paced market at the QSR Media Detpak Conference and Awards held last July 22.
"In this new world we live in, we need to be really clear who [our] customer is," Kahler told the audience. "We can't be all things to all people... What customer should we be serving in this new world?"
The economy is changing so fast, "we need to learn how to move more quickly, be more nimble and more fast.” Kahler added.
Adding, Subway's success has been built on strict processes systems that have been replicated over and over [and has been proven] to be very successful but the brand is spending a lot of time now really getting inside the customer psyche. "In this new world we live in, we need to be really clear who [our] customer is," she emphasized.
"What does the consumer want?" Brennan asked. "In a shop fit point of view, they walk in and there's all these things that are given: comfortable chairs, nice clean surroundings, whether it be a wall of ferns growing and those type of things. How do you stand out? You walk into particular shopping centre, everything looks the same. How do I know I'm in Sumo Salad or I'm in Mad Mex?"
"There is the component of what the shop fit looks like but it's also about the value add for the consumer. So when they walk in your store, they know they're there for a whole heap of reasons."
She pointed to Millenials (consumers ages 18 to 34) as a driving force. "So for our brands, what do the Millenials wants? Things like USB ports, free internet, ability of an app, removing the register, getting rid of the register all together because they don't want to stand in the counter to order. All the technology around that needs to be part of your concept. It needs to stand out beyond the shop fit and the surroundings."
Meanwhile, Kahler also mentioned Woolworth and Cole's recent efforts in offering to-go products. "We now need to define the competitor set... We gotta know what we're competing with and know what we do well because it has to be replicated around the world. We can't be the same to everyone, we've got to adapt."
She shared that Subway has been spending a lot of time thinking outside of brick and mortar experience. "Our success has been built on building stores, that's no longer a mantra for us. It's how we deliver our products, services and customer experience better. Not just in our stores but on our website, social media and in digital platforms that we deliver. Marketing is no longer about mass volume of customers getting in our stores, it's what we built on but we got to adapt very quickly."
"What does the future hold for us?" Van der Merwe asked. "What will the consumers be wanting? What will they be demanding? How do marketeers plan in moving forward? These are challenging times. We can't be everything to everybody. QSRs need to stick to their brand value and what the brand is about, and be true to the brand while exploring other opportunities.”
"That’s is how Brand’s survive during these ever challenging times, for Baskin-Robbins, our transformation has come through defining the Brand’s architecture and knowing what our guests are wanting and evolving and delivery against these brand attributes. The key is being consistent and building that relationship of trust and then delivering the brand promise."
