New Trends - QSR and Fast Casual POP Promotion in 2012
Where will the QSR or Fast Casual industry be one year from now?
That’s not the easiest question to answer, especially given the flux of our economy in the last few years. With 2012 in full swing, businesses are evaluating the effectiveness last year’s marketing agendas and planning new products and services that will attract and retain customers.
QSR magazine has a great article highlighting the top seven QSR trends for 2012. Their list includes creating double-sided menus, premium item spending, embracing new family definitions, emphasis on clean, organic and hand made products, bargain hunting and on-line ordering.
The overall message is that QSR and Fast Casual concepts will be adapting to an environment of segmented individuals. While to concept of marketing different products to different segments is not a new concept, creating products and services to meet almost all segments is. In the last few years, QSR’s have focused the majority of their efforts on creating value through lower prices to their customers. Hence the creation and evolution of dollar menus.
Going forward, restaurant chains will need to meet the needs of the price conscious, the health driven, and those individuals that are looking for indulgence in their life. In order to do so, chains will need to not only create new products but also market them in different ways. At the store level, chains will need to display point of purchase marketing all different audiences in a clean, clear and concise manner.
Not only will QSR and Fast Casual chains need to address the evolutionary change in audience needs and learn to market in a different way, they will also need to figure out how to comply with new federal labeling regulations. It is expected that in 2012, Fast Casual and QSR chains with more than 20 outlets will need to follow guidelines put in place by the FDA for transparency of nutrition. Menu boards, drive thru elements and hand held menus will need to be updated with nutritional information.
With all of these elements of change in the air, how does a chain implement new promotions in an efficient and effective manner? Chains already have their hands full juggling new stores, new products, and new marketing efforts with a reduced staff. Moving forward, chains will need to find ways to make the POP Promotion process more efficient. They will be leaning on suppliers like Serigraph to ensure all point of purchase meets their needs and gets to the right stores, at the right time, in the right condition, on time, every time. These chains will need an experienced, proven point-of-purchase company to easily guide them through the process while showing ways to improve their bottom line.
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