Taco Bell Has a New Value Offer (With a Catch)

Yum! Brands’  (YUM) - Get Free Report Taco Bell has been using technology and social media to get more connected to its fan base. The fast-food retailer used its Twitter account to ask its followers to vote on which discontinued menu items it should bring back between the Double Decker Taco and the Enchirito.

The Taco Bell fan base vote worked, and fan favorite Enchirito won with 760,000 votes, and Taco Bell won by getting customer engagement. The fan base vote got over one million votes. 

Taco Bell is working to get more engagement with its customer base with social media and with the use of its app. Looking at the fast-food industry leader McDonald’s  (MCD) - Get Free Report on how they have used their app to create a way to reach its customers, Taco Bell is taking a page out of the ‘McManual’ on how to build the fast-food chain's customer base.

The current McDonald's free offer is a one large fries when you download the McDonald’s app and join MyMcDonald’s Rewards. After using the app to make your first purchase, you get your choice of Hash Browns, Vanilla Cone, McChicken or a Cheeseburger.

Join the Club and Get Specials

McDonald's proved that giving away deals is a great way to get customers to download the app. The app can send deals out on a regular basis, reaching its customer base without having to go through other marketing methods, that may or may not work. McDonald's can track who orders what, when and in connection with what deal that was sent out. 

Taco Bell noticed that getting customers to give the marketing information directly from their phones to the fast-food chain was a marketing necessity. Taco Bell also offers freebies for just downloading the app. Downloading the app allows customers to customize their own $5 Build Your Own Cravings Box. Sneaky Taco Bell's customers think they are customizing their order, but really Taco Bell is also learning what specials it can use to entice you to place your next order. 

Taco Bell wasn't the only fast-food chain to say, yeah, we need to do that, Chipotle has also taken a page out of the 'McManual' when it comes to getting customers to download the restaurants app. They have actually taken it a step further, Chipotle customers had been begging for the fresh-Mex restaurant to start selling quesadillas, and Chipotle listened, however there's a catch, customers can only order the quesadillas through the app or online. 

Where McDonald's Goes, Others Will Follow

Chipotle  (CMG) - Get Free Report has also started looking at how McDonald’s uses its app with freebies and other great deals just for downloading the app. McDonald's recently offered Cardi B and Offset meal combos, and once again it proved its marketing campaign was successful, so other fast-food chains took the dip. Chipotle, which offers healthier choices than McDonald's, took that difference to heart, when 'stealing' McDonald's campaign idea. 

Instead of reaching out to other hip hop stars or influencers, Chipotle reached out to create combo orders that are the favorites of the Fittest Man and Woman on Earth. Customers could order the Justin Mederios or Tia-Clair Toomey meals.

“Having the 2022 Fittest Man and Woman on Earth be Chipotle superfans is a testament to the nutritional benefits of real food,” said Stephanie Perdue, Chipotle’s vice president of brand marketing. 

The concept of offering customers something for free by simply downloading the company's app, is really quite genius. Companies can control the cost of what is offered and change it at any time. It can see the metrics behind what worked and what didn't in real time. After giving away a small prize to the customer, assuming the customer doesn't just turn around and delete the app, the company now has a direct link to reach its customer base with one-on-one marketing.