Patrick Pleiss is the Co-Founder and Head of Operations at Hyperlocology. Hyperlocology is a a marketing platform that enables franchise brands to centrally control local advertising, across the most powerful digital channels, for their hundreds or thousands of locations.

Here are a few highlights from this episode:

What is the most important aspect of the guest experience nowadays?

“Call me old fashioned but guest experience starts with the first impression. Quite literally from my digital world, it’s a literal impression of when they become aware of your brand now in their market. They ask a few questions such as: is this a product that I’m interested in? Is it available to me? Does the brand imagery align with my lifestyle/how I feel? That’s the first time that they become a potential guest.”

What successful strategies and tactics have you seen/tried?

“Utilizing data to understand product availability and where you can move the needle in a specific market. When you think about running an ad for French fries, you can run an ad until the cows come home but in some markets it’s not going to have a relevant impact. Maybe you switch it out for cheese sticks because in those markets you found out that French fries don’t resonate. You can begin to use data to inform that customer experience and make it more relevant to them. You can draw guests in like a moth to a flame.“

Who deserves an Ovation?

“The marketers that challenge the status quo and make decisions that aren’t for keeping their jobs, but for bettering their companies. These are the people that make decisions because they impact someone else in a better way rather than protecting their own. Ultimately, those are the people that drive change, that are the pioneers, and that ultimately make it better for everyone down the road.“