Operations

City BBQ collecting customer data to help plan growth

Photo: City Barbecue

February 5, 2025

City BBQ is partnering with Bikky, a customer data platform for multi-unit restaurants, to collect guest insights as it makes expansion plans.

"I knew Bikky would be instrumental in helping us achieve our goals," City BBQ Chief Brand Officer Annica Conrad said in a company press release. "Their robust data brings a whole new level of sophistication to our marketing, menu and operations."

The partnership allows City BBQ to track and analyze the long-term behavior of its guests, empowering it to measure promotions, campaigns and menu changes with precision. The team recently used Bikky to gauge the impact of a month-long acquisition campaign in honor of its 25th anniversary, where it offered loyalty program members a 25-cent pulled pork sandwich.

While redemption was extremely high, the brand wondered if new members were one-time value seekers or if they would return. Data from Bikky revealed a significantly higher return rate among new members compared to general visitors.

"Before Bikky the promotion would have been a one-and-done because we had no way to understand the long-term impact or if it was worth repeating," Conrad said. With Bikky, we know for certain that it was an effective acquisition offer and we'll likely run it again in the future."
City BBQ also finds tremendous value in Bikky's segmentation capabilities, which allow for highly targeted communication and engagement. The team is now segmenting guests by location to benchmark return rates and menu preferences at each of their restaurants, and have experimented with personalized ads featuring guests' most frequent orders. "We tested serving guests ads that feature their favorite products, and we've seen much better return rates on those particular ads."

Outside of marketing, Bikky is helping the brand optimize its menu and operations based on guest preferences.

"We didn't realize how many new guests ate mac and cheese," Conrad said. "Now we're working hard to optimize that product because if it's the first thing a new guest eats, it has to be the best it can be." The team is keeping a close eye on which menu items rise to the top and which drive repeat visits so they're always on top of guests' needs.

Like many brands, City BBQ's primary focus for 2025 is increasing traffic.

"With Bikky we're continually refining our loyalty program so it continues to grow traffic," Conrad said. "We believe that understanding the behavior of new guests and increasing personalization through segmentation is the best way to deliver on our goals."