Mobile marketing maturity: How QSR brands can bridge the gap

This article first appeared on The Drum

Like several other businesses, quick-service restaurants (QSRs) have been adversely affected by global lockdowns in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. While much of the population stayed at home, once-bustling restaurants and cafés quickly emptied. A few QSR chains were able to buck this trend, however, as demand in takeout and delivery increased, forcing these brands to undergo a long-awaited digital transformation.

Now, as lockdowns around the world begin to ease, mobile continues to take center stage in determining the growth of QSRs. According to leading publisher QSR magazine, consumers will continue to use mobile apps for food delivery post-lockdown and are likely to spend more on food delivery now than before the pandemic. As a result of a significant increase in internet users and download speeds in the region, consumers in Southeast Asia are increasingly moving from mobile-first to being mobile-only. Hootsuite reported that an average Southeast Asian spends up to 11 hours on the internet every day in 2021, considerably more than the global average (about 7 hours) and primarily through mobile devices.

The era of mobile marketing maturity

Digital Marketing Maturity (DMM) refers to a brand's ability to respond and adapt to disruptive technology trends to deliver a seamless brand experience to its consumers. The higher the brand's expertise in delivering measurable outcomes and meeting consumer expectations, the higher their DMM. According to Boston Consulting Group, companies that achieve the highest level of DMM report 30% cost savings and 20% increased revenues.

In 2021, attaining high DMM in Southeast Asia has become synonymous with attaining high Mobile Marketing Maturity (3M). 3M emphasizes creating valuable mobile experiences for consumers by focusing on mobile-first consumer intelligence, mobile video, and programmatic.

Roadmap for QSR brands to achieve mobile marketing maturity

In this new normal, QSR brands must drive the right mobile marketing strategy to meaningfully connect with their consumers. Given the dominance of mobile in driving sales, here’s our take on how brands can develop Mobile Marketing Maturity to level up their marketing goals.

1. Drive immersive experiences with Mobile Video

With carefully designed mobile video ad layouts, QSR brands can deliver visually rich, contextually aware brand narratives and offerings. Rich media mobile ad technology provides highly immersive interactive experiences which lead to deeper consumer-to-brand conversations, which in turn enhances engagement and drastically improves brand recall and purchase intent.

2. Location targeting strategies

Decisions about where and what to eat are often made spontaneously. Most people make their meal decisions the same day, and QSR dining decisions are even more impulsive. Location targeting strategies will help influence consumers' decisions with precision and efficiency. Leveraging the right location solutions to define precise polygons and targeting nearby consumers within a particular radius who are looking for quick hot meals can make all the difference.

You should deliver tailored messaging that align with consumers’ changing mindsets throughout the day to influence breakfast, lunch, dinner, or late-night cravings, to drive orders and visit rates to increase sales.

3. Footfall attribution

The fast-food/QSR industry is a highly saturated market, and key locations are often heavily clustered with direct competitors, located in close vicinity to each other. With footfall attribution, brands can analyze offline behavior and determine the footfall uplift to their stores. This helps brands that want to increase visit rates and evaluate the return on investment of their advertising campaigns.

Mobile is an extension of nearly every consumer’s constant journey. Fast-casual and quick-service restaurants should invest in the right channels to expand convenience, putting their brands in front of agile guests. By investing in the right technology, QSR brands can provide their audiences with mouth-watering mobile experiences at scale while maximizing their campaign efficiencies and brand impact.

Interested in learning more about taking your QSR brand to the next level in Southeast Asia? Download InMobi’s Guide to Mobile Marketing Maturity for QSR brands here: https://go.inmobi.com/2021-qsr-3m-sea/