Restaurant Bytes: Billie Jo Waara

Welcome back to Restaurant Bytes! This is a short, virtual program that asks restaurant executives questions about the issues they are facing today. Restaurant Bytes is hosted by Tom Spry (Principal of Tom Spry Executive Search) and Harri’s own Jacqueline Farmer (Enterprise Sales Executive). This week, Restaurant Bytes caught up with Billie Jo Waara, CMO of Jack’s Family Restaurants, to discuss how the customer journey has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how Jack’s defines its goals and priorities to execute targeted marketing strategies.

Jack’s is no exception to the impact felt on restaurants by COVID-19. Billie Jo explains how the marketing team had to not only understand but anticipate the rapidly shifting customer demands as a result of the pandemic, “our guests and customers have reacted in so many ways,” she says. ”As a society, our interactions with each other have changed so much in the last few months, so it has been a race to keep up.”

Billie Jo discusses how for Jacks’, the customer journey saw a massive evolution in terms of needs and expectations. She explains how digital marketing, third-party delivery, and online ordering was pushed to the forefront to meet changing customer demands. 

She describes the “old customer journey” as a funnel where customers move from A to B. Awareness → Consideration → Trial → Purchase → Loyalty.

The “new journey” loops and spirals back and forth within those stages. 

What’s the “new” customer journey? 

• More content
• More competition
• Rebuilding businesses
• New buzz
• Fragmented influence
• Focusing on smaller micro trends.

So, like all businesses during this time, Jack’s Family Restaurants adapted. According to Billie Jo, the team finds success by “always trying to find the ‘right mix’ to meet our customers where they’re at, at the right time, at the right place, with the right message.”

The team worked hard to improve awareness of Jacks’ new offerings by increasing investment in digital and social media advertising. They also launched a digital loyalty program to attract and retain customers, which saw success. To further cater to customer needs, Jack’s collaborated with their third-party delivery partners so that people could still enjoy their food without leaving their homes. 

Jack’s also leaned into customer experience by reinforcing the brand’s strengths and understanding their role in the community. Earlier this year, Jack’s built a fundraising campaign to help food shelters to support those who were at risk. The brand worked with partners to launch a donation campaign where they were able to give back around $80,000 to the community in about 10 days.

As far as differentiation goes, Jack’s Family Restaurants focused on a few key strategies:

• Have a good idea of how your brand fits into your customer’s life and lifestyle.
• Don’t jump from an idea to idea without direction.
• Understand short-term goals: what strengths and assets do we have to weather in this period?
• Push towards long-term goals: what strengths and capabilities do we need to invest in to thrive?

At the end of the interview, Billie Jo leaves us with the brilliant message: “Sometimes it takes a pandemic to really recognize that we serve a vital role in the communities in which we serve.” A fantastic silver lining during a very difficult time. 

For access to the full interview, click here.