Couponing for Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) isn’t anything new, but mobile couponing is still quite uncharted and unconventional. With so many consumers who expect convenience and deals right on the spot, the competition in fast food is absolutely insane. How does a QSR brand stand out from the crowded marketplace while still maintaining and ideally, growing market share? Look no further. If you’re concerned that adopting new technologies will sabotage traditional couponing methods, we’d like to explain the contrary. It’s not about substituting old couponing methods, but rather augmenting new mobile-first methods that’ll fulfill great omnichannel experiences. And with great omnichannel experiences, customers will stray away from your competitors for something seamless, more meaningful and more economically advantageous. Afterall, who doesn’t like an awesome deal on fast-food triggered straight to their phone?
Customers are changing their buying habits by the minute. The customer experience bar is higher than ever. The very nature of the fast-food business is catering to people ‘on-the-go’. With mobile, everyone is constantly on the move. Like fast food, users expect instant gratification and convenience. For example, when your customers are stressed out commuting home, they’re going to want to buy that quick snack in your restaurant or through the drive-through. Being there before, during and after the right moment is key. So how does mobile couponing play a role here? Our customer, Burger King, is a great example of how a QSR brand can compete effectively with mobile couponing as you’ll see in the detail below.
Mobile Couponing is Fast, Easy & Accessible
Grasping the attention of a mobile user is the hardest part. Your customers are busy, in a rush type of mindset. They don’t even have time in the drive-through to search for their coupon clippings. Without even thinking, they throw away paper coupons and receipts. They also hate spam and complicated offers.
Thus, if you trigger a mobile coupon straight to their phone, they’re going to look. They need to read it quickly, so make it easily digestible. If they don’t have time to save the coupon, enable settings in your mobile engagement platform to make the coupon automatically save in their mobile wallet or inbox feature. If your customers forget about the deal, remind them about it through a push message. In the app screenshot below, there’s a message about an idle coupon. Remind them about the coupon if it is approaching the deadline.
It’s Personalized and Contextual
Depending on the technologies you have, there are a plethora of ways to personalize coupons for your customer. Likewise, there are plenty of ways to reach your customers in the unlikeliest of places. For example, when your customers are driving home after 5pm, geofence your store with a 5-mile radius. Then when users drive within that geofenced range, trigger the personalized coupon during that perfect time to pick up a snack on the way home. Trigger coupons based on your most loyal customers. Or trigger coupons to those who haven’t used the app in awhile. Either way, the timely, targeted promotion will get the right attention from consumers.
It’s Rewarding & Satisfying
Finally, a mobile coupon wouldn’t be complete without an element of loyalty points after an action. Let’s say your user would like to activate their promotion. Make sure you tell them upfront the rewards they’ll get. In this photo, the user will get 3 crowns if they buy a chicken sandwich within 16 hours.
Translation: Get 3 Crowns for a chicken sandwich. Expires in 16 days.
Real World Example – Burger King
Burger King is the newest fast-food kid on the block in Russia. Their strategy to compete with existing brands that already had a loyal following was to devise a mobile-first program to capture market share. By leveraging mobile couponing as part of this, they are competing effectively in an already saturated market.
Our partner, Increditechs, partnered with Burger King to define and deploy this mobile-first strategy including leveraging mobile couponing along with proximity marketing tactics. As a result, their new plan of attack will enable them to effectively compete in Russia against large incumbents such as McDonalds.
To learn more about successful mobile-first programs, be sure to check out our Customer Success page.
