Customer experience, if it becomes a sustainable and memorable one, is viewed as a pivotal differentiator for loyalty marketers. Just ask Dave & Buster’s.
Dave & Buster’s CEO Steve King noted that 2015 was a record-setting year for the company during the fourth-quarter earnings call on March 29.
“In fact, the great momentum we experienced for the first three quarters continued through the fourth quarter as well, resulting in a performance that was well ahead of our expectations, despite tough comparisons and some weather-related setbacks,” King said, according to Seeking Alpha. “Our fourth quarter, and for that matter the entire year, is indicative of what sets Dave & Buster’s apart from conventional and casual dining: Our uniquely customizable experience that always provides guests something new across our core platforms, Eat, Drink, Play, and Watch. Only at Dave & Buster’s can guests enjoy the latest and greatest games, the best viewing areas for live sporting events, great food, and one of a kind beverages under one roof at a great entertainment value.”
Dave & Buster’s distinctive customer value proposition is known as Eat Drink Play and Watch. Dave &
Fourth-quarter revenue rose more than 13%, inclusive of the 6% increase in same- store sales.
“The metrics were also aided by improving food costs as well as better than anticipated strength in the opt-in-rate for our e-ticket initiatives and as a result significantly lower redemption costs,” King said. “On the marketing front, early in the quarter we focused on sports and football-related messaging tied to our D&B sports branding. Toward the end of the football season, we focused on holiday-themed promotions and introduced the new limited time exclusive SpongeBob game.”
King said the company’s media strategy consisted of national cable advertising focused on D&B sports and during selective periods, kids related channel such as Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network.
“And while targeted messages to younger guests is only a small subsection of our cable advertising buy, we did experience a lift in kid entrees and sales growth during day parts when we normally see more kids,” King said. “As you probably already know, menu innovation is a hallmark of our brand and our guests always appreciate if there is new entrée appetizer, dessert, or beverage to experience at Dave & Buster’s. Now to speak specifically about the popularity of some of these new menu items that we've introduced over the past couple of years and how it has affected our sales mix … the clear takeaway is the guests respond positively to new culinary and beverage experiences. This has, in turn, resulted in comp food and comp beverage sales that are normally seen in Knapp-Track.”