Restaurant marketers know they need loyalty programs. They also know they need to get the most out of the data, control their own online ordering platform, own the CRM process and leverage a mobile app. But how do you make all of those work together to go beyond the parts and create a much stronger whole? How do you make all these pieces work together to execute a true digital engagement strategy that meets guests where they are, as individuals? 

During this session Paytronix Vice President of Online Ordering, Tim Ridgely, will talk with Chris Schefler of Mr. Pickles Sandwich Shop and Renae Scott, industry expert and former CMO for Ike's Love and Sandwiches, about how brands can align all the pieces of a digital guest engagement platform to keep guests returning again and again.

Attendees of this webinar will:

• Align components of a guest engagement strategy.
• Learn from leading brands' guest engagement success stories.
• Understand the importance of integrations.
   

Speakers:

• Chris Schefler, Director of Brand Management, Mr. Pickle's
• Renae Scott, Fractional CMO for Yogurt Mill, Yogurt Mill

As the popularity of digital ordering continues to surge, brands are forced to modify their day-to-day operations to best meet the evolving needs of their customers and keep them coming back.

To better understand how to provide a seamless omnichannel experience, Intouch Insight - home of the Annual Drive-Thru Study - launched a new program to examine how 10 Fast Casual brands are managing the blurring between digital and physical customer interactions.

On May 25th, Intouch Insight’s Director of Marketing, Sarah Beckett, and QSRMagazine®’s Editor, Ben Coley will discuss the findings of Intouch Insight’s 2023 study, Emerging Experiences: Where Tech Meets Taste.

Brands included in the study: Chipotle, Panera, Shake Shack, Jersey Mike's, Five Guys, QDOBA, Panda Express, Noodles & Co., McAlister's Deli, and Chicken Salad Chick.

Attendees of this webinar will learn:

• What brands can do to maximize the ROI in digital ordering.
• How the 10 brands included in the study performed.
• Impacts of in-store pickup on the dine-in experience.
• Top areas for improvement identified in the study.
• Key tactics to improve the pickup experiences.

Speakers:

• Sarah Beckett, Director of Marketing, Intouch Insight
• Ben Coley, Editor, QSR^® Magazine
• Charlie Pogacar, Custom Content Associate Editor, Moderator, QSR

Consumer habits are evolving. The National Restaurant Association estimates that currently 39% of all restaurant traffic is “bumper-to-bumper in a drive-thru lane,” and restaurants are innovating to keep up.

From multi-lane drive-thrus, to suburban QSR expansions, digital-only locations, and the growing adoption of voice AI, the industry is turning to emerging technology to drive sales and deliver experiences customers love.

Join us as we ask what the drive-thru restaurant of the future will look like and examine how restaurant technology (and voice AI!) is facilitating a tectonic shift in the way businesses serve their customers.

Attendees of this webinar will learn to:

• Identify the restaurant technology trends driving the evolution of the drive thru.
• Understand how voice AI technology can be adopted to enhance the customer experience.
• Understand where and how new ordering interfaces can support restaurant employees.
• Share examples of how restaurant technology helps businesses improve productivity and boost sales. 

Speakers:        
Mike Lauricella | Head of Channel Partnerships, SoundHound        
Ben Sywulka | Director of Prototype Engineering, SoundHound        
Tanvir Bhangoo | VP, Enterprise Solutions, Toast        
Max Greenblatt | Principal Software Engineer & Enterprise Architect, Toast        
Fiona McEvoy | Director, Corporate Communications, Soundhound        
Charlie Pogacar | Custom Content Associate Editor, Moderator, QSR

Level up your Hiring in 2023, the Top 8 Ways to Hire Hourly Workers

 

Measuring the health of your loyalty program is so much more than sign-ups and app downloads. The true value of a loyalty program must consider your program reach, your ability to impact the behavior of those you reach, and how costly it is for you to drive that change. Join us for a deep dive into how to stop tracking vanity metrics and start tracking true performance.

Attendees of this webinar will learn:

• What metrics to track to assess the health of their loyalty programs.
• Why these metrics are more important than traditional metrics.
• How to measure these new metrics to better evaluate their loyalty program health.

Speakers:        
Emily Rugaber | VP of Marketing, Thanx        
Emily Rugaber is Vice President of Marketing at Thanx, where she applies her knowledge of loyalty trends, innovations and best practices for restaurant brands and authors the Thanx Loyalty Disrupt newsletter. Prior to becoming a marketer, she lead Business Intelligence Consulting at analytics company, GoodData, where she advised Fortune 500 clients including SAP, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Target, and Nestle on how to make data actionable.

Peggy Carouthers | Director of Custom Content, Moderator, QSR        
Peggy Carouthers is the director of custom content for the QSR and FSR brands, where she helped launch the Custom Content Studio. She combines her journalism background with prior experience in retail and foodservice to produce award-winning sponsored content that helps marketers engage their target audience and achieve business goals. She is excited to expand the Custom Content Studio to bring value to marketers across the WTWH Media network.

Olga Berkovich Lopategui | Founder, Restaurant Loyalty Specialists        
Olga Berkovich Lopategui is an expert in restaurant loyalty and rewards programs. After spending 15 years at Pizza Hut, KFC, and TGI Fridays, Olga moved into loyalty full-time and now runs a boutique consulting firm serving clients ranging from 20 to hundreds of locations.

Christopher Kopenec | Director, CRM & Loyalty, Brinker International        
Christopher has nearly two decades of CRM, Loyalty, and Digital Marketing across numerous verticals, both agency & brand side.  Inspired by the ever-evolving world of business & technology, he gets excited about opportunities to lead brand with new ways to grow & advance through innovative solutions. A data junkie at heart, his passion for analytics is the key to driving business performance, resulting in both strong strategic development & tactical execution.

Traditional loyalty program enrollment strategies are in need of an evolution as customers are demanding a simple and streamlined process with limited friction. It’s a new year and time to reimagine your program to improve customer acquisition, enrollment, rewards redemption and payment. 

Join us as we examine how Salsarita’s implemented One Tap Loyalty leveraging the Apple Wallet to create a magical guest experience. With one tap of their iPhone customers can enroll, earn, redeem and pay, giving a boost to Salsarita's loyalty program signups. The entire experience is embedded within your customer’s Apple Wallet and all of its security controls.

In this session we will explore:

• How the One Tap Loyalty experience is driving an increase in active users, maximizing customer engagement, enabling easy enrollment, and driving a seamless check out experience.
• The fast and easy adoption and enablement across all Salsarita's tech stack.
• The benefits of unifying the payments and loyalty experience. 
• Customer feedback relating to the enablement, redemption and payment process.

Speakers:        
Tim Carter | Chief Financial Officer, Salsarita’s        
Sal Nazir | GM, Payments, PAR Technology

As costs are continuing to rise, QSR franchise owners’ top priority is finding ways to cut costs and save money. By working with an energy efficiency partner that offers brand new equipment, such as HVACs, lighting, and refrigeration controls, owners can reduce their energy and save money, while also reducing carbon emissions.

Join us for an insightful webinar hosted by QSR Magazine, Bringing in the Green: How QSR Owners are Saving Time and Money with Sustainability Efforts, to learn how you can take advantage of brand-new equipment. Plus, hear a firsthand account of how working with Budderfly helped to cut costs and improve energy efficiency.        
 

Attendees of this webinar will:

• Learn how your QSR locations can benefit from brand new energy efficient equipment, at no up-front cost to you.    
• Understand how to reduce your energy consumption and get guaranteed savings with new equipment upgrades.    
• Hear how other QSR franchise owners benefit from improved performance data, giving them better insight into food safety, energy use, and the overall health of their restaurants.

Speakers:        
Mike Leatherwood | Senior Account Executive, Budderfly        
Mike Leatherwood has over 25 years of extensive and successful sales, business development, and sales management experience. As the VP of Sales, he is the Program Director for Budderfly’s premier brands such as Subway, Burger King, and Jack-In-a-Box.

Greg Sanders | Group Publisher, QSR & FSR, WTWH Media        
Greg Sanders is a 30-year veteran of foodservice media. He was on the launch teams of both the QSR and FSR brands, and has served at various times as editor, editorial director, associate publisher, and group publisher. During his tenure as editor of QSR, the magazine won a Jesse H. Neal Award; he was also named to the 2019 class of the Folio: 100, which recognizes innovators and entrepreneurial thinkers in publishing.

As a growing chain, your technology stack should be a key asset in helping your brand achieve its growth objectives. It should allow you to manage multiple locations and ordering channels with ease, optimize operations, and perhaps most of all, allow you to quickly add new capabilities for flexibility when necessary. Quick service franchise Dave’s Hot Chicken has enjoyed explosive growth and has no shortage of experience when it comes to developing just that: a thoughtful technology strategy that supports its expanding brand.

Join industry veterans Revel Chief Strategy Officer Chris Lybeer and Dave’s Hot Chicken Chief Technology Officer Leon Davoyan as they share best practices on building a technology strategy that scales.

Attendees of this webinar will:

• Understand what it takes to achieve a scalable technology platform based on the experiences of a rapidly-growing quick service chain.
• Learn from and ask questions to thought leaders in the quick service and point of sale technology spaces.
• Drill down into today's must-have technology features for quick service restaurants.        
   

Speakers:        
Chris Lybeer | Chief Strategy Officer, Revel Systems        
Chris Lybeer is the Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer of Revel Systems. Chris brings more than 25 years of leadership experience in the retail technology industry to Revel. Prior to joining Revel Chris served as the COO for Kredible, a digital marketing company which was acquired by AdvisorEngine and as the VP of Strategic Development for NCR, focusing on innovation, partnerships, and M&A. Over 15 years with Radiant Systems, Chris held a variety of roles including President of the Specialty Retail Division and EVP of the Convenience Store Division. Chris started out his career as a computer engineer with NCR and ultimately led the entire software development organization for their retail business. Chris is passionate about driving customer satisfaction while also continuously bringing value and innovation to market.

Leon Davoyan | Chief Technology Officer, Dave's Hot Chicken        
As an IT Key Influencer, Leon is an innovative and strategic leader with over 20 years of experience in the technology field for the hospitality industry. Leon has held multiple leadership positions at several major companies with a successful track record of designing and implementing growth strategies for organizations, designing business plans, completing large and complex software implementations, assembling strategic IT teams, fixing broken processes, and motivating departments. Leon has implemented industry best practices and standardized IT processes and procedures executed all aspects of strategic IT planning, implementation, and expansion, as well as global/national deployment as an integral part of company strategy, and is a sought-after expert on IT strategy and transformation.

Kara Phelps | Custom Content Associate Editor, QSR

In this webinar, we will dive into the latest location analytics to identify some of the key strategies that are helping leading QSR brands stand out and thrive in a challenging environment. From 2022 winners to the effects of inflation in Q1 to the most innovative concepts, we will explore which tactics will drive success in the year to come.        

Participants of this webinar will:

• Have a quantitative understanding of the trends that are most impacting the QSR category.
• See how Placer location data can be used to identify which QSR brands are seeing increased consumer demand and operating at an efficient level.
• Observe visitation trends for QSR brands as they implement expansion strategies.

Speakers:

RJ Hottovy, CFA | Head of Analytical Research, Placer.ai        
R.J. Hottovy, CFA is Head of Analytical Research for Placer.ai. He has covered the restaurant, retail, and e-commerce sectors for nearly 20 years, most recently serving as a Fund Manager for Aaron Allen Capital Partners. He has held several analyst positions in the past, including Global Consumer Equity Strategist at Morningstar and equity analyst roles at William Blair & Co. and Deutsche Bank. Hottovy also brings a wealth of experience with early-stage investments as an investor and member of the investment committee for the IrishAngels/Vitalize venture capital group. Over the past three years, he has worked with more than 50 consumer and technology companies, advising on more than $200 million in early-stage capital raises and other buy- and sell-side M&A transactions. Hottovy is also a member of the Chicago Seed Co. network, a group of Chicago-area investors focused on early-stage food & beverage companies.

Greg Sanders | Group Publisher, QSR & FSR, WTWH Media        
Greg Sanders is a 30-year veteran of foodservice media. He was on the launch teams of both the QSR and FSR brands, and has served at various times as editor, editorial director, associate publisher, and group publisher. During his tenure as editor of QSR, the magazine won a Jesse H. Neal Award; he was also named to the 2019 class of the Folio: 100, which recognizes innovators and entrepreneurial thinkers in publishing.

Technology and innovation inspired by COVID-19 have turned quick service’s biggest category into something hardly recognizable. In this webinar we'll look at how that's playing out for today's restaurant operators.

From a data perspective, we'll dive into the top results of the annual Intouch Insight Drive-Thru Study, exploring the state of speed of service, order accuracy, customer service, and more among some of the top quick-service brands.

From an experiential perspective, we'll take a look at real-world examples of how restaurant operators are dealing with the challenges of running a profitable drive-thru operation.        
 

Speakers:        
Danny Klein, Editorial Director, QSR Magazine        
Danny Klein is the Editorial Director at QSR and FSR magazines, two of the restaurant industry’s leading trade publications and part of the WTWH Media portfolio of brands. QSR celebrated its 25th year in business in 2022 and continues to serve as a leading resource for franchisees, executives, and thought leaders throughout the foodservice world. FSR, founded 11 years ago, covers the full-service sector. A graduate of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, Danny spent more than a decade covering high school, college, and professional sports throughout Florida before joining the company as the associate editor of FSR magazine in 2015.

Laura Livers, Head of Strategic Growth, Intouch Insight        
Laura Livers, Head of Strategic Growth at Intouch Insight, is a passionate business leader focused on using innovative methodologies to help brands deliver exceptional customer experiences. She believes in the power of data and is committed to empowering her clients to bring the voice of the customer into the boardroom. Laura has held a number of senior executive positions including CEO, President and EVP with market research firms and has managed 7 of the top 10 QSR chains’ national mystery shopping programs, including McDonald’s.

The staffing issues for restaurants that started during the pandemic continue to be a problem for restaurants of all types and sizes. While staffing issues have improved since the peak of the pandemic in other industries, restaurants continue to struggle to hire and retain good talent. The impact has been felt by operators of all cuisines and concepts; burnout has skyrocketed, customer experience has declined, and restaurants have lost margins due to increased labor costs. 

Enter Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI is driving new restaurant technology that takes orders from guests without the need for human staff. Not only are fewer staff required, but the technology makes fewer mistakes, upsells at higher rates, and never calls in sick. Imagine a scenario where your phone is ringing off the hook with pickup and delivery orders and each one is being answered automatically by AI-driven technology, completing the orders, taking payment and sending the order directly to the kitchen without your staff lifting a finger. It’s not a future scenario, it’s happening today at chains like Jets Pizza. 

In this webinar you’ll learn first-hand how AI is having a measurable impact on sales and operations. Key takeaways include: 

• How automated ordering is a unique remedy to staffing issues
• Doing more with fewer people: shifting staff from ordering to other functions 
• AI outperforms people: more orders, higher sales, and better customer experiences
• The Jets Pizza story: higher ticket averages, more repeat business and overall revenue lift
• Getting started: Understanding if AI-driven technology is right for you

Speakers:        
Aaron Nilsson, CIO, Jets Pizza        
Aaron Nilsson is the CIO of Jets Pizza. Nilsson joined the team in early 2019 to use his skill set to build Jet’s Pizza’s digital presence and improve online experiences for both customers and in-store operations. Under his leadership Jets saw more than a300% increase in digital sales in his first three years.Hehas launched some of the most innovative digital products in the category.        
Nilsson was previously associated with brands such as Carhartt, Domino’s, and General Motors. Nilsson has 25 years’ of experience leading, managing, and creating a vision for digital properties, both in-house and for agencies.        
“The biggest shift we will see in technology within the next 10 years is definitely going to be found in AI and alternative delivery options,” says Aaron Nilsson, Jet’s America’s new CIO. “I am capitalizing on this to ensure Jet’s customers have a convenient and positive experience with our digital platforms. Since 1978 we’ve had an advantage over competitors by having better pizza, so now I’m working hard to make our technology as good as our pizza”.        
Jet’s Pizza, based in Sterling Heights, Michigan, is known for its Detroit-style pizza and fresh, high-quality ingredients. Since its founding in 1978, Jet’s has grown to more than 400 stores in 20 states. The company ranked 13th in Pizza Today’s 2018 list of the top 100 pizza companies in the U.S. by gross sales.

David Werner, Vice President of Product Marketing, HungerRush        
David Werner is the Vice President of Product Marketing at HungerRush and has loved helping people streamline, advance, and level up their restaurant tech operations for the past 25 years. David has spent the majority of his career in the technology industry, gaining experience with companies such as Oracle, CA Technologies, and NIKU. While product marketing is his primary job function by day, David truly enjoys days out on the lake with his family.

Matthew Dieden, Director of Product Marketing, HungerRush        
Matthew Dieden is the Director of Product Marketing at HungerRush. His commitment to eliminating restaurant pain points is changing the way restaurants handle labor shortages and business operations. Prior to HungerRush, Matthew was a Senior Product Marketing Manager at Onit, and a Product Marketing Analyst at Quorum where he gained unparalleled experience in the tech space, while also establishing himself as a respected Product Marketer. Matthew has a Bachelor of Science in Mass Communications from Texas State University where he first developed his passion for marketing. In his spare time, Matthew enjoys spending time on the green practicing his golf swing.

You probably heard the term “return to normalcy” more times than you could count this year. While COVID rates have dropped 90% according to the WHO, it’s hard to identify when the “post-pandemic” era will begin, particularly for the restaurant industry, which has been turned upside down in the last two years.

Restaurant365 is hosting its Restaurant Industry Predictions webinar for 2023. Listen to R365 Co-founder & Chief Strategist John Moody and Solutions Architect Marc Cohen as they share their thoughts on the state of the restaurant industry today and expected trends for the coming year.

Speakers:        
John Moody, Co-Founder and Chief Strategist, Restaurant365        
John Moody is co-founder and Chief Strategist of Restaurant365 where he focuses on long-term strategic initiatives and forming key partnerships. He has more than 20 years’ experience in helping companies leverage technology to streamline operations, improve financial management, and use actionable reporting. John has a passion for technology and productivity and using those elements tomake time for the things that matter. He has an undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University and an MBA from Pepperdine University.

Marc Cohen, Solutions Architect, Restaurant365        
Marc Cohen is a Solutions Architect at Restaurant365. Marc successful ran aFrench Bistro in Pasadena before going on to work for two Los Angeles based celebrity chefs as a General Manager at their Ciudad and Border Grill restaurants before eventually moving into the corporate office as Integrated Technology and Systems Manager. Through his many roles within the industry, Marc has developed deep expertise in point-of-sale (POS) integration, menu engineering, and business intelligence.

COVID-19 has required workers increasingly to rely on technology platforms to look for side hustles, and many have moved on from the hospitality industry during this time. However, a new generation of workforce is quietly surfacing, and their voice has yet to be heard. With a strong demand in labor and toxic turnover rate outlasting the pandemic, operators can benefit from reconsidering how they connect with this new generation of workforce to build a bulletproof bench. When it comes to human capital, it's not about what you own, it's about what you have access to.

In this session, you'll hear from the CEO of ShiftPixy, Scott Absher, about how to fix critical labor shortage issues by connecting restaurant operators to available, qualified workers, and providing them with new confidence in the accessible part-time workforce.

In this webinar, we'll discuss:

• Labor market changes
• Communication tactics
• ShiftPixy's Fastfill solution designed to help restaurants combat labor shortage challenges

How Location Technology is Impacting Today’s Digital Teams

Digital and product leaders from quick-service restaurants need to adopt technology in order to exceed consumer expectations about speed and quality of service. Location technology gives quick serves a leg up on the competition by solving several common challenges at once. In this session, Radar CEO and Co-Founder Nick Patrick will discuss how leading quick serves are addressing these challenges and the role location technology plays in driving a better customer experience.

You will learn:

• How evolving customer expectations are driving the way restaurants serve customers.
• How location-based technology is at the forefront of improving the customer experience, staff efficiency, and quality of service.
• The evolution of digital channels and how geofencing technology enables a best-in-class customer experience with timely mobile order updates, automated loyalty rewards, order-related reminders, and more.

Serving Data in New Ways for the Quick-Service Restaurant Industry

 

How to Conquer Customer Acquisition

 

Between inflation, staffing shortages, and a looming recession, restaurant leaders must prepare for a challenging 2023. With high costs for ingredients and other supplies, operators must either absorb costs in their restaurant profit margins or raise menu prices and risk alienating loyal customers.

How can restaurants offset these increasing costs and grow their business? By earning a consistnet stream of new customers.

Not only does bringing in new consumers increase daily sales, but each new consumer has the potential to become something far more valuable: a repeat consumer who returns again and again without any additional marketing. But how do you get them into your restaurant in the first place?

Join VP of Marketing at Prairie Pizza Ryan Swanson and Upside Director Maura McHugh for a discussion on how competitive restaurants are acquiring new customers, building strong relationships with their frequent diners, and earning new profit.

In this webinar, you will learn about:

• The customer acquisition challenge facing restaurants in 2023
• How Ryan's team is earning proven ROI from marketing campaigns
• Prairie Pizza's partnership with Upside, which has already generated a 1.5% sales lift

 

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How World of Beer Mastered Loyalty Gamification

 

How engaging is your loyalty program? World of Beer’s loyalty program allows customers to collect badges, complete challenges, and climb the ranks of local leaderboards. Beneath all the fun is a robust loyalty program that provides value to customers and keeps them coming back.

Games are particularly valuable for brands looking to strengthen connections with Gen Z and Millennials. Collectible badges, NFTs, scratch cards—giving your guests something to brag about, or a chance at huge rewards, is a sure way to generate excitement and strengthen your bottom line.

World of Beer’s Director of Brand & Digital Marketing, Cori Rosecrans, joins this webinar to discuss how World of Beer designed its program and to share some of the stunning results.

Join this webinar to learn:

• Best practices for gamification to improve your loyalty program.
• How World of Beer uses gamification
• Technology needed to power a gamified loyalty program

 

Presenter:        
Ryan DiLello, Content Specialist, Paytronix

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How to Streamline Franchise Operations to Power High Performance

 

Scaling a restaurant franchise is an exciting opportunity that presents many challenges on the road to growth and success. As a franchisee with a growing network of locations, it's important to have a centralized platform and tools that make it easy to get both high-level and granular insights into how the entire organization and individual locations are performing.

In this webinar you'll get insight on how to:

• Find and invest in centralized, scalable solutions
• Control food and labor costs to better manage cashflow
• Create the right reports for managers at every level of your organization to boost performance

 

Presenter:        
Marc Cohen, Solutions Architect, Restaurant365

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What Will Loyalty Look Like in 2023?

Your guests expect a fast, personalized, and consistent experience no matter where they engage with you—and the brands that truly get that experience right are rewarded with greater loyalty and higher spend from their guests. But to achieve a truly unified customer experience, brands need to think bigger in 2023. Join the CMOs from two rapidly growing quick-serve brands to hear best practices and first-hand advice about leveraging digital loyalty as a competitive differentiator in 2023 and beyond.

You’ll learn: 

• How loyalty has evolved over the past several years and what that means for the evolving customer experience
• How to solve common challenges that multi-unit restaurant operators are facing today to ensure greater success in the new year
• Best practices and first-hand experience for driving higher visit frequency and guest spend in 2023

 

Speakers:        
Kelly Cooke, Chief Marketing Officer, Salsarita’s Holdings, LLC        
Jodi Boyce, Chief Marketing Officer, Teriyaki Madness

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Getting Back to Basics During Tough Times

 

The restaurant industry is facing converging headwinds—surging inflation, disrupted supply chains, increased fuel costs, and labor shortages. These unique times may suggest novel approaches are required to succeed, but the power to hit revenue goals is within your grasp. In this session, Rob will remind you of four essential levers that drive restaurant marketing and provide strategies and tactics to win back loyal guests and attract new customers.

Attendees of this webinar will learn:

• Why visit frequency alone isn’t be enough to hit your revenue goals.
• The value of investing in incentives to increase the bottom line.
• How to build on the success of your loyalty program to encourage new guests.
• What to add to your omnichannel media plan to effectively reach guests.

 

Presenter:        
Rob Crews, Director of Restaurant Industry Strategy, Vericast

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Can a Digital-First Strategy Improve Speed and Service?

 

A digital-first strategy that focuses on the improvement of human interaction at every touch point is driving increased speed of service and incremental loyalty, engagement, and spending by customers.

In this webinar we will discuss:

• Current trends and implications for quick-service restaurants
• Omni Digital and key areas of focus of digital
• The evolution of the drive thru and balancing speed, accuracy, and service
• The future of quick service—where will technology take us 3–5 years from now?

 

Presenters:        
Trisha Asgeirsson, senior business advisor, Fingermark        
Luke Irving, founder, Fingermark

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What You Can Learn from the New Dunkin’ Rewards Program

 

When Dunkin’ rolled out its new DD Perks, the consumer backlash came fast and furious. One headline blared, “What kind of idiot do you think I am?” But behind the scenes, Dunkin’s decisions come from years of menu growth and are an example of a careful strategy that will pay off over the long term. When Dunkin’ started its loyalty program, its menu focused on hot and iced coffee and a few specialty drinks. Today’s Dunkin’ locations offer higher end items, like cold brews, cappuccinos, and frozen drinks. That change meant the old program had to go.

Paytronix Head of Data Insights and Strategy Lee Barnes will join us for this webinar to provide insights on best practices for loyalty revamps, particularly within the coffee quick-service sector. Drawing from his team’s experience with brands like Dutch Bros, Caribou Coffee, Bagel Brands, and Peet’s Coffee, Lee will use Dunkin’ to help you learn how to keep your program relevant and profitable.

Join this webinar to learn more about loyalty program:

• Revamps – when you may need one and how they work
• Best practices and industry trends – based on Lee’s experience with over 350 program designs

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Former Darden President and Current Earl Enterprises Exec Explains How Restaurants Can Exit Survival Mode

How Quick-Service Restaurants Can Thrive in Uncertain Economic Times

In this webinar, we'll look at the latest location analytics to analyze what's happening in the wider restaurant space to break down the quick-service restaurant segment's unique positioning and opportunity. From the brands leading the way forward to the strategies and tactics driving the success, we'll take a data-driven look at what will create success moving forward.

Presenter:        
R.J. Hottovy, CFA, is Head of Analytical Research for Placer.ai, the world’s most advanced location analytics platform for the physical world.

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How Location Technology Redefines the Customer Experience

 

Quick-service restaurants must adopt technology in order to exceed evolving consumer expectations surrounding service quality and speed. Location technology gives quick-service restaurants a leg up on the competition by helping brands achieve things like: shorter wait times, a reduction in food waste, and increased staff productivity. 

In this webinar, you will learn how to: 

• Enrich the customer experience with personalization and convenience with first-party location data
• Reduce order-ahead and pickup wait times with live ETAs through trip tracking and arrival detection
• Increase customer satisfaction with higher quality food orders, order updates, shorter wait times, and personalized messaging
• Develop emotional and behavioral loyalty through reward programs with tailored, relevant offers

 

Presenter:        
Nick Patrick, CEO, Radar        
Nick is the CEO and co-founder of Radar, the leading geofencing platform, which empowers product and growth teams to build timely and relevant location-based experiences that drive revenue and customer loyalty.

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How America’s Largest Bubble Tea Franchise Uses Tech to Fuel Its Growth

Kung Fu Tea is America's largest bubble tea chain. With over 350 locations—and counting—in the U.S., Kung Fu Tea is on a mission to elevate the world of made-to-order beverages. 

Join Chris Lybeer, chief strategy officer at Revel, and Julian Cabezas, franchise performance manager at Kung Fu Tea, for a webinar focused on how placing technology—and quality ingredients—at the center of its operations has enabled the quick-service beverage franchise to scale, all while remaining authentic to its roots. The webinar will wrap up with a Q&A session, where attendees can ask questions of both Chris and Julian.

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Quicker-Service Restaurants: How to Use Advanced Automation to Make Fast Food Faster

 

Quick-service restaurants are changing to meet the needs of their customers. Supply chain delays and labor shortages have made it hard for them to keep up with demand, so they are starting to turn toward automation tools to go from quick to quicker.

New technology like AI ordering and menu suggestions, robotic food prep and delivery, and cloud-based POS systems are helping quick-service restaurants raise their average ticket price and increase same-store sales by over 30 percent! During this webinar, Sevan Multi-Site Solutions will touch on key topics for quick-service restaurant owners and managers who are exploring automated efficiency solutions, including:

• The importance of automation in the quick-service restaurant industry
• Current automation trends
• Future automation trends
• Realizing positive ROIs
• How Sevan adds value

 

Presenters:        
Jacqueline Loftis: Director, Business Development, Sevan Multi-Site Solutions        
Shiron Olson: Vice President, Operations, Sevan Multi-Site Solutions        
Bryan Turner: Project Executive, Data Analytics, Sevan Multi-Site Solutions

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Every Transaction Speaks Volumes: Learn How Everyday Payment Transactions Can Turbocharge Your Loyalty Program

 

While nearly 60 percent of quick-service restaurants have a loyalty program in place, only 41 percent of customers participate in these programs. The result: Quick-service restaurants are unable to track behaviors and purchasing preferences of nearly 60 percent of their customers. If the goal of a loyalty program is to uncover customer insights and drive incremental spend, the lack of access to actionable first-party customer data poses a critical challenge for operators.

Not only are today’s customers demanding a frictionless experience, they also expect offers that are personalized to their preferences and purchasing habits. In fact, 80 percent of customers are more likely to buy from a company that provides them a personalized experience. This makes the ability to identify and engage with every customer on an individual level crucial. Rather than rely on generic one-size-fits-all offers, quick-service restaurants must deliver targeted promotions to their customers in real time.

Join the webinar and learn:

• How to transform everyday payment transactions into actionable data
• How to increase customer engagement through personalized offers
• How to drive loyalty and incremental spend

 

Presenters:        
Tom Byrnes, SVP Marketing, LedgerPay        
James Becker, Head of Payments Intelligence® Sales, LedgerPay

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5 New Strategies Savvy Restaurants Are Using to Conquer Today's Workforce Challenges

The talk of a potential recession doesn’t seem to be impacting the restaurant-hiring process. With 58 percent more open jobs than hourly workers available, the crisis appears to be rolling forward—and maybe even picking up steam. 

As competition for workers heats up, an applicant's expectations climb. This means restaurants have to raise the bar. But how can restaurant operators accomplish that when they are already overwhelmed and distracted with other priorities?

In this webinar, former hourly staffing leader turned HR technology CEO, Jim Schimpf, challenges the traditional way of thinking. He presents five pivotal strategies for conquering hourly hiring in 2022—and beyond. Schimpf is joined by Casey Stephens, long-time restaurant operator and current operations leader of Capital Tacos, a fast-growing quick-casual brand taking Florida by storm.

Those in attendance will learn: 

• The difference between the true state of the industry and what is rumored to be true
• How Capital Tacos thrived with hiring during the first half of 2022
• Guerilla recruiting tactics that require little to no budget
• How any brand of any size can use AI to hire ready-to-work people 88 percent faster
• How to triple your current hiring rates by removing yourself from the process

Speaker:        
Jim Schimpf, Co-founder/CEO, Chattr        
Jim is a tech entrepreneur pioneer in the AI hiring automation industry. He’s currently leading Chattr’s hyper-growth in the retail, restaurant, and hospitality industry, and has personally consulted with hundreds of restaurant owner/operators.

Team engagement and productivity are key to profitability. What if you could avoid manual busy work and repetitive tasks with a restaurant-specific payroll solution that calculates, audits, and processes payroll accurately and in less time? Not to mention ease your labor crunch by turning to daily pay to keep employees happy and speed up your payroll process. (Not familiar with daily pay? Find out more here.)

In this webinar, you'll learn how Restaurant365’s Workforce solutions modernize the entire employee lifecycle with hiring, onboarding, scheduling, payroll, and benefits tools.

Presenters:        
Elizabeth Mann, Solutions Engineer, Restaurant365        
Brooke Hluza, Director, Restaurant365

 

Cable and satellite prices keep rising while attention spans keep going down. For restaurant operators who don't have the money or time to curate short-form entertainment, what to do? One solution is Loop TV, which allows restaurants to manage entertainment for their guests, as well as digital signage and scheduling, from one platform. Loop TV is free for any public facing venue and lets restaurant operators earn rewards for each month of streaming.

Join us for a webinar focused on how this solution helps restaurants to:

• Curate premium short-form entertainment
• Create their own digital signage
• Easily schedule everything with streaming TV made for business

Hosts:        
Roy Lin, Accounts Manager, Loop TV        
Daniel Heithoff, Technical Client Services, Loop TV

Creating a Restaurant Culture That Attracts and Retains

 

Restaurants, among the hardest hit industries during the pandemic, are in the midst of a labor shortage. As restaurateurs look to hire new team members and keep existing ones, it’s crucial to understand what employees are looking for—especially with the increasing costs (both time-wise and money-wise) for sourcing and hiring. But how do you stand out in a crowded market when looking to grow and retain your team? Restaurant brands that are leading the change in the industry are putting culture at the forefront. Because building a world-class culture that creates great guest experiences happens from the inside out.

Join Danny Meyer of Union Square Hospitality Group and Jordan Boesch of 7shifts to dive into what it takes to build a restaurant culture, the different operational aspects that play a role in retaining talent, and the importance of honing in on your restaurant's core values to stay competitive in a tight labor market.

Speakers:        
Jordan Boesch, CEO, 7shifts        
Danny Meyer, Founder & CEO, Union Square Hospitality Group

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How Brands Like Panera Supercharge Loyalty With Subscriptions

 

Thanks to pioneers like Netflix, subscription models are a part of the average consumer's daily life, and according to a report earlier this year, 40% of consumers are open to restaurant subscription services.

Brands from Taco Bell to Burger King have tested subscriptions of their own, but one of the most successful restaurant subscription programs to date has been Panera’s Unlimited Sip Club. Launched in 2020, the Panera subscription continues to go strong, recently expanding its offerings, attracting new customers, and encouraging more frequent visits.  This webinar will explore:

• How subscriptions can drive incremental revenue and complement existing loyalty programs
• A breakdown of the most common subscription formats
• Key considerations when launching a subscription program

 

Presenter:        
Jessica Shelcusky, Senior Marketing Specialist, Paytronix

Disclaimer: Paytronix has a relationship with Panera and provides services to Panera to help enable programs mentioned in this webinar. None of the Paytronix employees that directly work with Panera assisted in the creation of content for this webinar. Paytronix is not affiliated with other brands mentioned in this webinar, nor is this webinar sponsored or endorsed by any of these brands, including Panera. This webinar is strictly based on publicly available information and Paytronix's independent analysis of the industry.

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Driving the Customer Experience with Carl’s Jr. & Hardee’s Recent Digital Transformation

CKE, the parent company of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's, launched their enhanced loyalty solution into more than 2,800 franchised and company-owned locations in Spring 2022. The implementation included innovative new customer acquisition tools, marketing campaign automation, integrated offers, and data analytics.

Join us as Phil Crawford, CTO of CKE Restaurants, shares his insights on:

• The changing landscape of loyalty in the quick-service space
• Transforming the guest experience by revamping their digital strategy
• Driving higher engagement with heightened personalization

 

Moderator:        
Brittany Maroney, Director of Marketing Communications, PAR Punchh        
Brittany Maroney is an 18 year veteran of the restaurant industry, where she has spent her career growing concepts and driving brand loyalists. As the Director of Marketing and Communications for the premier loyalty software solution Punchh, as well as for PAR technology, Brittany brings unique insight into the challenges and opportunities of restaurateurs across the nation.

Panelist:        
Phil Crawford, CTO, CKE Restaurants        
Phil Crawford is currently the CTO of CKE Restaurants, the parent company of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's, which operates 4000+ quick-service restaurants worldwide. Crawford leads CKE’s Digital and Technology functions and is responsible for building a technology-forward, data-driven company that exceeds consumers' evolving expectations.

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How Costa Vida is Managing Food Costs as Commodities Spike

 

With commodities increasing faster than menu pricing, operators need to rely on their systems to manage the gap between COGS and gross sales, as well as find opportunities to increase profits. Costa Vida, a fast-growing fresh Mexican concept with nearly 100 locations across the United States and Canada, has managed its profitability, despite supply chain disruptions, with proactive menu management, daily reporting, and margin reporting.

Join us as Kip Prestwich, VP of Innovation for Costa Vida, shares how the brand is:

• Managing costs, despite rising commodity prices
• Monitoring product and store profitablity
• Menu engineering to increase profits

 

Panelist:        
Kip Prestwich, vice president of innovation, Costa Vida

Moderator:        
Di Lewis, senior marketing director, SynergySuite

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Delivery Simplified with DoorDash Drive

According to a National Restaurant Association report, 53 percent of adults say purchasing takeout or delivery food is essential to the way they live.

For operators who haven’t had the time or resources to launch a delivery service for their restaurants, we completely understand. But you’re missing out on major dollars if you’re passing on delivery, and with Revel Driver XT™ powered by DoorDash Drive, a delivery solution for your brand just got easier. 

Join us for a webinar focused on how Driver XT allows operators to offer delivery without having to manage and operate a fleet of drivers, all by leveraging DoorDash Drive, DoorDash’s white-label fulfillment platform that powers direct delivery for any business. 

During the session, strategic partnership teams from both Revel and DoorDash will share more on what this partnership means to end users.

Hosts:         
Michael Manlapas, VP of Partnerships, Revel Systems         
Jimmy Furst, Product Manager, Revel Systems         
Maria Shapiro, Strategic Partner Manager, Drive Integrations, DoorDash         
Brian Busovsky, Senior Manager of DoorDash Drive, DoorDash

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How to Optimize Your Restaurant Communications

How to Optimize Your Restaurant Spaces for Drive-Thru & Mobile Ordering

Are you looking to maximize available tax credits and boost hiring?  

Join R365 and Synergi Partners, the leader in tax credits and business incentives, to learn how to combat economic challenges with tax credits. Our experts will walk you through what your business may qualify for, how to claim it, and how you can leverage those credits, plus incentives and technology to boost your hiring efforts and ensure your restaurant’s success. 

This webinar will walk you through: 

• Tax credits your restaurant may qualify for this year 
• Tips and incentives that will help you attract top candidates 
• Technology that can help you speed up recruiting