Re-Imagining the Guest Experience to Increase Online Sales

Opportunity

After a surge in demand for ordering online as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, this quick service restaurant chain engaged Pepper Foster Consulting to help it modernize its marketing technology stack and overhaul the online guest experience. The leadership team secured funding to invest in a new content management system and partner with a best-in-class partner to lead the design and development of a new website and e-commerce platform. Pepper Foster Consulting was engaged to oversee the build and launch of the new website, align and facilitate internal stakeholders and third party vendors, and introduce Agile concepts to deliver on their requirements.

Solution

The Pepper Foster consultant leveraged Agile principles to introduce the client to an iterative development process which required a significant cultural shift and rapid decision making. A project team was assembled with a representative from each functional area to ensure visibility to key decisions, upcoming activities, risks and progress. Subject matter experts were engaged and consulted as needed throughout the process to ensure decisions were fully vetted and implications thought through. Progress updates were shared on a weekly basis during the development process for all internal stakeholders, and monthly to external stakeholders including franchise owners, leveraging existing communication channels. Despite some turnover at the project sponsorship level, the strong leadership was maintained throughout the process up to and beyond the new website launch. With about two months to the target launch date, the development team encountered a significant technical challenge that meant that an important feature had to be removed from the scope but with some creative solutioning and repurposing of budget, an alternative that met the needs was identified and implemented. 

Outcome

The client embarked upon this digital transformation with three strategic goals in mind:

1. Increase online sales mix
2. Improve online conversion rate
3. Drive loyalty program enrollment

Six months post-launch, the client was well on track to achieving these goals with a 9% increase in online sales mix, 4% increase in online conversions, and a 50% increase in year over year loyalty registrations. In addition, the client saw an increase in average check size for online orders of 28%.