Blog

It’s well–known and well–documented that as the relevancy of a given marketing campaign increases, so does guest engagement. For example: a vegan is more likely to respond to a message promoting the new Impossible Burger than one for cheese fries.   

This is why successful segmentation is so critical. For a campaign to be as effective as possible, it needs to be targeted to the right group of guests, based on their behavior; but traditionally, segmentation tools were limited to a single factor, like visit frequency, average spend, or commonly ordered items. 

While this is better than a one-size-fits-all approach, these old methods of segmentation leave marketers with a one-dimensional view of their guests and provide little insight into what various segments have in common, or where they overlap.  

Now, Advanced Segmentation with artificial intelligence – part of the Paytronix AI to IA(sm) solution – is revolutionizing the way marketers segment guests by taking multiple factors into account at once. The proprietary algorithm, trained using 20 years’ worth of data collected across restaurant and convenience store segments nationwide, considers each guest’s total visits, average check size, average days between visits, and their likelihood to lapse.  […]

As the nation celebrates its 35^th annual Women’s History Month, Paytronix is reflecting on the brilliant female leaders across the company.

From software developers to sales account managers to product owners, women make up 33% of the Paytronix workforce – a figure on par with tech industry leaders like Apple, Google, and Microsoft.

Please join us in celebrating some of our esteemed colleagues who make Paytronix the most advanced digital guest experience platform.

[…]

Paytronix recently launched a recurring webinar series featuring some of the top trailblazers in the restaurant and convenience industries. PX Think Beyond is designed to highlight how top executives’ forward thinking transformed their respective brands and enabled them to thrive. The series is hosted by Arjun Sen, CEO of ZenMango and a former Fortune 500 executive.

Watch the first episode for an intimate conversation between Blaine Hurst, former president and CEO of Panera Bread, and Andrew Robbins, CEO of Paytronix Systems, on the future of restaurants.

In this talk, Hurst shares his vision for the future of restaurants, noting that experience and hospitality still comes first. For his part, Robbins looks to the future of omnichannel restaurant experiences, when guests will have the power to choose their own paths to engaging with brands — whether that be on- or off-premises dining — and expresses how important it is for brands to take those interactions to a new, personalized level.

Blaine opens the conversation with the idea that the best way to lead a brand is to create a culture of dissatisfaction where team members believe that the status quo is simply not good enough.  Instead, it’s important to believe that everything can be made better.

Andrew looks at the same thing from a slightly different but overlapping point of view and suggests that brands need to create a culture of paranoia around the guest experience. Think, Andrew suggests, about how to increase the lifetime value of each guest and, by extension, rapidly increase the brand’s value.

Blaine and Andrew’s top strategies for getting to know guests include:

• Understanding their past behavior and where they are going to be in the future;
• Being inquisitive, always asking questions, and never making assumptions;
• Talking to as many people as possible and learning from every conversation;
• Constantly questioning what is possible.

Each failure is an opportunity. Blaine talks about smart failure and dumb failure and the need to pursue everything, even if it does not turn out to be right. After all, you cannot bat at 100%. If an exploration is approaching a dead end, stop. Take the learning and move on.

Personalization is key. Understand why people act the way they do. Why do some guests prefer certain menu items? Why do some order online, while others continue to visit the store? Understand individual preferences for each member of a family – each is different. Personalization is so much more than using an algorithm to put guests in a group. Segments are important, but they should lead to better consumer experiences.

Predict the future. Try to imagine where guest experience is going next. How are lifestyles and work lives changing, and how should your brand operations evolve to meet these changes? How will tomorrow’s technology alter the dine-in landscape, or foster new virtual opportunities for engagement?  

Catch up on Episode 1 of PX Think Beyond for the full conversation with Blaine Hurst and Andrew Robbins as they share their secrets on how to think beyond and take a brand to the next level. Learn how to turn insights into action in a two- to three-year time frame to deliver big wins for your brand.

Sign up for a seat at the table as Paytronix continues Think Beyond to hear from more visionary leaders from top restaurant and convenience store brands about how to drive the industry forward in a challenging market. New episodes in the series will be available throughout 2021.

This week, Newsweek, in partnership with Statista, published a power ranking of the best loyalty programs in the country. We at Paytronix extend our congratulations to our 12 clients who made the list, accounting for more than a quarter of all restaurant brands awarded a place in the ranking, which recognized over 200 brands across 43 categories. 

Huddle House made an impressive showing, coming in as the second-highest rated program across all categories. 

Of the 10 casual dining brands recognized in the Newsweek ranking, five are Paytronix clients, including the top three – Huddle House, Beef O’Brady’s and P.F. Chang’s – along with Lettuce Entertain You and Bloomin’ Brands, which includes restaurants like Outback Steakhouse and Bonefish Grill. 

Caribou Coffee was awarded the highest score of all recognized coffee brands, beating out caffeine giants like Starbucks and Dunkin’ for the top spot. […]