Editors note: Due to the exclusive and sensitive insights and data, the pizza brand featured in this article has requested anonymity. They will be referred to as Crust & Co.
Executives at Crust and Co. asked themselves the following question: “Is there a better way to analyze and understand the performance of our of Limited-Time Offers (LTOs) throughout the year?”
They asked this question because they noticed their LTO process generally followed the same pattern: Ideate, launch, and hope. This process was void of any true insights and optimization.
In fact, the only data-backed element of this process was in sales data — but even that didn’t say much, especially since there were no previously-launched LTOs that stood apart from the permanent menu.
This moved Crust & Co. to seek out not only a deeper understanding of what customers thought about their LTOs, but a way to collect those insights in an organized, real-time, and scalable manner.
Here is the formula they came up with and the results…
The LTO Campaign: Pizza By The Slice
Overview
Crust & Co. is launching a new Pizza By The Slice LTO item that has three variations: BBQ Bonanza, Fig & Feta, and Pesto Pizzazz.
Goal #1
New Product Testing
Capture between-meal traffic with individual pizza slices. It’s designed for quick consumption and looks to generate more revenue outside of the company’s core dinner daypart.
If successful, Crust & Co. may add this LTO to the permanent menu.
Goal #2
Promotional Strategy
Generate a significant amount of social media buzz that attracts both new and existing guests.
Crust & Co. is looking for this LTO to boost the sales of other menu items, ultimately converting more visitors into loyal fans with a higher LTV.
Strategy
Collect Customer Satisfaction Data By Way Of Granular Feedback Surveys
Guest sentiment data is immediate, direct, and informative. It reveals whether an item is well-received and likely to generate greater sales, return visits, and satisfaction down the line.
Crust & Co. will measure sentiment using Tattle’s automatic and proprietary surveys. The causation-based format breaks down each operational category (e.g. Food Quality, Speed of Service, Accuracy, etc.) into underlying factors (e.g. Texture, Taste, Temperature, etc.). These surveys have a 94% completion rate.
Setup
Ask Highly-Targeted Questions To Visitors Who Order The LTO
– Perceived Value
– Order Accuracy
– Level of customization
– Likelihood to re-order
– Likelihood to recommend
– Reasons for ordering
– How they heard about the new item
Launch
Maintain Statistical Significance Across LTO Survey Responses
Throughout the data collection period, Crust & Co. will closely monitor the survey completion rate to ensure both quality (i.e. level of detail of the survey) and quantity (i.e. statistical significance) of the data.
Typically, within just a few weeks, Tattle would have already collected statistically-significant data to make early conclusions on.
Analysis & Findings
The following graphs will show you how Tattle analyzed the previously-mentioned metrics and survey questions to find actionable insights for Crust & Co.
#1
Overall Satisfaction (Top Box) Over Time
Based on the survey results, we break down the satisfaction scores for each LTO variation, as seen in the chart below.
While the LTO as a category saw consistent OSAT through the promotion period, BBQ Bonanza had the highest satisfaction.
#2
LTO Variant Breakdown
Overall, guests were relatively satisfied with the execution of the LTO, indicating a higher satisfaction in “Execution” than “Value”.
#3
LTO Modification Analysis
It’s important to measure the operational complexity of LTOs. Of all the three variations, Pesto Pizzazz is the least likely to be modified, whereas Fig & Feta is the most likely to be modified.
#4
LTO Impact On A
Guest’s Willingness To Recommend
In addition, guests who ordered the LTO were 5.9 ppt more likely to promote Crust & Co. to friends than those who didn’t order an LTO, which is a fantastic outcome.
#5
Performance By Customer Journey
In a breakdown by journey, it’s clear that LTO performance is the highest on-premise, and lowest for curbside orders. With that said, for all off-premise channels (pickup, delivery, curbside), satisfaction is similar across overall Customer Experience Rating (CER), value, and execution.
#6
Hourly LTO Breakdown
Based on the table above, it’s clear that the LTO’s survey mix is the highest before 3:00 pm, which shows that guests indeed view the new “Pizza By The Slice” as a lunch or snack item.
In addition, guest satisfaction tends to be higher during that same period of time, with performance declining past 5:00 pm.
#7
Reasons For Not Choosing The LTO
Most people didn’t order the LTO because they already knew their regular orders and didn’t want to try something new. This is followed by people who were simply unaware of the new product.
#8
LTO Text Analytics Breakdown
Reasons For “Other” Choices
“I have a gluten and/or dairy allergy and didn’t think these could be made with replacement dough or cheese… ?”
We can drill down into the 9% of guests who chose “Other” through a word cloud analysis. From that, it’s clear that special dietary requirements was a big reason for guests not trying the LTO.
#9
Measuring Incident Involvement Rate
“Incident Involvement Rate” measures how often both an item and the overall experience are rated three stars and below at the same time. You want this metric to be as low as possible.
Fig & Feta currently has the highest incident involvement rate.
#10
Sales vs. Satisfaction Matrix
As mentioned before, sales data isn’t the true indicator LTO performance — it is the result of many factors: promotional effort, menu placement, food photography, etc. Only when combined with guest satisfaction data can you see the full story.
Let’s put the three variations of the LTO into this simple matrix:
Currently, the biggest issue to be resolved is Pesto Pizzazz. The high sales, low sentiment of that variant means first-time guests are much more likely to hve a bad experience and not come back.
Crust & Co. Recommendations
Increase Customization
Given that Fig & Feta is the most likely to be modified, if Crust & Co. is adept at customizing guests’ orders, we’d recommend that the chain allow guests to build their own Fig & Feta slice, and allow for minor customizations for the other variations. This can be done through drop-down options in the online ordering app, or allowing dine-in customers to do so with verbal instructions.
Keep LTO To Bolster Non-Dinner Dayparts
Since the survey mix and satisfaction of the LTO decreases after 5:00 PM, we can conclude that guests indeed view the LTO as a great lunch or on-the-go snack. Therefore the LTO achieved Crust & Co.’s primary goal and we recommend keeping the item, as it’s driving traffic during the desired dayparts.
Test LTO With Dietary Options
Besides being unaware of the new items, dietary restriction is the biggest reason why people didn’t order the LTO. We recommend offering vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free options. This could provide a sizable boost in bringing first-time customers to your restaurants.
Conclusion
This pizza brand was able to move away from gut hunches and into the realm of data-driven insights.
Creating such a finely-tuned process could not have been done without the granular feedback metrics collected by Tattle surveys, a staple of over 200+ multi-unit restaurant brands (Chili’s, Hooters, Dave’s Hot Chicken, etc.).
If you’re interested in automatically collecting granular, actionable menu/LTO metrics from your guests (such as the ones above) schedule a call with our team below.
Book A Call With Our Team Today!
We’ll talk about your guest feedback goals, provide a tour of Tattle, and see if we’re the right partner for you.
