Ep 43: Alice Crowder is the CMO of Krystal
Everybody has a Krystal story. Alice Crowder’s Krystal story involves her dad fishing quarters out of his pocket to buy them Krystal’s, which were a quarter a piece at the time! Yours might be memories of all-nighters at university or midnight toasts at weddings. For the past 90 years the Krystal brand has maintained its status in society, but there is a lot of innovation happening at the company, and Alice is one of the people at the helm. In today’s show, you will hear about how Krystal is making use of influencer marketing, the app they are releasing this week, and other approaches that the second oldest quick service restaurant in the country uses to stay relevant after all these years. Alice’s personal career journey with Krystal is another interesting story which she shares, and her many years of experience in different sectors of the marketing field make her well-positioned to offer excellent advice to any budding CMO’s out there!
Key Points From This Episode:
Alice’s unusual strategy for lifting her energy before a presentation.
The role that Alice held at Krystal from 2014 to 2018.
Why Alice decided to return to Krystal after her stint at Tropical Smoothie.
Alice shares the history or the Krystal brand.
Differences between Krystal and the other major US slider brand, White Castle.
Where the name Krystal came from.
The two main areas that Krystal is currently focusing on.
An exciting launch that is happening at Krystal this week.
Huge benefits to acquiring first party data.
How Krystal responds to the different needs and desires of their target demographics.
Alice’s goal for Krystal’s digital ordering system.
Krystal’s upcoming drive to get users onto their app, and the value this will provide to the company and the guests.
The two pillars that Alice’s team is split into.
How being understaffed has impacted Alice’s approach to marketing.
Alice shares some of the franchisee initiatives that Krystal is embarking upon.
An example of how the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way people think about chain stores.
What Alice’s role at Tropical Smoothie entailed.
Why Krystal puts a lot of emphasis on performance marketing, and not so much on brand awareness.
Alice’s personal “Krystal story” and some of the others that she has heard over the years.
A key piece of advice from Alice around what it takes to be successful in marketing.
Krystal’s take on influencer marketing.
Tweetables:
“Everything at Krystal is small, except the flavor and the value.” — @AliceAnnCrowder [0:04:40]
“The two most important things for our brand and really, for most brands right now, are innovation and technology.” — @AliceAnnCrowder [0:08:36]
“The more you know about your guest, the more effectively you can communicate with them.” — @AliceAnnCrowder [0:11:23]
“I believe that local involvement is critical if you are going to be successful.” — @AliceAnnCrowder [0:22:26]
“To have a brand with this kind of history that’s woven so tightly into the special moments of its guests' lives is really rewarding.” — @AliceAnnCrowder [0:30:20]