Mitchells & Butlers’ (M&B) omnichannel approach to its digital strategy has yielded encouraging returns, with the move towards personalised communications being a transformative part of the strategy.
Richard Whitehouse, director of digital product and transformation, told delegates at MCA’s Hostech conference last week that M&B is particularly conscious about personalisation and brand identity, given its multiple brands and varied range of customers.
“We want to maintain a brand identity and there’s value in that from a brand perspective,” Whitehouse said. “We make sure the value exchange is clear.”
Last year, the All Bar One and Harvester operator introduced assisted brand consent, allowing customers to engage with not only one brand but the entire group when registering for the loyalty scheme.
This has seen a “relatively high” opt-in rate, according to Whitehouse.
“The danger is, if you go out there as one big group you lose some of that brand-specific identity,” he added. “Our strategy is very much to appeal to different parts of the market, whether the value end or premium.”
The loyalty scheme is also tailored by audience. While offering personalised rewards and spend-based incentives across the board, it is packaged into a “more VIP” experience for premium businesses.
“We’re good at harnessing the psychology of joining a club, especially in premium businesses… there is a clear value exchange to incentivise people to sign up.”
“This mirrors the in-store experience so we don’t overburden team members at the restaurant.”
Whitehouse also pointed out that targeting specific audiences on social networks can be expensive, with monitoring and quantifying results a key priority for M&B.
Another focus is to harmonise the gateways for customers engaging with the group online and through bricks-and-mortar to better track transactions and behaviour.
“In terms of the broader strategy, the more touchpoints you have, the better,” he added. “That gives you a bigger picture of what the customers are up to.”
M&B collects data across touchpoints for “that 360-degree view,” but Whitehouse emphasised that the most valuable data comes from the loyalty programme.
“It’s the richest data set. We can track the customer quite clearly across different channels.”
He also revealed the business is in the early stages of experimenting with generative AI, using it for website copy so as to increase conversion.
“We are treading carefully in terms of managing the customer,” Whitehouse explained. “Looking at the broader marketplace around the use of AI…there’s a role for the human angle from a quality perspective.
“From a decision-making perspective, the speed of operations is hugely exciting.”
