Jour: how the brand builds an omnichannel brand relying on digital.
Maël Barth, CEO of Jour, shared an unfiltered testimony about the brand’s challenges in building an omnichannel experience.
A pioneer of healthy food in France, the network with 35 owned and franchised locations, has been digitalized since 2018.
A strategy that now showcases a mastered digital ecosystem: click and collect and direct delivery, in‑store ordering kiosks and soon a digital B2B catering offering. All is accompanied by a new loyalty program designed with ZEROSIX.
These remarks were collected during our first Business Talk held on June 28 in Paris. It was a discussion organized around two round tables, with guests including Maël Barth and Frank Delafon for Food Society. Frank Delafon’s testimony can be found here.
A layered omnichannel strategy
Jour builds its digital strategy through a “layered” approach. This allows creating a coherent omnichannel brand. Multiply channels to multiply sales opportunities.
« We use the image of the mille‑feuille where we multiply the sales layers so that in the end we manage to generate the highest revenue per restaurant. The first layer is the physical restaurant. I am a customer, I pass by, I come in. The second layer is click and collect. Then the third, delivery platforms. And finally, the fourth layer, direct delivery. We thus build a hybrid format where we multiply the ordering channels. »
Digital ordering, a strategic issue at Jour
Implementing digital ordering is a strategic issue at Jour. In addition to meeting a client omnichannel strategy, it addresses a very operational problem. Indeed, the network’s locations operate mainly during the lunch break. With peaks of traffic in a short time window, the brand seeks to continuously optimize its in‑store customer flow. Digital ordering via click and collect and delivery are important levers.
« Digital is strategic for our business. You have 1h30 to eat at lunch, and once the salad bar is saturated, you move on. And we lose customers. As soon as we manage to turn a restaurant customer into a digital customer, we immediately see a revenue increase. It’s a customer who places a click‑and‑collect order from the office, comes to pick it up from a shelf, takes it and leaves. This customer frees up a restaurant seat for another customer. »
Jour, first network to have offered direct delivery
Jour is one of the first networks to launch direct delivery with the DOOD x Uber Direct partnership. This choice naturally arose in response to the problem of the unbalanced economic model of the delivery channel when it is operated exclusively through platforms.
« We have many options to equip a client and delivery is of course part of that. Historically, we worked with Stuart. But in the provinces, it became clear that it didn’t work. We always face the issue of working with aggregators (i.e., delivery platforms). We are not completely dependent on them. We found a solution with delivery via our own tools. And especially with our own client, that is, a client that belongs to us. We launched with Uber Direct because they have more couriers available (i.e., the Uber Eats fleet). And this allows us to have our own customers, whom we can engage through loyalty. This is not possible with aggregators. And loyalty helps us develop this layer of the mille‑feuille. Because even in delivery, you accumulate loyalty. It’s omnichannel to be able to address a client also through delivery. »
Digital as a management tool
Beyond diversifying its sales channels, Jour sees digital as a useful tool for centralization and management for a network head.
« In a franchise network, it’s unthinkable for each to have its own solution. This multiplies card configurations, for example, and becomes unmanageable. Digital has a power: we can see what’s happening at the restaurant level from a back‑office perspective. Being remote gives us an operational view at the local level. It’s a real advantage for a franchisor to have factual data coming up. In terms of management, it’s a huge contribution. »
A big‑bang deployment
The brand’s boldness to carry out the migration across the 35 points of sale in a big bang. Yet it was necessary to encourage public adoption of this change. And a first challenge, the choice of the technical solution.
« We launched the project at the end of September. It took us a month and a half to choose a partner for click and collect. And from mid‑December to the end of February we deployed DOOD and Zerosix, which is connected to DOOD, the cash register and the Acrelec kiosks, as well as delivery. We looked for players who could do everything, but we realized it’s better to have a sum of specialists. So we integrated DOOD and on top of that, we added loyalty with Zerosix. In choosing our partners, we looked for people who already worked together to save time. It’s quite hard to find partners on these topics, reliable partners. Today, all the tools are stable. We wanted click and collect and delivery to be rolled out at the same time as loyalty to benefit from the virtuous effect. »
Loyalty is a central gear in the omnichannel approach
« We are very satisfied with our loyalty program. We chose a status‑based principle; it’s engaging and increases brand loyalty. We will launch referral in October, giving the base time to settle. We have enrolled almost three‑quarters of our customers in the loyalty program. Another key issue for the brand in working with Zerosix is that beyond being a loyalty tool, it is also a CRM tool for managing customer relationships. With SMS scenarios, we can boost our sales. For me, the challenge in this post‑COVID context is remote work. With loyalty and a timely SMS and a nice offer, we will be able to capture many people. On Fridays everyone sees a drop in revenue, we will be able on those days to go after them. »
And the results are already there after 4 months of operation. Audrey Saralier, Partner Manager at ZEROSIX, confirmed it:
« The reward utilization rate is around 70%, which is very important, showing that the program works well. And we observe a higher average basket with the rewards. »
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