Episode 18 - Erin Levzow
Jenifer Kern: [00:00:00] Hello everyone and welcome back to Restaurants Reinvented. I'm Jen Kern your hostess here at the show. And today I'm joined with Erin Levzow, the VP of marketing technology at Del Taco and she's new in that position. So I'm really excited to hear everything that's going on at Del Taco, between marketing and technology, and hopefully bringing it all together.
[00:00:45] Hi Erin.
[00:00:46] Erin Levzow: [00:00:46] Hi, thanks for having me.
[00:00:48] Jenifer Kern: [00:00:48] Yeah. Thanks for joining. I'm really excited. I'm actually doing taco month,
[00:00:51] Erin Levzow: [00:00:51] Oh, wonderful.
[00:00:53] Jenifer Kern: [00:00:53] So I think was it October 3rd was like national taco day. So I did Fuzzies last week, Laura Purser from fuzzies, doing you this week, and then I'm trying to get Torchy's I'm hoping for Torchy's too.
[00:01:04] So we'll have three taco chains in a row and, We do like Torchy's living in Texas. I love eating Torchy's
[00:01:11] yeah. Well, the problem is I'm an East coast girl, so I've never been to Del taco or Torchy's
[00:01:17] Erin Levzow: [00:01:17] Oh no.
[00:01:18] Jenifer Kern: [00:01:18] Yeah, I know it's terrible. And I had never been to fuzzies either, but you know what? There's one in Charlottesville. I got in the car this weekend with my husband and we did a two and a half hour road trip to go to Fuzzies.
[00:01:26] It was awesome.
[00:01:27] Erin Levzow: [00:01:27] What else is there to do? What else is there to do right now? Taste his food. I'm like salivating. They have a new, fried chicken taco.
[00:01:35] Yeah, we have crispy chicken it is delicious. And we just launched Cholula crispy chicken tacos.
[00:01:42] Jenifer Kern: [00:01:42] Oh, it's beautiful. It's a beautiful thing. So let's hear about you and give our listeners a little background. I know you've been around and you actually been a CMO. You have a really strong background in the industry and in other industries. So just, where have you been and what led you to where you are today at Del taco?
[00:01:59] Erin Levzow: [00:01:59] Yeah, absolutely. I guess long story short, I have worked in many industries, retail, restaurant, hotel, hospitality, casino. I grew up in Illinois, lived in Vegas for 10 years, then went to Dallas then to Austin. Now I live up in Wisconsin, but I worked for a West coast company. I have worked on the agency side in marketing technology and I grew up through technology, So my first job was in internet marketing for Caesars corporate. And so I never came from a traditional side to learn the digital side. That was my bread and butter. so it was a nice, easy transition to understanding technology and how people think about it. I first joined the restaurant industry when I left Vegas and I loved Vegas. I loved living in Vegas. The only reason I really left is because, I decided I wanted to raise my kids somewhere more like where I grew up I thought, and I didn't really know. Like I had a kid and I had like baby amnesia and was like, let's leave. Let's go somewhere.
[00:02:51] And so we moved to Dallas and I worked for Wingstop restaurants. And that was, I remember in the interview, someone asking me like, what's your favorite wing? And I was like, I've never really had wings. I don't really like them. And I remember thinking, like I told my husband about that and he goes, you are so not getting the job.
[00:03:08] And I was like, ah, I don't know, should I have lied? And he's like, yeah, you should have lied I was like, Oh, okay. But they gave me the job and now I love wings and I love lemon pepper wings. If anybody asks, I really do. They're so good.
[00:03:18] Jenifer Kern: [00:03:18] Those are my favorite when you were saying which one that's we get the lemon pepper and the OB
[00:03:23] Erin Levzow: [00:03:23] Yeah. Yes.
[00:03:24] So good. And they're good like I'll eat them cold.
[00:03:26] Cause they're so good. Like I'll stick them in the fridge and you keep eating them. now I love them and it's funny because everywhere, like I've worked, I grow to love the product, but it turns out you don't have to be a wing kind of sewer to be a good marketer. You don't have to stay in hotels all the time to be able to market hotel rooms.
[00:03:43] So I don't think that's a bearing on my marketing skills I think it's really just are you going to love what you get to be around all the time so now Wingstop led me to Austin to Freebirds which also wasn't a huge like I didn't eat a lot of burritos before working there And now I'm like I love burritos Why wouldn't you want all your food wrapped together like that's great that's how I feel about breakfast tacos now too like why would I eat any of these foods separately Like they should always be rolled together And then up to Milwaukee where I worked most recently for Marcus hotels and resorts as their CMO and received a great opportunity about I don't know five weeks ago now to work for Del taco and we'll continue to stay in Wisconsin and I'll go out to California wherever I'm needed whenever I'm needed And get to talk about tacos
[00:04:27] Jenifer Kern: [00:04:27] Yes love it And for folks that aren't familiar with Del taco quick overview number locations how did it get started
[00:04:35] Erin Levzow: [00:04:35] So it was started many many years ago so it's been around longer than I even realized it was around when I was researching it They have 600 restaurants and continuing to grow They have both corporate and franchise restaurants which is amazing to be able to have work for a company that Not only they're say Hey we have a stake in the game but then they also have franchised restaurants And so being able to work with our franchisees and it's been a while since Wingstop where I was really working Day in and day out with franchisees And I really enjoy it because they care most about their business They're supposed to Del taco serves tacos They have the Del burger you can get burgers and crinkle fries and the fries You can get loaded fries with just about any topping you can imagine on it they have many different types of tacos burritos everything QSR plus right So it kinda sits in a nice area between A taco bell and a Chipotle which is really nice but yeah it's been a wild ride and I'm still learning
[00:05:31] Jenifer Kern: [00:05:31] Yes Yes And what's the split between franchisee and corporate
[00:05:36] Erin Levzow: [00:05:36] I believe it's around 200 400 so 200 corporate
[00:05:39] Jenifer Kern: [00:05:39] Okay Yeah that is great
[00:05:40] Erin Levzow: [00:05:40] Off in that number but I'm sure my website would tell me that
[00:05:43] Jenifer Kern: [00:05:43] Yeah Yeah That is an interesting cause usually it's like all franchisees Or all corporate or just a couple corporate and then the rest franchisees So that is an interesting balance there
[00:05:54] Erin Levzow: [00:05:54] And that's how Marcus was Cause we had Hiltons the Marriotts and those are franchised concepts as well very similar
[00:06:00] Jenifer Kern: [00:06:00] Yeah So you got your start in internet marketing I haven't heard that term in awhile I love that I love that internet marketing Yeah I remember when digital first infused with marketing and that was all the rage right The web marketing internet marketing And I was so encouraged when I saw your promotion and the position and the title being vice president of marketing technology Cause like I said I haven't seen that in this industry yet and obviously the timing is very good restaurants have been a little behind when it comes to technology for all the right reasons the brick and mortar it's hard to integrate it all and now it's boom gotta have it Gotta have it So tell me about some of the things that you've done in the past in terms of really cutting your teeth and internet marketing and in technology and what you're bringing to Del taco Today
[00:06:49] Erin Levzow: [00:06:49] it used to be I liken it to when I was little I was like do I want to be a famous actor Or do I want to be a lawyer and being a lawyer you study for years and you need that wealth of knowledge and you pull from that all the time In digital marketing you do the same you pull from it but you're also creating new Yeah Digital is always different all the time in ever-changing So it's funny when you said internet marketing was kind of the old school term It totally was And in internet marketing that's where we were Talking about like that's where your original ad networks were right First you bought site direct You were like I need to talk to CNN Like I need to be on their website And then it was like no I can buy through an ad network And that ad network was going to bring all these pieces these specific sites together and then they bought them up front and they would tell scene and we're going to buy these specific banner ads on your site And then B kept changing And now we're talking about programmatic and realtime bidding and on the DSPs and I can do white glove service or not white glove service And you think about that was really only like 10 years ago that we were talking about state direct and now we're talking about here's how we can bid And I explain it to folks that work with me imagine that right movie I think it's inside out or upside but cartoon movie about emotion Yeah And they're like in like inside of a brain and it's a little stack exchange and they're bidding on this inventory in real time And I said that's what we get to do every day How exciting is that each job I've been able to take that and cultivate it And so restaurant wise working at Wingstop we had online ordering but when I started there it was so archaic that like you had to try and do math To order wings because they be like do you want to order the 30 piece But you couldn't be like I want 15 and 15 So you had to start plugging in and it went to add them up So at the end it would be like wrong and he'd be like what did I do wrong Oh 15 and 10 and five Is that not 30 I thought I did 30 I don't know we rolled out an entire new online ordering platform and people kept going well wings are easy to order Well no because you have boneless and bone in and you have 11 different flavors and there's multiple variations and people want half bone in half this or five of this and 20 of this And so many there's literally thousands of combinations So building kind of a sliding rule where you could choose how many of each you didn't have to do Math was a really big deal And so taking that and growing I went to Hathaway where I worked on the agency side working in MarTech and messaging architecture and CRM and loyalty on many different big brand clients but it always changed everything I've done And the reason I tell the beginning story is because the same way I do it today is not the same way I did it yesterday or the day before that And what I have is a nice foundation to grow off of and history to pull from But every day I'm learning something new and there's still days where someone will say here's how we built it why did we build it that way Why are we doing it that way So I think that has helped lead me to this role and what we can build for the future But I'll tell you I'm probably going to learn something new tomorrow about how we're going to build it too
[00:09:45] Jenifer Kern: [00:09:45] Yeah I love that digital is always changing and I was telling you was at restaurant next the restaurant technology network and same people that do MarTech hospitality tech puts on the last two days And there's a lot of new stuff out there And I'm thinking dang these poor operators like they were bombarded with tech before and now there's so many new shiny with like how are we going to do curbside faster How are we going to do contactless How we're going to do voice AI like all these things right and for me I kind of went back and I thought wow like that's a lot and you all have a lot on your plate where are you focused today
[00:10:22] Erin Levzow: [00:10:22] I'm still learning However I think when you talk to marketers and I'm not dissimilar y'all want a one stop shop but not everyone Staff has the best in breed of everything and that's the hardest part So then you have all these folks who have the best one piece of the product and so tying it all together So making sure your foundation is safe and stable And I think of it as if you build your house out of twigs I explained it to my kids too The foundation of anything It's the three little pigs mentality If you build it out it's going to fall down and that's what I'm doing right now is just let's look at the foundation What do we have going on and how do we build up from there the great news is Del taco has been around for a long time and they actually have a really solid foundation in place and that's really exciting and fun And I was able to join my boss is amazing Our CEO is amazing they want to cultivate marketing and grow it and They have lofty aspirations but not unruly They're not asking for the world on a shoestring budget They're really looking at it realistically which is exciting
[00:11:19] Jenifer Kern: [00:11:19] that foundation is so important can you share a little bit with our listeners about what makes up your strong foundation and how are you tying all those things together I know one of the releases said That it emphasizes that in your role your strategic and your integrated programs So how are you tying all those things and what are the things that you're tying together And even if we can get into talking about APS I would love it
[00:11:42] Erin Levzow: [00:11:42] So we do have an app currently that people can download And if you download our app I believe you get two free tacos just for downloading the app which is outstanding in case anybody's listening they're hungry we have email and that's all integrated under our punch platform which Has been around for a while now And that is a really solid foundation Punch works with a lot of restaurants in there And we do look at our data seriously but that's where I would say we have the foundation and integration that way whether it's through reporting or whatever it might be And then in the future that's what we can build off of and up for I would say that What does our future hold I think my press release actually said has a focus in loyalty and CRM And I would tell you that's what our future holds is What does that look like now I think the word loyalty gets a really bad rap I think people think of loyalty They think of okay come in nine times get the 10th free or earn X amount of points And like I don't think about it that way I think about loyalty as like When I used to do training and development we would say loyalty is creating employees who have a sense of purpose and pride That creates loyalty And so how do you give that to a customer How do you help incite the feeling there's purpose behind what they're doing eating and think about the brands that you love there's purpose there right Like you're helping something you're giving back Maybe you feel good about that The way the product was made or The care that was taken into it and then pride meaning you want to tell people you eat it right you're like Hey look what I'm doing That creates loyalty And how do you do that I think the word personalization gets thrown around a lot and I always ask people what does that mean to you What does personalized They're like personalized like they're just talking to me And I was like so it's a feeling you're saying like personalization is a feeling And they're like well no It's like how do you make sure my offer is different from their offer And I was like that's not necessarily personalization as much as maybe micro-segmentation and you start to get into a really big argument or conversation around what is personalization And everybody keeps saying we have a personalized experience Do you or is it just like you took math mentation and you took it one step down and now you're calling it personalized or micro segmentation then the personalization but I don't know very many brands who have truly personalized service I think a lot of times and budget wise it's better to do micro-segmentation you might see the same results so like I said I have a lot of opinions on this landscape again going back to the one stop shop if it was that easy that would be fantastic I don't think it Will or is so because of that I think that's where those API integrations have to be really thoughtful It's interesting Nowadays anybody you talk to goes Oh yeah we have APIs we can plug anything in but when you start really getting in the weeds you're like but can you and who's writing this am I writing to you Are you writing to me And how is that working and that's been the fun part So like I'm not a big Believer in RFPs because I think an RFP actually it's like a meaningless conversation you get out of the way in order to get to the meat of the conversation I'd rather jump into the meat of the conversation
[00:14:35] Jenifer Kern: [00:14:35] Yeah Brimfield that one We definitely agree with you on that one Sometimes we have people come and say we're going to put an RFP together and we're like wait stop
[00:14:42] Erin Levzow: [00:14:42] Yeah Seems like a lot of work
[00:14:46] Jenifer Kern: [00:14:46] Yeah So cool Now tell me within the organization where are you sitting mean Obviously I know you're reporting to the COO but tell me how you're interfacing with the tech team Because it sounds like a lot of the things you're doing are clearly there's that gray line right CRM
[00:15:04] Erin Levzow: [00:15:04] So the good news is I get to be friends with everyone so nothing I do ever in my entire life can be done without operations support So if it can't come to me life in a restaurant there's no point in doing it right I can create the coolest castle but if no one's coming to my castle it doesn't matter So operations is always my best friend finance really close because I like to believe that everything I do works and makes us lots of money in which case I like to make them my best friend too And then now Tech So it and I can't say enough about how easy this team is to work with And I've worked in many different organizations with many different it and technology teams some easier than others but I think part of it is because I can speak and straddle the language So I can speak the marketing language and I can speak the technology it language definitely not as well as they can but Enough that like I understand and appreciate what they're doing and how that helps I think a lot of times you have those departments at odds with each other and other companies where marketing saying Hey I want to do this And I T's well it doesn't fit on our roadmap So we actually have all these other things to handle And I think in this case it's been really really beautiful I do report to the CMO but I have the ability to cross over and have those conversations with it And there is open communication And it's not just between our departments it's all departments as far as I've seen again five weeks in So maybe I have Rose colored goggles on but there really is this openness this communication layer of Hey we're just sharing what's happening and how we're doing because we all have the same goal which is to drive restaurant sales There is no secret goal There's really no egos which I say that hesitantly because I don't know that I've ever felt that so strongly here that there really is no egos like people are really open and they just want whatever's right for the business That's what we're going to do and move forward with which is pretty impressive So I speak both sides
[00:16:50] Jenifer Kern: [00:16:50] that's awesome That's great And how are you building out your team What does your team look like in terms of roles and responsibilities
[00:16:55] Erin Levzow: [00:16:55] again my role is brand new didn't exist before me So I think the sky is the limit I have a director and then we have two managers and for the first time ever my entire team is all men I don't think I've ever joined a company where my entire team is all men and super psyched about it And I was like Oh there's so much we get to talk about and geek out on It's going to be great and I was also a little intimidated to be honest because I've never had that before And so one of the things we did right out of the gate was to do the Gallup StrengthsFinder and understand each other and what our strengths are And what does that look like And it turns out mine are completely opposite of everybody on my teams so I flat out said I said I'm going to annoy the shit out of you I am really sorry I like to communicate verbally They're like we're going to write you an email but they are a great team And I think like I said because it's a new role because it's kind of a new focus We have a lot of opportunity and a lot of runway in front of us
[00:17:47] Jenifer Kern: [00:17:47] nice I love that Well you're getting it out of the way right Okay here it is Here's who I am Here's who you are
[00:17:55] Erin Levzow: [00:17:55] I don't find it this is what you get This is what it looks like
[00:17:58] Jenifer Kern: [00:17:58] That's such a great way to start a new position like that do the strengths finder or whatever it is I've talked about Enneagram with people on here and there's all sorts of different personality tests out there now but having that opening that book with your team and being like and looking at yourself I've found myself I've changed a lot over the years and in my management role and approach And so what does that mean how am I changing personally And then how does that impact the team and how do I want to lead
[00:18:25] Erin Levzow: [00:18:25] Yep so my top five are woo which is like influencing others or as my parents call it manipulative I don't think that just sounds negative I was like no I think it's winning others over It's positivity So I really do like to look at the world through positive outlook I believe that like to me the word no means nothing like yesterday I spoke to a bunch of Illinois state university That's where I went to college freshmen I believe they're all freshmen in the college of fine arts which is what I went to school for And they were like how do you not give up And I was like you just don't Like I don't have a lot more guidance to tell you other than the word No Just means Oh okay I have to find another way So it doesn't mean it never means no and they said well how do you find a job you show up at someone's If they don't respond to your emails show up at their door If they didn't do that send them a present like whatever it is get in front of them all your goal is to get your foot in the door communicating I like to tell stories I like to talk I believe that We can get through anything by conversating about it and understanding each other I wish we did more of that in the world we lived in right now includer meaning I think everybody deserves a seat at the table Doesn't mean we all have the right answers but let's make sure we have all the viewpoints that we need to have which helps me cross functionally completely And then activator meaning I don't want to talk about it Like let's do it I don't want to bang our heads against the wall and the ice joke that my mom growing up very Midwest house she'd always say we'd be getting ready and she'd go If we're going let's go get in the car Let's we're if we're going let's go And that's how I believe everything is cool We can continue to talk about this and talk about all the ways this could go awry or we could just try it what's the worst that could happen It goes around and then we move on but closely there under there is competitiveness which I think has aided me well too and I do find myself if someone's I don't like that And I was like Oh challenge accepted Okay cool which has helped me in my career as well
[00:20:12] Jenifer Kern: [00:20:12] Yeah Great Self-awareness there You rattled them all off We sound pretty similar actually
[00:20:18] Erin Levzow: [00:20:18] The things that I don't have are like a tiny detail oriented this if someone were like can you spell check all these words I'm still like I before E And that's the same with like beer before liquor I'm like is that how it's said I can't remember I need to go Google it those are the little details Like I'm never going to be that person
[00:20:36] Jenifer Kern: [00:20:36] Cool So what are you saying no to in the industry right now and at Del taco what challenges are you trying to take on
[00:20:42] Erin Levzow: [00:20:42] Oh man I think for sure like the understanding our customer and our CRM so it used to be that you'd go in and someone would go let me tell you about our persona data And persona would be like and this is Catherine and Catherine eats tacos right and this is what all your customers look like And I really struggle with that And I think in the restaurant industry that still exists like I still think that exists out there and they're like yeah no our core customers Bob And like you walk in and this isn't at Del taco but I've walked into companies before and they're like that's the cartoon picture of what our customer looks like And you're like Oh my God really
[00:21:13] Jenifer Kern: [00:21:13] Marketing Mary technology Tom and yeah
[00:21:18] Erin Levzow: [00:21:18] It's like Oh it hurts my heart we have all this data So understanding it I also think I've been to a number of NEF restaurant conferences that like people still say the words big data and it still makes me cry on the inside because I'm like it's like the fastest way to lose credit with me is if someone's Hey can we talk about your big data strategy And I'm like no we can't because
[00:21:37] Jenifer Kern: [00:21:37] that Why is that Because you just have data right
[00:21:39] Erin Levzow: [00:21:39] Cause you have data and like when did it get bigger When did it get larger what happened over time So to me in our industry specifically now people don't like in hotels they like sleep with us They sleep in our hotels and like you have a little more data but in the restaurant industry we have data but we didn't already don't use the data We have let's start there before we have to go heighten it to a whole nother level and I do think depending on where again this isn't they'll type it Cause I'm not I'm still only five weeks in but depending on where the data resides right Like you talk to different departments and they'll be like Oh yeah I have this data And I'm like Oh cool What do you have Oh I have this data And it's everybody has a deck of cards but nobody's put their cards together to see how they match up so I'm excited for what the future holds because I think there's opportunity there again I am still in the exploration phase of the current gig
[00:22:26] Jenifer Kern: [00:22:26] all right okay You throw it out there You throw the D word out there Data We gotta talk about it some more because there is a lot of data they're hundred percent agree need to use the data that we're collecting I agree pretty much with you too On the personalization thing we've been talking about personalization for like 10 years and yet in every industry by the
[00:22:45] Erin Levzow: [00:22:45] Yes
[00:22:45] Jenifer Kern: [00:22:45] I've been in the restaurant industry just a year and a half So most my career was in B2B tech where we did make personas and we could do some personalized marketing but truly personalized marketing No one's really doing it it's hard It's really hard And so I like your sort of he is to me it's like baby steps let's just start with using the data we have Let's just start by trying to segment our people and yeah if we can give them different offers and we're able to follow the data down the track of the different offers to see what they actually did and then adjust and improve and make more money Great but that's not easy but
[00:23:17] Erin Levzow: [00:23:17] comes from the same idea of if we're going let's go Like I always say you have to start somewhere to get somewhere And if we sit around and talk about it or we have to go if the decision is Hey we're not spending money on it now but we're now we're going to spend a hundred thousand dollars on it Is there like a spot in the middle where like we could test it out right does it have to be all or nothing And I don't think it has to be I think there is a crawl walk run approach
[00:23:38] Jenifer Kern: [00:23:38] Yeah Yeah So what are all the different types of data that are available now
[00:23:43] Erin Levzow: [00:23:43] Oh I don't think there is an Intuit I think you can almost see anything I remember sitting and talking Oh when I lived in Dallas and we talked a lot about probabilistic and deterministic data and I still think there's when you talk to people about what's the difference And then what happens is you have marketers who just take it at face value and go Oh it's deterministic data So it's fine I was like based on what how many matches do you know who's in the house we still are talking about householding data inside of the house and who's doing what I still hear conversations about fingerprinting versus cookies What if cookies go away I do think there's going to be a heavier focus on owning your own first party data Finally as cookies start to disappear I think that there's obviously the opinions and I always joke that there's a lot of people with the same name out there and they try and target it in And like my friend and his dad have the same first and last name one's jr And so he gets all his mail from like the cancer societies and I'm like Oh I think this is for your dad That's so weird like I still think there's ways that appends go wrong household income all of that But again if you're not going to do anything with it Does it matter right Like you have to figure out what the data is that matters to you Geo data important how fast is that geo data refresh and part of that is because the moment of Consideration The moment where someone goes maybe I want to eat something And the moment of truth are now on top of each other right No longer than like Hey what do you think about going to dinner next week And like now I have a week to persuade you to come to my restaurant Now it's Hey I want tacos here I'm going to attack us And it's like that fast And so being able to have truly realtime data and a lot of times people Vendors et cetera They'll say our data is real time What does that mean And they're like it's real I was like no but like what does that mean And they go it's like within seconds Oh okay Now we're getting there How many seconds is it a millisecond Is it actually refreshing every 15 minutes In which case I've lost my window That could have been my moment of consideration A moment of truth within 15 minutes so again there's any type of data you could possibly want out there it's funny Because people to take it at a very high level approach people don't realize what's on the internet about themselves Nobody seems to understand that And so they might think their Facebook's pretty secure but their wife's Facebook is insecure or they're so now I get into that and now I match that up to their LinkedIn I know their whole story all because it's on the internet And so being the same aware of how you Tear that data together to tell the true story
[00:26:02] Jenifer Kern: [00:26:02] I saw the movie the social dilemma Oh have you
[00:26:05] Erin Levzow: [00:26:05] haven't seen him
[00:26:06] Jenifer Kern: [00:26:06] Oh you got to see that talk about data and not owning your own data It's scary actually
[00:26:13] Erin Levzow: [00:26:13] Yeah I many many years ago had my identity stolen And after that like I've now geeked out probably more than most on data and what's out there about each of us it's very scary
[00:26:25] Jenifer Kern: [00:26:25] Yeah I need to be more careful until we own our own data like you said it's gonna be ugly
[00:26:31] Erin Levzow: [00:26:31] I would tell you I T's been telling us for 20 years to like make sure our passwords 26 characters with hieroglyphics in it And I still am the person that like if someone asked me I'm like well they're like what's your password Like at my last gig And I said it's password And the it guy just looked at me and I was like one Two three And he just stared at me and I was like I'm sorry like I never changed it Oh I'm like that is like the worst thing you could ever tell
[00:26:59] Jenifer Kern: [00:26:59] You got
[00:27:02] Erin Levzow: [00:27:02] Totally
[00:27:02] Jenifer Kern: [00:27:02] so in the restaurant industry I hear a lot of talk about okay so the POS people have the transactional data or maybe it's even beyond that the world pays of the world forever Has the transactional data And then there's the guest data Which typically the loyalty people have or if you have a CRM maybe you've got your own guests and then you've bolted on all these other services whether it's IP inside the shop and geolocation and drive through And so there's all this other data So at a very macro level how are you looking at that
[00:27:33] Erin Levzow: [00:27:33] Well you have to bring it in bill like a CDP right You have to actually bring it all together And that's a promise Most companies are struggling to do that but it's interesting because more and more you hear if some of the big brand restaurants that are pulling in license plate data and things like that which starts to get it starts to make you Oh is that allowed right credit card data but like then it has to be anonymized So are we sure that it's matching up a hundred percent And so there are as fast as we're running the rules are changing the same speed right there is something to be said about data security and being good stewards of the brand And good stewards of Our sport Now I will tell you that each one of these things does it make it harder Yeah they do studies and people say they want personalized experiences If I told you I liked something I want you to tell me what I like and why I like it But I also think there's I don't want to say bad people out there but bad people out there bad companies out there that use the data for the wrong reasons Like I was listening to something the other day where the guys was basically teaching direct sales or like the old pyramid scheme type company folks how to target everybody on social media based on their birthday and okay I'm smart enough to know That's why I'm seeing the ad But many people aren't many people don't have that knowledge So they're just like how'd this company know it was my birth They and they don't realize it's because it's on Facebook Like of course they know it's your birthday and they can target you based off of it or your anniversary with your significant other like just be aware of what is out there about you And then don't fall into the trap right life insurance salespeople and I love life insurance salespeople I'm sure they're all wonderful people I feel like I have to give disclaimers so I don't get hate mail after this but they might target you because you just had your 60th birthday and they want to make sure you're insured and like We just need to make sure that our data and our data security is top of mind And so like for us that's really important how we look at it and it's not looking at as just let's just target them based on things they don't even realize they put out there
[00:29:26] Jenifer Kern: [00:29:26] Yeah Cool Well let's talk about some of the fun campaigns that are going on at Del taco The taco campaigns
[00:29:32] Erin Levzow: [00:29:32] Yeah we just launched one this week so crispy he is a singer and things lots of different types of music and our new video which you can find he has his own Facebook page and Instagram and you can go to Del taco and see actually his background like where you grew up and everything He did N old school rock song about chicken recently and Cholula And it's pretty amazing like opening for them Def Leppard type feel which is
[00:29:58] Jenifer Kern: [00:29:58] like your influencer
[00:30:00] Erin Levzow: [00:30:00] No well a bit of both a little bit of both actually Yeah Influencer might not be the wrong word he's definitely influential and a lot of fun and he will catch your attention when you see that commercial on TV Like there's no way to look away but our current promotion is our Cholula products and Cholula crispy tacos are delicious And I know we have a lot more coming up crispy chicken rolling out earlier this year was outstanding as well And again that wasn't something we had before So our culinary department is outstanding and the things they come up with just blow your mind And I watched so because I live separate from the corporate office they had a couple people socially distanced and to do a taste test and I watched it and I was so hungry Our chef rolls up These tacos they look so beautiful Like I've never wanted it more in my life My brother-in-law's texting me pictures last night of a Del taco bag Cause he lives in Vegas and just I was like can't wait You have to bring them to Wisconsin soon
[00:30:56] Jenifer Kern: [00:30:56] Awesome Do you have any in Wisconsin
[00:30:58] Erin Levzow: [00:30:58] We don't yet So hopefully soon Yeah I
[00:31:02] Jenifer Kern: [00:31:02] Open went down the street
[00:31:04] Erin Levzow: [00:31:04] No we have them in Michigan I said well someday I'll take a road trip cause you're on town over
[00:31:09] Jenifer Kern: [00:31:09] Yeah Are you responsible on the campaigns for tracking the ROI and measuring the results
[00:31:14] Erin Levzow: [00:31:14] yes and no So it's a little bit of both right now I think eventually the answer might be yes but right now because my job is really to understand my job currently in the first five weeks But We have dug into analytics a lot just in the last couple of weeks of like I want it just to understand the data and understand where everything is our campaigns Okay Everything We were like any restaurant product man How things selling traction within a geometry by store right Like maybe a flavor in this Wingstop was very similar A flavor might not do well In these stories but it might do well across the country and these stories which is really interesting and also based on weather and seasonality So when do you want wings You want wings if it's raining it might actually do really well because you don't want to deal with cooking or any of that Like you just want to have wings and other different seasonalities football games et cetera I believe that like tacos have an entire day we get a whole day of the week on national taco day I was like cool One more reason to eat tacos Not that I ever need an extra reason to eat tacos and we sell Fiesta packs which are like big packs attackers you can get or the burgers or any of those And those are great for like your Sunday game days or like your family gatherings They're just easy And nobody's going to be upset that you bred TAGOS
[00:32:28] Jenifer Kern: [00:32:28] no One's ever upset about
[00:32:29] Erin Levzow: [00:32:29] no because they're simple right Like they're so simple that like people can add sauce or you can get different flavors like just as a simple thing that you really can't go wrong And we have beyond meat tacos which are like I'm not a vegetarian or vegan but from what I hear people rave about them and they specifically love the beyond meat product
[00:32:47] Jenifer Kern: [00:32:47] So you're five weeks in brand spanking now really And there's a lot going on in the world Clearly how has it been for Del taco during the pantry
[00:32:58] Erin Levzow: [00:32:58] you know who you should ask this to when
[00:33:00] Jenifer Kern: [00:33:00] I
[00:33:00] Erin Levzow: [00:33:00] you have torches on You should talk to them about the time Barack Obama was on stage and talked about Turkey tacos that must have been the best time in their life Like we were in Austin president Obama had come in for something he was sitting on stage he's like I just had towards you tacos And like I guarantee that brand fell off their chair Like they were probably like Oh my God what did he say now if only one of our candidates showed up with Del taco that would just be yeah But we are handling it really well actually because QSR plus fast casual at these guys these verticals are doing very well in a pandemic because guess what You can go through a drive through we have curbside we have those abilities to do things where it's limited contact or no contact We already had the technology within the app to order So again no contact no cash changing hands when With unemployment going up people have less money They're going to turn to lower cost items We have 17 items on our dollar menu right so there's so many things that help us during something like this which is sad to say But at the same time we're built to assist people during something like this while casual dining fine dining is a whole nother story It's hard like Milwaukee our governor changed from I think we're up to 75% occupancy in restaurants to 25 back down to 25 because yeah it's funny our local news doesn't really report on the spike in Wisconsin but I had a call from someone who was like you guys are all over the news Like your state is red right now I was like it is I had no idea but we've personally like If you don't turn on the TV sometimes you miss the news So we really stayed inside So I think sometimes things happen outside that I'm not aware of but from a restaurant perspective the sky's the limit right Like we have been able to keep going The team has been able to pivot so fast too Like they've been able to go all right We need to do more curb sites Maybe we can't have our dining rooms open we need to speed up our drive through right Like there's so many different ways that they've been able to increase efficiency through the operationalized zation of the experience versus that I just don't think other restaurants have that ability necessarily but I'm sure all these guys are doing really well right now because That's what you need is a frictionless delivery We work with the delivery service providers right Whether it's Uber eats Postmates whatever to make sure that however you want our food we're going to make sure you get it the way you want it And that's important to us
[00:35:19] Jenifer Kern: [00:35:19] Yeah Yeah we're absolutely right the QSR is clearly Are well ahead given when the pandemic hit having the drive through already having contact list most of them already had delivery or online ordering and yet that's considered innovative for other brands because they didn't have any of
[00:35:35] Erin Levzow: [00:35:35] Yeah And like you you said you got in the car and you drove to get tacos two and a half hours that's people's entertainment right now
[00:35:43] Jenifer Kern: [00:35:43] right
[00:35:43] Erin Levzow: [00:35:43] what else do you have to do you're like you want me to go to the drive through and get this And you're like can I come It'll be fun We could go together That'd be great yeah So like that is our form of entertainment currently Saturday night is actually I jokingly say like my family is closer than it's ever been because we've spent a lot of time together recently
[00:36:01] Jenifer Kern: [00:36:01] Yeah food's always my entertainment I love food
[00:36:04] Erin Levzow: [00:36:04] Unfortunately I do too all the time
[00:36:07] Jenifer Kern: [00:36:07] Entertain myself with food but what does innovation mean to you today I called this podcast restaurants reinvented because I see I looked all around I said okay restaurants now they gotta reinvent themselves What does that mean for Del taco what do you think is truly going to be the innovative thing to come next
[00:36:24] Erin Levzow: [00:36:24] Oh man One thing I don't know if I have an answer to that I do think that so for years and years we talk about the right place the right message to the right person at the right time I hear that all the time And usually it's on a slide deck where someone across the top of the slides like red Brunson right place And you're like okay I still think if that's the goal if our goal is to make sure our customer receives what they want when they want it where they want it we have a long way to go I think that we are getting there and I think the next step Stage of innovation is doing all those things We've talked a lot about voice We've talked a lot about all these things but like really tying it together to allow All these things to happen so that you can have it the way you want it and you want it I've still not just at Del taco at other brands I've talked to people who are like we have a website Why would we need that And I'm like because somebody might not want to go to your website They might want to get the information before they get to your website And there's this idea sometimes on business owner's mind that A one stop shop is good enough right Like I don't need that cause I'm good enough that if they want me they'll come find me And that does happen occasionally right Like you do have those like crazy amazing restaurants in New York city that just did well and they have nothing Or like their website is a question Mark and you're like Oh I want to go Cause it's a question Mark but that's not the norm Normally you do have to tell people Where you are and what you're doing and the more places you can do that the better I do think that it's a constantly ever changing landscape So I keep a close eye on what Amazon and Google are doing And what they're innovating and testing It starts to tell you what's going to happen Although four or five years ago we were already talking about winter drones going to deliver You're like I think they did a test with Chipola to drone delivery and we still don't have that's not mass happening Yeah I still think it's a way off but like innovative wise It's not good enough just to create something new you have to create something new It has to not be cost prohibitive and you have to have buy into it So I hope it is drones delivering our food I hope it is not having to like for instance if Postmates or one of these delivery service providers I don't want to just say Postmates any of them don't have drivers You can't get your food delivered So how do we make it So that isn't an issue anymore we've been talking about driverless cars for years Do they exist in some places Yes When will that become prolific to the point where like your food comes and nobody's in the front seat I don't know I don't know when that'll happen those are things that I think are going to be the next step of innovation for us the other thing too is because we've been in the pandemic or what feels like eternity I've had to order food And so like all three of my kids like three different things And so at first I was like no we're having this And you either like it or you don't Like I'm totally that mom And then I was like why Like why can't I go through an Uber eats and put A tackle from Del taco in my cart and a burger from Hardee's or Carl's jr In my cart and check out in one experience Like why can't I and then it figures out the math on the back end I can go through now and do the whole process for to pull away and then I can go through and do the whole process for Wingstop but I have to do it separately If you really want to be innovative make it so that as a family unit and this is me talking as a customer I can put something from different brands into my cart and they add the appropriate fees and everything but make it easy on me It would feed my family without having to say I only can do it right because guess what The littlest one Philly wings but he'd probably rather have a taco
[00:39:45] Jenifer Kern: [00:39:45] right We've talked about that here Actually being able to do that would it take to do something like that and I'm still pushing for I mean you alluded to this like the unified experience like unified experience I still don't really truly believe like you just said the experience is For the guest right There's a lot of fragmentation and break points in a lot of my ordering experiences and even if it's pickup curbside some brands have it nailed there's a few of those Goldstar Chick-fil-A is out there right That really have done well But there are so many break points right now And I Don't always feel like it's consumer driven right
[00:40:22] Erin Levzow: [00:40:22] no it's not
[00:40:23] Jenifer Kern: [00:40:23] yeah
[00:40:24] Erin Levzow: [00:40:24] I spent years trying to figure out how to order my drink digitally for Starbucks And that's a massive brand that should have this figured out but I want two Splendas Why isn't there a spot where I can say that So I could never order it through digital And they kept sending me off You're saying mobile order and you'll get 50 more stars It's not worth it because I would never be able to order the drink I ordered
[00:40:43] Jenifer Kern: [00:40:43] Yeah And there's a company that's invested Billions of dollars in their technology
[00:40:47] Erin Levzow: [00:40:47] Totally And that's why I say if they can't do it let's watch the big guys there's something to be said for being fast and nimble If we can do it on a smaller scale but if they haven't figured it out the chances are that like your mom and pop restaurant is probably not going to be able to figure it out either
[00:41:01] Jenifer Kern: [00:41:01] Yeah So what do you think the biggest challenge facing marketers is today Restaurant marketers
[00:41:07] Erin Levzow: [00:41:07] where to spend their time Where to spend your time Right it's funny I think everything needs marketing right Whether it's HR and hiring If they're trained to hire they're like how do we brand our hiring if it's selling franchisees not in our case yet I don't know but in everywhere else I've been whether it's rolling out a new like at Marcus it was a new hotel or a new restaurant that was coming online how are we making sure the ongoing CRM is done appropriately and building out the data acquisition for that So I think that it's prioritizing where do you spend your time as a marketer Because there is not one department that doesn't need your attention and need your time And because of that I think you said it perfectly when you said sometimes we don't look at the customer needs We're thinking about Our business I think sometimes it gets easy as a marketer to go wait wait wait wait
[00:41:54] Jenifer Kern: [00:41:54] yeah
[00:41:55] Erin Levzow: [00:41:55] does the customer want what are we doing Why are we doing this Like why Okay That's important to you That's important to you What's truly important to the customer
[00:42:02] Jenifer Kern: [00:42:02] A hundred percent And what is the biggest opportunity today for marketers
[00:42:06] Erin Levzow: [00:42:06] Figuring out a solution that truly lets you track ROI through every touch point right There's multitouch attribution for certain things now again you get into data and what you're allowed to follow and not follow but like that I think is such a huge opportunity that if we could truly figure that out start to finish ideally that's getting inside of true consumers brain That would be amazing And be able to track that back and go alright they thought it All the way through I saw something Expedia did where you in this I don't know this two years ago now where they were following your emotions and they connected and I looked and read different things on the website what emotion it gave you even micro emotions And it was really interesting and they were using that for their studies of what works where in the travel Segment And I thought how amazing is that Because I think when I I might not smile when I see a taco I mean I do now but like if it comes across my screen does it release a micro emotion of that seems good Yes Okay What does one tackle do that better than another I have no idea I have no idea And I'm totally like guessing but like what a great opportunity If I could actually feel that at CES a couple of years ago they controlled your appendages without you just through neuro like you think something and then your arm moves and they connected it and then they study how it moves and how your brain waves are connecting them if we could actually start to get inside of people's brains and understand what they don't even realize because what someone says and what someone does they're completely different And we know that but if we could actually start to understand What creates that little tweak that little Oh Tulu on a taco does do that but I put this on the tackle and that doesn't do that for you And it just it's so slight it's so minute but it's so much that it can move the needle financially they don't realize it but it made them actually buy something that is exciting
[00:43:54] Jenifer Kern: [00:43:54] yeah Eliciting that response that is a big part of the brand and marketing is are we eliciting positive or negative response Sometimes a negative response Elicits a different response than yeah It's so interesting It's so interesting
[00:44:08] Erin Levzow: [00:44:08] Or if someone says Oh I wouldn't eat that Cause it's too many calories Okay Well if you didn't know the calories would you eat it Or because again someone says something but guess what I bet you ate it last night so what someone says when someone does completely different
[00:44:21] Jenifer Kern: [00:44:21] Curious So when you were talking about that earlier just a couple of minutes ago they see a certain taco Oh that's a taco I want are you able to track how long it takes them to make the purchase like throughout the process Do you have that data or is
[00:44:37] Erin Levzow: [00:44:37] through website data and stuff I'm guaranteed And see from the time someone gets there the time they spent on site to the time they go through anyone can see that for any brand if tagged appropriately Absolutely But again it goes back to I truly believe if someone gets to your website they probably know what they want Like they know why they're there and I joke I said I don't go to McDonald's website to be like what kind of cheeseburgers do they have now just wanted to like see if they changed it up at all I'm just researching No I don't do that if I go there it's Hey I want to order Or I wanted to see if the Shamrock shake has been added to the menu yet something very simple Or and like someone said because they need to find a location Not necessarily A lot of times you can find that with actually going to the website you just type in McDonald's near me and it's Sort order on your Google So you just click the web directions You never needed to go to the website in the first place I think if someone gets there they're looking for something very specific
[00:45:31] Jenifer Kern: [00:45:31] Yeah Yeah So as we wind down here what advice I always ask this question What is the advice you would give to someone new and restaurant marketing Someone who's been around marketing a long time What is the most valuable piece of advice you would give someone today
[00:45:45] Erin Levzow: [00:45:45] ask lots of questions focus on the consumer right and I say ask lots of questions because there are a lot of people out there who train not take advantage That's the wrong word but Understand what they're selling necessarily And so push back if you don't understand how they got their data or it seems too good to be true it's probably too good to be true So keep asking those questions How did you get the data How did you do it and make friends in the industry So I have a lot of friends that I call and I'm like what are you guys doing Why are you doing that Because it is a small world Like it's just a small world Like we all know each other and that's forever Hospitality was the same retail was the same We all knew it make friends so you can share ideas and iterate None of us are doing anything That's hidden in a silo You would see us test it or roll it out Just call the person They'll be like look what they're doing is feeling I'm going to call my friend over there and see what they're doing
[00:46:35] Jenifer Kern: [00:46:35] That's great advice What was the best career advice you were ever given
[00:46:39] Erin Levzow: [00:46:39] so when I worked in Vegas it's still the best advice I Was the only woman on an executive table of all men and except for our general counsel who was a woman And she pulled me aside one day she was also very scary she pulled me aside and you'd assume if legal wants to talk to you like what I do And she goes I just want to tell you that people are going to keep calling you a bitch They're going to call you a bitch for a long time Do not change anything that you do It is because you are a woman It is because you were a direct and it's because you know what you want You have a seat at the table Take your seat at the table And to me that was like petrifying at the time But looking back it's the best advice And I was on a call the other day where a guy said I love your direct approach And I was like huh would you have said that to a man that's interesting okay But it's the best advice I really have received which is don't worry about what others are saying about you Take your seat At the table speak your mind
[00:47:34] Jenifer Kern: [00:47:34] You actually gave me goosies there for a second that is such great advice own it You're talking about owning it own who you are Don't make excuses for who you are Male female whatever gender you might be embracing at the moment Just own who you are I remember when someone showed me the video I don't know if you ever saw it It was Amy Dang I'm going to forget her name now the comedian And it was these three women on a panel and they kept apologizing I'm sorry I'm sorry All over each other
[00:48:02] Erin Levzow: [00:48:02] Oh I think yes Yes Yes
[00:48:04] Jenifer Kern: [00:48:04] It was like eight years ago The thing was going viral what's her name Amy Schumer Amy Schumer but it's so true so many women do that We just over a pot I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry And so
[00:48:15] Erin Levzow: [00:48:15] there was a panel in the restaurant industry not long I don't know It's probably been five or six years where a woman on a panel with executive men had to say I need you to stop mansplaining and I need you to stop interrupting me And it does And it happens quite frequently And More so than it should which once is more so than it should And so being able to I found that you just call it out You just have to say Hey that's not okay Like I had a guy once that always referred to me as his girl And I was like okay are you my boy And he's like no And I was like they don't call me your girl that's not how this works so being able to just call for what it is don't let it hurt You just Hey not okay Moving on Right I know you didn't mean it Just fix it so we don't deal with it again
[00:49:00] Jenifer Kern: [00:49:00] Dang girl you got the goods you got the goods there I just called you girl See
[00:49:08] so I'm so excited for you I'm so excited to see what you're going to do at Del taco I'm so glad you made it back to our industry to the restaurant industry and we need you We need you we need to be having these data conversations It's so important Tying it all together The integration that I know you're going to be working on I know you're speaking at fast casual
[00:49:27] Erin Levzow: [00:49:27] I am Yes Yes I got a note saying Oh I'm glad you're back in the restaurant industry Okay
[00:49:34] Jenifer Kern: [00:49:34] say we all are Yeah When is that
[00:49:37] Erin Levzow: [00:49:37] next week sometime I rent I can only look at my calendar like the day before
[00:49:43] Jenifer Kern: [00:49:43] In the middle of the move Oh my gosh
[00:49:45] Erin Levzow: [00:49:45] Oh my God Oh my God
[00:49:47] Jenifer Kern: [00:49:47] Okay so before we wrap I like to give my guests like a quick infomercial time Yes I'm old school infomercial Like anything you want to throw out there promote for your company for the team Any nonprofits you're working with I saw you have the whole like swag shop online which is pretty cool
[00:50:05] Erin Levzow: [00:50:05] Cool Our teachers like say for the Dell and you can actually buy our sauce online It's so cool Like I'm totally geeked out over it now that I've joined but no our tacos they're really made fresh Like it's crazy in the QSR space to think about And like our guacamole is sliced and created in the restaurant every day Also unheard of in the QSR space right dare to say maybe better than Chipotle is actually it is it is better than not like but I was trying to be nice and
[00:50:30] Jenifer Kern: [00:50:30] tomatoes or no tomatoes in your guac
[00:50:32] Erin Levzow: [00:50:32] I think there are tomatoes I've never actually made a note like note of that or noticed it but it is so good and all of our food like people we have Epic burritos which I just like the name Cause like anything Epic sounds great to me our food has fantastic And even people are like people buy burgers there No it's actually really good and get the loaded fries and just try it And you'd be pleasantly surprised Like my brother in law was like I eat it at least twice a month And I was like yes I love that And after I updated my LinkedIn I had all these people who I've known through my tours through the U S go Oh my gosh I love Del taco Oh my gosh I love like you become a fanatic for it which is great So I would encourage people to try it download the app get the offers and just come see us soon
[00:51:20] Jenifer Kern: [00:51:20] dang As soon as I can get on an airplane I'll be there I have about 10 15 restaurants to visit now because I've had a bunch of people that are like West coast brands only So I'm like as soon as I can get on an airplane I will be there So Aaron loves though Thank you so much for joining me all the best to you and Del taco everyone Go by that Del taco, get the app, get the free tacos if you can, and all my best to you. Thanks for joining us today.
[00:51:48]