3 min read
Pizza Hut Adds Key New Channels and Drives a 21% Increase in Revenue With Machine Learning
Before Pizza Hut switched to Braze, they had a strong but somewhat inflexible email and SMS program. Their existing platform did not have native mobile channels nor a single view of cross-channel customer communications. Getting relevant data into the system to execute on was complex and slow.
Within months of migrating to Braze, Pizza Hut launched a proprietary multi-armed bandit (MAB) machine learning multivariate test. These algorithms allowed them to test and optimize their email strategy in real time.
The MAB executions drove a 30% lift in transactions, a 21% lift in revenue, and a 10% lift in profit vs. the standard email program.
PRODUCTS USED
BY THE METRICS
21%
Increase in revenue
30%
Increase in transactions
10%
Increase in profit
With over 18,000 restaurants worldwide, Pizza Hut has changed the way people eat and enjoy pizza. From the White House to the International Space Station to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, Pizza Hut does whatever it takes to deliver hot, tasty slices to their customers. The Yum! Brands-owned chain is committed to bringing the joy of pizza to everything they do.
Before implementing Braze in the Spring of 2019, Pizza Hut had a decent email and SMS program—but they knew they could do better for their customers. Their existing platform did not have native mobile channels nor a single view of cross-channel customer communications, and getting relevant data into the system to execute on was clunky and slow. In order to provide their customers with more relevant and meaningful messaging, they wanted to expand their channel mix to include more mobile channels while hyper-personalizing experiences within existing channels. The team knew their existing, inflexible platform wouldn’t be able to keep up. So they switched to Braze.
Within just a few months of migrating their communications to Braze, the Pizza Hut team stood up an incredibly complex multi-armed bandit (MAB) machine learning multivariate test, which never would have been possible on their prior customer engagement platform. Thanks to the ease of loading data into Braze, the flexibility of the Braze platform’s Canvas customer journey builder, and the ability to build multi-faceted dynamic logic through Liquid, the team was able to build and launch highly targeted emails with hundreds of variants. Pizza Hut’s proprietary MAB machine learning algorithms reviewed results every couple of days and fed back updated execution information so email strategies could be optimized in real time.
Since migrating to Braze, the team has also launched push notifications and in-app messaging, rounding out their portfolio of personalized, strategic channels to communicate with their customers. The flexibility of the Braze platform was key in the strong channel and downstream growth that the CRM program has driven for Pizza Hut’s business over the past year.
We’ve been really impressed with how Braze has enabled us to advance our customer communication strategies across email, SMS and mobile channels. The cross-channel integrations and targeting capabilities continue to be crucial as we look forward to 2021 and beyond. We are honored to be Braze’s Customer of the Year!
Pizza Hut Results: Increase in Revenue and Transactions Made
Pizza Hut’s proprietary MAB executions drove strong results. The emails outperformed all control variants and drove a 30% lift in transactions, a 21% lift in revenue, and a 10% lift in profit vs. the standard email program.
Key Takeaway
By focusing on delivering value through customer engagement practices and personalization at scale, Pizza Hut was able to increase revenue while deepening relationships with their customers. With the help of Braze, the complex MAB was constructed quickly and simply, driving ROI almost immediately.
