The Power of LTOs, Loyalty, & Putting the Guest First | Steve Smyth

Restaurant Rocket Fuel

Steve Smyth, the director of restaurant technology for Taco John's International, shares his experiences of implementing technology in the restaurant industry. Taco John's, a legacy brand known for its tacos and burritos, has been using technology to enhance the guest experience and improve communication. They have implemented mobile ordering, loyalty programs, and third-party delivery services. Taco John's focuses on putting the guest first and continually gathering feedback to improve their app and offerings. They also prioritize limited-time offers (LTOs) to provide novelty and value to their customers. The brand's commitment to innovation and customer-centric approach has contributed to its success.

Keywords
restaurant technology, Taco John's, mobile ordering, loyalty programs, guest experience, communication, limited-time offers, innovation

Takeaways

• Taco John's has been using technology to enhance the guest experience and improve communication.
• They prioritize putting the guest first and continually gather feedback to improve their app and offerings.
• Limited-time offers (LTOs) play a crucial role in providing novelty and value to customers.
• The brand's commitment to innovation and customer-centric approach has contributed to its success.

Sound Bites

• "The very first time that we sent a mobile order to a restaurant was probably one of the most exciting moments of at least my career in restaurant tech."
• "Our guests are just extremely loyal to potato lays. I don't know if you've ever seen the comments online. It is, it's just unbelievable how committed they are to, uh, to great tasting potatoes at Taco John's."
• "The amount of work that goes into those LTOs, I mean, from the conception part to the, you know, the ideation to actually bringing it to life, getting it into our restaurants in the test phase. I mean, those are like, it's like six months to get an LTO into, into production."

Chapters

00:00 - Introduction and Background

03:04 - The Role of Technology in Marketing

05:24 - Customer Communication and Marketing Solutions

08:25 - Putting the Guest First: Training and Feedback

10:25 - Loyalty Programs and Incentivizing Repeat Purchases

12:57 - Gathering and Acting on Customer Feedback

16:06 - The Importance of Limited-Time Offers (LTOs)

22:06 - Innovation and the Future of Taco John's

22:56 - Conclusion