A Better Brand Reinvention
The restaurant space is about as competitive as it gets. Established chains with thousands of locations, emerging chains that offer new and interesting experiences, and cool independent restaurants on every corner. The customer is in the driver's seat, and getting their attention and loyalty has never been more challenging. New shiny objects are falling from the sky, popping up on every corner, and performing for your viewing pleasure in every one of your social media feeds. Today, your brand has to deliver something unique and special at every physical and virtual touch point.
This was even more important for a brand like Del Taco which had 600 locations and is the second largest Mexican quick service restaurant to the 800-pound gorilla Taco Bell. You don’t want to be a “me too” brand. To win, you have to be a disruptive “Better” brand.
Spinning A Better Flywheel
The flywheel model puts the guest at the center of the experience and enhances the customer journey for new, medium, and heavy users ultimately getting the flywheel to start turning faster with momentum from the acceleration of growing brand advocacy. The elements of the flywheel provide a focus on the areas that will provide the fuel for the growing and sustaining advocacy that will drive significant sales and growth.
For Del Taco, the flywheel was constructed with operational elements at the top and marketing-facing elements at the bottom. However, in a flywheel strategy, there is no top or bottom. All elements need to be activated and contributing to truly create the disruptive momentum for significant brand acceleration.
Better Mex Marketing Elements
Better Brand Identity
Clear positioning and brand differentiation.
Better Product Catalysts
Products that command your attention and produce active engagement through trial and positive social sharing.
Better Sub-brands & Occasions
Product categories that are strong core differentiated brand anchors qualify as sub-brands and products/categories that expand occasions.
Better Restaurants
Reimaging and operationally improving restaurants to improve the guest experience and send a loud signal to the market about the new brand momentum.
Better Mex Operational Elements
Better For Our People
Everyone knows the right people make the magic happen.
Make Operations Easier
The easier it is to deliver the brand consistently, the greater retention of both people and the all-important customer.
Do Ops Basics Better
Identify core contributing success factors for the brand and be unrelenting in executing them perfectly.
Better Guest Experience
It needs to be differentiating, satisfying, and emotionally motivating.
Better Results
This brand reinvention strategy produced improvements on all fronts contributing to the momentum of the flywheel delivering record sales results and a foundation for future growth including new franchise development agreements and an impressive remodel schedule across the brand.
Better Mex Marketing Results
Better Brand Identity
Clear positioning and brand differentiation messaging through the implementation of the Del Taco Better Mex story.
Better Product Catalysts
Products like Epic Tortas, Fruit Popping Boba drinks and shakes, Honey Chipotle BBQ Brisket, and Shredded Beef Birria Ramen drove record sales by attracting new customer segments and setting the brand apart from Taco Bell. Shredded Beef Birria Ramen also won the coveted Best Limited Time Offer Menu Masters Award from Nation’s Restaurant News.
Better Sub-brands & Occasions
The 20 Under $2 everyday value menu delivered a sub-brand unrivaled by any quick-service chain in the country.
Better Restaurants
The new Del Taco Fresh Flex design was successful enough to motivate both the company and franchisees to build new or reimage existing locations throughout 30% of the system following the initial testing phase.
Better Mex Operational Results
Better For Our People
Improved retention and job satisfaction.
Make Operations Easier
Ops simplification deleting over 50 items, 25 SKU’s, and additional prep procedures that streamlined the operations of the business and improved order accuracy and consistency of products.
Do Ops Basics Better
With an improved operating system, management was able to focus more on the key ingredients to running the brand at the restaurant level.
Better Guest Experience
Substantially decreased negative guest complaints, increased positive guest comments, and improved order accuracy.
better mex brand reinvention Examples
Better Restaurants
The Del Taco “Menu of Venues” Reimage Strategy turned heads, turned more tacos, and signed more development agreements to expand the brand.
Better Product Catalysts
Must-try products and categories that created trial, social buzz, and material organic conversations that changed the perception of the brand from a “me-too” follower to an innovative leadership position with cultural and culinary momentum.
Better Sub-brands & Occasions
“The Last Great Value Menu”, Epic Burritos with “Everything Fresh” proof of promise, and The Best Fast Food Taco In America all told a powerful category leadership story of the kind of Better you can expect at Del Taco every day.