he conference kicked off with a keynote from KFC executive Rob Swain, who originally joined the team in 2009 as an area coach and steadily climbed the company’s ranks over the past 16 years to reach his current position as global COO of the “finger-lickin’ good” franchise. Swain described a major shift in the way QSRs approach garnering customer experience data from the beginning of his journey with KFC to the present day. “There were three channels [in the past]; drive through, front counter and take away,” Swain commented. “Since then, there’s been an absolute explosion in convenience, really fueled by technology, and what that means is we’ve really added more access to the brands.” For example, Swain explained, if you’re a restaurant general manager today, you now have to deal with several consumer entry points including kiosks, click-and-collect services, delivery and traditional table service, which creates more complex array of info for retail teams to work with.  “We’re in this fascinating situation where we’re managing the balance between what’s happening for our guests and what’s happening for our team members. The interesting thing is that our guest expectations have continued to rise year-on-year. They want an increasingly personalized, digital experience and for anyone who has spent any time in a QSR, you would realize our team members have minutes, sometimes even seconds, to get it right,” the KFC COO pointed out.  To create the optimal experience in today’s omnichannel shopping reality, Swain explained that it is essential for retailers to not only observe and collect data at all consumer entry points but properly distribute that data across various sections of a team to drive effective action.  “Just getting the [customer experience] data is a bit like getting the bronze medal, that’s not the end goal. The important question is, what are you doing with this data to drive action?” For example, what if a design issue on the kiosk makes it more difficult for customers to read a menu or a supply chain issue causes a necessary item substitution that isn’t communicated to the staff? In these situations, the team will inevitably encounter some hiccups.  “The real magic and gold-at-scale for KFC happen when our cross-functional teams are rapidly working against customer problems and you have the [team] operators working on execution [of solutions],” Swain said. “That means, we need tools and dashboards that are going to surface insights that are actionable. [As a brand] we’ve got complexity in that we’re always adapting to what’s happening across 150 countries, and that’s why we’ve partnered with Qualtrics. We wanted to create a system where data was driving insights, and insights were driving action at every single level of business.” “What this is really about is putting the guest and the team member at the center to really drive the pace in the organization,” Swain emphasized.  Becoming an industry leader through data-driven innovation Meanwhile, Shake Shack is planning to leverage consumer data and innovation to expand from its current network of 500-plus hubs to reach 1500 locations in the next few years by analyzing  “As we scale exponentially, we have to be really strategic about our culinary innovation,” Lauren Katz, Shake Shack’s senior manager of consumer insights, said at the Qualtrics event.  “Every menu item, every new concept, has to strike the right balance staying true to our DNA while making sure that we continue to reach and delight more guests than ever before.” In order to do that, Katz explained, Shake Shack uses research insights and a test-and-learn approach to stay at the forefront of innovation. In the past, the brand often relied on instinct to determine what would be an effective limited-time offering (LTO). While the brand often walked away with more wins than losses, Katz noted that the product development process became more effective with proper validation provided by detailed customer data collection.  Katz provided the example of a previously-launched LTO, a buffalo chicken sandwich, that sounded like a crowd-pleaser on paper, but ultimately didn’t perform well.  This was because the LTO lacked the premium differentiation that sets the QSR brand apart from its competitors, she recalled.  “It didn’t have Shake Shack’s fine-dining point of view or a unique spin and guests felt like they could get the same or potentially better sandwich somewhere else. Secondly,” Katz added, “it just didn’t have a cultural edge. Buffalo sauce is everywhere from fast food to local sports bars, so it just didn’t feel like something Shake Shack could do best, unlike the brand’s other more successful LTOs.” Ultimately, there was a premium disconnect. Guests didn’t perceive enough value to justify the higher price that Shack Shake charged for the LTO.  “It wasn’t about whether people would buy it, but whether they’d see it as worth it, and the sandwich just felt too familiar to command Shake Shack’s premium positioning,” Katz explained.  “So lesson learned for us, premium brands can’t just chase what’s popular. We have to elevate it and Shake Shack’s best-performing LTOs succeed when we offer something unique, high quality and distinctly Shake Shack.” This sums up the company’s approach to innovation: “We’re not in the game of being the first” to offer a product, Katz said, “but being the best.” “Whether you’re a global quick-service restaurant giant or an emerging fast-casual concept, it’s important to keep growing without losing what made you special in the first place,” she added. Further reading: Shake Shack eyes 1500 stores after strong finish to FY24