Souper Salad has struggled for about six years to rebuild the success the brand saw in its early years. A low point for the company came last summer when the brand raised its prices for the fifth time in two years.
Customers balked, and sales fell.
To solve that problem, the chain has been working to control costs with supply management tools, training staff to focus on customer service and utilizing a new CRM program. A test of a lower buffet price also has provided good results.
Souper Salad suffered in the past because of its focus on store design rather than the menu, said Tim Taft, the brand's chief executive.
With a new management team, the company is now focused on improving its brand culture and the consistency and ease of food preparation. Taft said previous management had "not been as consistent in strategy and vision as we are today," and that customers have responded to the changes with positive feedback.
Marketing initiatives
Now that customer service and product consistency are improved, the company is revamping its marketing program. Its newest effort is a test using interactive media in the Phoenix and Denver markets.
The company chose those markets because of the high local cost of traditional media, which had previously limited it to direct mail campaigns in those cities, said Danny Meisenheimer, chief brand officer for Souper Salad.
Interactive media offers a targeted marketing approach at about half the cost of direct mail campaigns — targeted shared mail in the Phoenix area costs about $30,000 a month — and the interactive campaign also costs more than half that of TV advertising in those markets, Meisenheimer said.
"What we're looking for, in essence, is something that is less expensive but no less effective," he said. "We're trying this non-traditional approach and are hopeful that we'll see some good results from it."
The interactive media campaign targets four groups — lunch breakers, seniors, casual diners and women — with skyscrapers and banner ads on sites such as MSN.com and RunnersWorld.com. The ads also include a coupon offer.
The company is more than halfway through the first seven-week phase and already is seeing positive results. About one-third of the stores in the test markets have experienced an increase in sales, and consumers are redeeming the coupons, Meisenheimer said.
With an interactive campaign, Souper Salad also can monitor results. For example, the company has received metrics that note which targets are being opened and which messages and designs — horizontal or vertical — are most effective.
Despite the early success, the company is waiting to review the final results before rolling out the campaign to other markets or to its quick-service brand, Grandy's.
"We're also going to be patient in this, in that we're building impressions," Meisenheimer said. "So, in one regard, it is similar to traditional media in the fact that you do have to build your impressions before (consumers) reach that decision point of whether or not they'll interact with the brand."
Still, the results are encouraging.
"We have reason, more than just to believe, but to know, that it is gaining strength in those units," he said.
