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In today’s economic climate, price plays a pivotal role in a customer’s purchasing decision, but as marketers we understand that value goes beyond financial consideration. Whether that’s time, convenience or even ‘what’s trending’, value carries a different meaning to each customer.
Quick service restaurants (QSR) are working harder than ever to identify, understand and deliver their customers’ ideas of ‘value’ – all while balancing cost versus risk to meet the overarching business objectives and return a steady profit.
We know that some of our customers value time, such as parents buying a birthday cake to avoid the night-before baking stress. Others value consistency, such as those time-poor workers who rely on us to serve their favourite dessert exactly as they like it, no matter which store they visit.
Finding that sweet spot between business priorities and ever-evolving customer needs can be challenging, but understanding and meeting your customer’s priority values can make all the difference.
Here’s what we’ve identified as value at The Cheesecake Shop and why it’s integral to consider every ‘slice’ within your marketing strategy.
Convenience: Time takes the cake
Life’s too short, so eat the cake (don’t bake it). Audience research shows that our everyday customer is consistently time-poor and juggling conflicting priorities, which has created an increased demand for convenience across the QSR sector.
We take pride in helping our customers create sweet memories and ensuring we have products readily available and made on time, with love and care by our local Franchise Partners.
In addition to removing these time constraints in-store, it’s also vital to dedicate resources to digital integration and advancing e-commerce offerings so customers can order anytime, anywhere.
Transparency: Peeling back the layers
Transparency is crucial not only to consumer loyalty and retention but also to inviting new customers to experience a business’s offering. This can create a layer of trust with new audiences and expand your customer base.
When we conducted extensive market research for The Cheesecake Shop’s rebrand in 2023, we discovered that a common brand misconception was that our products were made offsite and brought to stores, which is not the case.
To overcome this barrier and build trust and transparency with our customers, we changed the shopfront view to proudly display our bakeries through the window and in-store. Now, customers can view and smell our bakers cooking with love – from mixing the cake batter to extravagant cake decorating and final frosting touches.
We found this created a more authentic experience for our customers and allowed us to showcase an ‘inside look’ at the heart of our business – the bakeries. Those who value authenticity can now see the love that fills our bakeries on our social media platforms, too.
We’ve embraced viral cake-baking (and decorating) trends on our own channels, tapped into user-generated content through influencer collaborations, launched exciting viral products, and shared unique recipes and ‘hacks’ that reflect our passion for baking and creating products that resonate with our customers.
Product consistency: More than icing on the cake
This comes as no surprise, but customers want – and value – consistent, high-quality brand experiences.
We’re a franchise business with more than 240 locations across Australia and New Zealand, so we have to put in the effort to remain consistent across individual stores and keep our customers’ favourite treats the same, no matter the location.
To meet this expectation, building collaboration across our network is critical. As marketers, we know how crucial it is to shape and maintain brand recognition and recall with existing and new customers. Maintaining consistency across brand look and feel and all public-facing messaging is essential, so customers know exactly who we are and what we offer at every location.
Established brands: Navigating the new versus the nostalgic
Navigating changes with a nostalgic, historic trademark can be challenging, but brands must learn to embrace the new to keep up with customer needs.
Prior to The Cheesecake Shop’s 2023 rebrand, research showed that our existing customer base was incredibly fond of our name, brand and product range but that this nostalgia wasn’t shared by new and younger market segments.
We knew we needed to refresh our narrative and tap into the values our emerging customer bases held dear, but not at the expense of our loyal customers. So, we deliberated closely with these heartland customers to refresh the brand while also respecting the brand offerings they knew and loved.
This resulted in a thoughtful, respectful rebrand that paid homage to The Cheesecake Shop’s rich history and market success, which we leveraged to reengage our existing customers while also tapping into a market less familiar with our offerings.
Production innovation: The sweet spot on size
To remain competitive in the market, it is essential to actively engage in evolving consumer trends, research and customer preferences. As marketers, we know this is crucial to understanding audiences, building brand trust and remaining relevant in a crowded market where you can find almost anything at the click of a button.
All brands should strive continuously to exceed customer expectations, and product innovation is at the forefront of this.
Through audience research, we found that the younger demographic preferred their cake as they did their digital content: bite-sized. This marries with recent industry data that shows a growing demand for snackable products that cater to dietary and lifestyle requirements across the QSR sector. At this discovery, we introduced a brand-new range of ‘Daily Treats’, including cupcakes, loaded cookies and cheesecake-lamingtons.
Creating and driving demand was imperative to the range’s success, and this is where influencer marketing was a success. We understood that by creating exceptional products to fill a gap in the market, word would spread naturally.
Upon the launch of our loaded cookies, we organically connected with and saw key lifestyle and foodie content creators using their channels to ‘taste test’ this brand new product, which resulted in millions of views on TikTok.
We remained faithful to the brand while acknowledging that indulgence comes in various forms, as consumers no longer associate volume or a ‘one size fits all’ approach with value.
Good corporate citizens: Spreading joy with tasty wishes
The era of ‘corporate vampires’ is long gone. We live in a socially conscious world where customers value a company’s ethical conduct more than ever.
Customers value businesses that are more than money-making ventures; there is a genuine curiosity around brand partnerships, team morale, and community support or fundraising.
This year, The Cheesecake Shop partnered with Make-A-Wish® Australia and Make-A-Wish® New Zealand to help change the lives of sick children and teenagers.
We identified the connection between both brands: a joint mission to spread joy and celebrate life’s moments, and we were so proud to launch a three-year partnership that includes local and national fundraising initiatives involving franchise partners, employees and customers.
Understanding and meeting customer expectations around the ever-changing meaning placed on value in an evolving market is the key to a brand’s sustained success. With a powerful marketing strategy and the right team committed to learning about and responding to these values, your brand can deliver genuine bang for your customers’ buck.
Rebecca Barnes is the chief marketing officer at The Cheesecake Shop. She works to deliver the brand story through its core purpose of helping families, friends, communities and workplaces celebrate life’s sweet moments.
