Case Study: Revitalizing Restaurant Chain Sales with a Data-Driven Marketing Plan

How customer focus groups and POS data unlocked important insights to put a restaurant company back on the menu in a challenging marketplace.

After 20 years of success, a popular regional upscale restaurant and brewery concept began experiencing slower growth. In order to expand the brand’s appeal beyond their core boomer fans, the owners knew they needed help to gain a better understanding of guest perceptions. Further, they were seeking data that would enhance their marketing strategy, uncover how to activate digital media channels, and refocus their competitive position.

Client Challenge

Develop a process that for repositioning the brand and:

• Examine ways to leverage brand’s credibility as a genuine microbrewery
• Capture what drove frequent users and their likes/dislikes
• Use new tools and methodology for analyzing POS data to identify optimal guest purchase behavior and team member performance
• Increase the appeal of brand messaging to younger guests

Solution

Based on research and focus group feedback as well as in depth POS analysis, the client acted on the following recommendations and:

• Repositioned restaurants as “Brew Pubs” to leverage their credibility as a real brewery; reduced the range of brew selections to focus on fewer, higher margin options
• Created a new menu and pricing structure; developed a larger selection of small plates; expanded promotion of beer-pairing special events
• Expanded the use of social media, direct mail, and email; improved merchandising for guest loyalty programs along with crew incentives to motivate enrollment; developed ongoing analytics process to stay on top of customer behavior

Business Impact

The relaunch of the brand as a Brew Pub supported with increased local advertising and social media generated an initial improvement in comparable sales of over 10%.  As a result, the company began expanding and has built four new locations in the past two years with plans for continued new unit development.

“It was exciting to discover how the concept had created such a strong connection with certain groups of guests. Building on those elements of the experience that people loved and promoting more aggressively to generate awareness with a broader audience was the obvious solution.”

-Jon RIce, Partner & CMO, Chief Outsiders