Qdoba Mexican Grill, the home of handcrafted, fresh, fast-casual Mexican cuisine, is among the nation’s largest Mexican fast-casual chains. In spite of the chain’s growth in an emerging sector, Qdoba knows the value of brand loyal guests- with data showing members of a loyalty group spend at least $2 more per visit. Qdoba looked to Tetherball to diversify their communication strategy and to stay top of mind in a noisy market.

CHALLENGE

1. Effectively extend communication and rewards to loyal guests to continue driving traffic into the stores.

2. To develop brand recognition in local communities and send relevant and compelling offers based on the unique make-up of each community.

3.Test strategies to drive traffic during slow periods.

THE SOLUTION

Tetherball provided a SMS solution tailored for Qdoba. Members were acquired in-store, at community and college campus events, and with collateral material. Targeted messages were delivered offering exclusive discounts and product announcements to drive in store traffic and to create an intimate relationship between consumers and the brand. Messages were also customized based on member demographics and interests. This included targeting efforts around late night offers for college communities and Qdoba sponsored community and athletic events, such as local festivals and game day trivia segments. Through basic integration with the preexisting Qdoba POS system, we were able to develop a tracking strategy using promotional codes, included in offer messages.

THE RESULTS

70% Growth

Qdoba Mobile Rewards has seen exponential growth throughout the program. On average, each participating store has over 300 members, and as high as 750 members. A single store demonstrated the impact of viral growth, seeing 70% growth during a three-hour window. Not only does Qdoba’s membership and brand recognition continue to grow, their ROI steadily increases. In addition to a positive ROI, the program sees higher redemption rates than the industry average; it has seen as high as 41% redemption and an average of 21.6%.