2023 Agenda

Join us June 12th for the our DEI Panel and the pre-event cocktail reception from 5:00 to 7:00pm

Addressing the Issue of Diversity and Inclusion within one of the Fastest Growing Legacy Industries

• What are the first steps to take in addressing the diversity gap within your organization?
• Best practices in creating an inclusive culture within your existing team?
• What are the tools you can use to better ensure diversity in your hiring practices?
• How do you gauge the success or your diversity and inclusion initiatives?

Andy Hooper

Building the Restaurant of the Future

• How to harness technology to build better customer experiences and a more efficient, sustainable operating model
• Taking a multi channel approach to order taking while empowering your kitchen team to always be one step ahead
• Why it’s critical to understand and lay out your business goals before embarking on a digital transformation journey
• Choose technology partnerships that will support you in your digital transformation over the  long term rather than relying on reactive short term fixes to problems as they emerge

Zack Oates

Levering Customer Feedback as a Source of Competitive Advantage

• Understanding how your on- and off-premises customers are feeling and using those insights to fix problems as they come up
• Uncover hidden trends to drive customer satisfaction and improve retention
• Creating a tailored feedback experience designed to get you the information you need when you need it

Sergio Pérez

Leveraging Technology to Create a Truly Differentiated Guest Experience

• Best practices in selecting the right technology providers for each facet of your digitization journey
• How to create an online presence that mirrors your unique in-store experience
• Backing up that unique experience by delivering operationally so as to meet and exceed your customers’ expectations
• Tying everything together with a bespoke loyalty program that resonates with customers on a highly personal level

Innovation Lounge sponsored by

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Dig Insights

Saving your Front-Line Manager: How to Prevent Burnout, Retain Talent, and Optimize Output

• Recognizing the pain-points and stressors that your front-line managers face on a daily basis
• How legacy communication, feedback, training, and execution systems are contributing to front-line manager burnout
• Understanding the training and technology that can be used to empower front-line managers with the resources they need to avoid burnout and maximize productivity

Harold Walters
CEO & Co-Founder
Shootz Hawaiian 

Consolidating and Focusing on the Right Data to Optimize Demand Planning and Labor, and Manage Food Waste

• QSRs will need to show direct and consistent value in order to remain competitive as consumers’ wallets continue to tighten 
• Learn from QSRs on how to deliver value and consistency 
• Empower restaurant managers by giving them access to the data they need to make informed, in-the-moment decisions
• Using data to automate the flow of inventory, track waste, identify inefficient station scheduling, and adjust production pacing

Roman Tsarovsky
CEO
Ally

Using Artificial Intelligence to Create a Curated Customer Experience

• Using AI to make restaurant visits more consistent and predictable, with improvements to speed of service and order accuracy
• Creating a more bespoke purchasing experience by using AI to analyze customer purchasing habits to make educated recommendations regarding drinks and side-orders
• How to effectively leverage AI and automation without losing the human connection

Leveraging Efficient Multi-Channel Ordering for America’s Fastest Growing Chain Restaurants

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Creative Realities

Elevating your Brand through Visual Displays

Solomon Choi

Starting, Scaling, and Selling your Company on a Foundation of Exceptional Customer Experience

• Why it’s critical to understand the market, what works, what doesn’t, and to build a brand that speaks to what customers are looking for
• How to evaluate and select the right technologies and technology providers to help scale up your restaurant in a way that resonates with new and existing customers
• Understanding the different ways that technology can help grow your brand, from helping you expand quickly and seamlessly into to new markets to growing sales at existing locations
• Creating an exit strategy that preserves the differentiated nature of your brand and allows it to continue to deliver an exceptional customer experience after your departure

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Uberall

Recognizing that Technology is no Longer a Source of Competitive Advantage

• In QSRs and Fast Casuals, convenience enabled by technology is now a requirement rather than a differentiator
• To win, restaurants need to leverage technologies and systems beyond merely creating efficiency to create ‘moments of truth’ and deliver a unique brand experience
• Key techniques for developing a system that feels fast, while at the same time emphasizes the different elements of the brand experience

Innovation Lounge sponsored by

How to Develop a Differentiated Loyalty Program

• How have loyalty programs evolved since the end of the pandemic?
• How can you create a differentiated and highly personalized loyalty program in a highly crowded space?
• What common pitfalls should you be aware of when designing your loyalty program?
• How can brands effectively leverage their loyalty program as part of their overall expansion plans?

TBD

Leveraging Automation and Data Analytics to Streamline Restaurant Operations

• How to advance kitchen operations from siloed, manual and reactive processes, to transparent, automated ones
• Using your data to lower labor costs and free up bandwidth so employees can be free to focus on customer facing activities
• Minimize food waste by using demand forecasting to cut down on loss, excess, and misuse

Josh Halpern
CEO
Big Chicken

Getting to the Heart of Customer Loyalty

• Understanding why customers no longer feel connected with your brand and why that chasm can’t be bridged though technology
• Recognizing that with changing demographics and increasing transparency has shifted what consumers are looking for out of brands
• Exploring what Big Chicken is doing to help close the gap for both staff and consumers

Manish Dhankher

Using an Omnichannel Approach to Effectively Reach Guests and Improve the Customer Experience

• How are we effectively reaching guests now that the customer’s buying habits have changed?
• Best practices for maximizing ROI from your text messaging subscriber base
• Improving satisfaction and driving growth through the use of digital advertising, loyalty programs, online ordering, apps, cashless payment, and social media
• Leveraging digital capabilities to drive engagement and customer experience – Balancing the omnichannel experience between in-person and online/in-app touchpoints

Luis Velasco

Leveraging your Marketing Toolkit to Make your Grand Opening a Success

• Understanding your customer demographics and leveraging the right social media platforms to create buzz around the event
• How to effectively use sidebars, pop ups, and banners on your website to draw attention to the event
• Tying it all together with press releases and an effective email marketing campaign
• Recognizing that an effective marketing campaign can not only lead to a successful grand opening, but can help you ramp up quickly and shorten your time to profitability

Ben Kaplan
Co-Founder & CEO
PLNT Burger

Incorporating Plant-Based Foods into your Menu and Brand

Innovation Lounge sponsored by

Brooke Perry

Enhancing Customer Experience and Engaging with Guests Through Digitization

• Working with customers and other stakeholders to understand what their needs are
• Redesigning your website and apps to create a more intuitive, streamlined ordering experience
• Standing out among the crowd: how to create apps that drive value for both guests and your brand

Rob Meng
Founder & CEO
FasterLines

Digital Transformation of Speed Of Service Data Collection

• Speed is the first ingredient of customer satisfaction
• The history and transformation of multi-site collection methods
• Compare and contrast ways of getting visibility to this critical data    
• Transformative ways of tracking this critical customer satisfaction metric for cars AND PEOPLE

Chris Smith

How Mobile Ordering Has Redefined the Customer Journey

• Understanding how the pandemic has changed mobile ordering from a source of steady growth into an essential component of your digital strategy
• Adapting your marketing, point of sale and customer loyalty operations accordingly to keep pace with increasing on-demand customer expectations.
• Examining the impact that consumer’s online needs and expectations are having on the offline experience
• Leveraging your apps to take an all-in-one approach to draw in and maintain new customers

Kristin Lynch
Director of Strategy & Analytics
Paytronix

Creating a Personalized Experience through Online Ordering

• How the shift to mobile and online ordering has allowed QSRs and Fast Casuals to create a more curated customer experience
• Using targeted discounts and online profiles to create a bespoke experience
• Leveraging purchasing habits to expedite the ordering process

Leveraging Social Media to Create New Opportunities to Engage with Gen Z

• How are Fast Casuals and QSRs leveraging social media platforms to better connect with Gen Z?
• How do newer players in the social media space differ from legacy platforms, how has your strategy evolved over the last few years?
• What type of content typically gets the most attention and garners the most engagement?
• How do you envision social media changing over the next year and how do you plan to adapt to that change?
• What are the best practices to employ when advertising on the different social media platforms, ie: Facebook / TikTok / Snapchat / Instagram / Google Ads?

Geoff Alexander

Developing an Omni-Channel Business – A Look into the Wow Bao Journey 

• How a focus on customer experience has led QSRs to adopt an omni-channel approach to servicing customers
• Understanding what your customers want from their shopping experience and investing in the right technology to meet those needs
• How Wow Bao has taken omni-channel to a whole new level by leveraging tech to create a consistent, contactless ordering experience
• Understanding how Web3 and NFTs can be incorporated into your brand to redefine how customers engage and make purchases