Earlier this week, our very own commercial director Nick Liddle was invited to host a panel of experts at the Restaurant Marketer & Innovator European summit.
Bringing together a community of restaurant marketers, innovators and industry experts, the conference was a brilliant opportunity to pick the brains of some top talent.
Nick’s panel – Omnichannel: Taking Your Sales And Marketing Cross Platform – examined how the industry can approach an omnichannel model, and what that looks like in practice for some big names.
Check out our highlights from this lively chat below…
Vita Mojo’s Commercial Director Nick Liddle led the panel
Sarah has overseen Coco di Mama’s growth strategy since 2018, expanding from 20 to 30 sites in Central London in 2019, and then to 130+ nationwide delivery kitchens in 2021.
Trison is a digital agency who have been leaders in the digital signage industry since 1998. They’ve provided fantastic digital solutions to the likes of IKEA, Whitbread, Odeon, Center Parcs, Showcase and GSK to name a few, with Peter providing decades of first-hand experience.
With over three years at JustEat, Ellie Starr has been leading the team acquiring branded restaurant groups, grocers and retailers onto the platform.
Nick founded Yolk in answer to the boring fast food he grew tired of eating as a strategy consultant. Yolk serves ‘fine fast food’ across London in five locations: look out for four more opening this year!
Coco Di Mama operate five channels across their stores, retail operations and digital ordering channels.
With separate menus for their to-go, breakfast, lunch, dinner and coffee offerings, the Italian chain are experts at juggling multiple channels across their brand.
“What has made Coco di Mama do well in Omnichannel?”
“We monitor NPS religiously,” she reported, explaining how Coco di Mama maintain brand identity and affinity across their many channels.
Constant monitoring and adjusting has been an important part of the brand’s success in the omnichannel space, along with a willingness to do away with a risk-averse approach post-COVID. Sarah touched on this when describing the importance of maintaining KPIs across channels.
“You need to foster a team mindset and entrepreneurialism, try new things – if it works: go fast. Equally if a channel isn’t working, turn it off.”
Ellie Star from JustEat also spoke of the importance of adaptability for brands pursuing omnichannel approaches.
“Ellie, from your in depth understanding of the consumer what advice can you give operators embarking on their own omni channel journey?”
“For brands in the casual dining spaces, customers are pivoting more towards dessert menus, or coming in for breakfast. If breakfast isn’t working, then having the adaptability to do what is right for your business is crucial.”
Ellie Starr – Senior Strategic Partnerships Manager, JustEat
Ellie also emphasised how crucial it is to consider all your channels as part of the whole operation, rather than isolated parts to manage separately.
“How do you work with operators to protect their brand equity?”
“JustEat, or any brand aggregator, is an extension of your business. It is there as a support mechanism.”
They see 90% of orders in store, where they have now introduced self-order kiosks, with 10% of orders coming through delivery.
“Despite being earlier on in your journey, what has worked well for Yolk to date?”
“The biggest single change we have gone through has been moving towards kiosks and Click & Collect. We’ve actually been surprised how well it’s been received by guests, that’s really helped us.”
Yolk has seen a 20% increase in delivery orders through its digital order channels. Nick also praised how rolling out kiosks has helped the brand cope with the labour crisis.
“What problems were you looking to solve immediately?”
“Most importantly we integrated Click & Collect, our POS and Deliveroo into one KDS. We also needed easier access to data to have more of an understanding of the guest”
Integrating orders from all their channels into one Kitchen Display System has made the Yolk operation more efficient, helps the staff avoid tablet hell, and provides new ways of reporting across multiple channels from one system.
Nick Philpot – Founder, Yolk
“Sara, what challenges have you come up against with Omnichannel?”
“One mistake is trying to do the same thing everywhere. All channels are different, and they need tailoring to the customer learning curve.”
Sarah McKennedy – Commercial Brand Director, Coco di Mama
“What lessons have you learnt on the journey?”
“With kiosks, you need to bring your staff on the journey with you; ensure they understand why we’re doing it.”
The labour crisis is still affecting QSRs. Whilst costs everywhere continue to spiral, it’s more important than ever for operators to retain the skilled workers they have.
Including the staff in the omnichannel approach with digital ordering, and supporting them in sharing the vision, can make all the difference, as Sara continued:
“Nick, how do you see Yolk evolving as an omnichannel brand?”
Peter also emphasised the importance of creating a journey for the customer between channels that feels connected.
“How do we connect them with loyalty? The user experience and interface is so important, it should feel frictionless.”
Book in a chat with one of our restaurant tech experts for a bespoke look at how a multi-channel approach can work for your operation.
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