What are LTO Rollouts?

“LTO” stands for “Limited Time Only,” and generally refers to specials or promotions that only stick around for a short time. The benefits of LTO rollouts are numerous, including increased customer base, revenues, and customer satisfaction. With franchises, however, LTO rollouts can pose a significant challenge, especially in the logistics of coordinating the rollout across the region or nation.

How Much Goes into a Rollout?

With a franchise brand, individual restaurant locations must be on the same page as headquarters dictates. With seasonal promotions and LTO rollouts, this generally requires an amalgamation and variety of different tasks and items to coordinate, on schedule, and without variation. Some of the usual things franchises must accomplish for a successful LTO rollout include:

  • Receiving rollout instructions from headquarters
  • Marketing the promotion locally, with a variety of strategies
  • Receiving and installing the LTO physical materials, including signs, packaging, and more
  • Implementing the rollout at exactly the same time, in exactly the same way, as other franchises participating in the LTO promotion

With the amount of coordination and regulation required for a franchise to participate in their brand’s seasonal LTO rollouts, things have an enormous tendency to not go according to plan. Utilizing as many “guaranteed” solutions as possible to ensure a successful rollout is essential.

5 Tips for Marketing Your Next LTO Rollout

Successful rollouts of LTO and seasonal promotions rely on participants completing a few key tasks. Dot It’s 5 tips for successful marketing are:

Follow the Seasons

Jun 24, 2017 1:29:45 AM

A lot of LTO rollouts and promotions are coordinated to the seasons. Wintry minty-spiced coffees and cocoas are a regular site after the end of October. Red, white, and blue-themed items are everywhere in the summer months. Seasonal promotions are a sure way to make LTO rollouts a successful endeavor.

Utilize social media

Social media marketing is free, effective, and easy-to-create. Many national brands have social media accounts, and individual franchises can also create and manage social media local location pages. By notifying customers and fans by social media, franchises can increase LTO participation and customer satisfaction.

Work with a Calendar

Many brands create a yearly calendar with seasonal promotions and LTO rollouts staged strategically across the year. One of the most iconic calendars is McDonalds’ promotional calendar. Everyone knows McRibs arrive every year in the fall. Monopoly is an end of summer promotion. Calendars create anticipation in the customer base without any work on the individual franchise’s part.

Make It Strategic

Promotions that connect into a variety of the company’s existing items or offerings generally have better success. Chili’s Prime Rib Burrito, for example, is an extension of the company’s Tex Mex platform which offers a premium protein option in a trendy bowl-meal form. This LTO promotion covers three segments of Chili’s items: Tex Mex, premium meats, and bowl-meals. Utilizing promotions that are strategically designed produce better success.

Make Sure Customers Know!

Physical advertising materials get the word out to customers when they come to the restaurant before and during the promotion. Table tents, window clings, menu-board sections, and more provide advertising with minimal staff-time and work involved.

How Can Dot It Help?

Dot It specializes in helping franchises make sure individual locations in a restaurant chain are doing the same thing at the right time. We specialize in a Brand Fulfillment program, which caters to medium-to-large chains that need help with their custom print orders. We can source, print, pack, and ship all of your brand’s marketing collateral and branded materials to all of your locations on time and looking great! Get your next LTO lined up, and let us help you roll it out!