• by Paul Gold , May 3, 2011

Frequent patrons are the bread and butter (or burger and fries) of the quick-serve restaurant (QSR) industry. But understanding what motivates their dining choices requires a deep dive into their attitudes and behaviors. The resulting insights can enable marketers to craft more effective partnerships, sponsorships, promotions, menu offerings and communications strategies.

From an organizational standpoint, it's useful to first compare and contrast frequent QSR patrons with all U.S. adults, then to examine frequent patrons in relation to one another. Believe it or not, many of these frequent fast-food diners are on the lookout for ways to live healthier, but like many of us they habitually make unhealthy choices. And some care -- conceptually, at least -- about supporting companies that are environmentally responsible, but will not give up convenience to be "green" themselves. It helps to understand the discrepancies between what they say and what they do when courting their continued patronage.

Using the Sandelman Research Chain Type Usage categorization of QSR brands as the foundation for its analysis, we have produced a white paper that examines frequent QSR patrons of five chain-restaurant types: Burger, Chicken, Sandwich, Mexican and Pizza. Among the findings: consumers act differently based on "where they are in life" -- such as their age, marital status and whether or not they have children. These life stages have a strong bearing on customer attitudes and behaviors about dining, health, nutrition, corporate transparency and environmental responsibility.

On several issues that are important to QSR marketers, frequent chain users share similar attitudes and behaviors with the adult population as a whole, but they also differ on other important points. For instance, here are statements for which significant numbers of consumers in both groups respond comparably:

• I am always looking for new ways to live a healthier life.

• I enjoy trying different types of food.

• I prefer cooking with fresh food rather than canned or frozen.

On the other hand, while 81% of all U.S. adults agree with the statement "I try to eat healthy these days and pay attention to nutrition," frequent patrons of Burger and Pizza outlets are far less likely to feel this way. And while almost half (43%) of all adults say they often eat meals on the run, frequent Burger and Pizza denizens are anywhere from 30% to 39% more likely to do so.

Aside from eating proclivities, frequent QSR patrons hold certain expectations for the companies with which they choose to do business. The fact that McDonald's recently pledged $2 million to aid disaster relief efforts in Japan is not surprising, given that our analysis shows that 34% of the chain's customers expect the brands they buy to support social causes. In general, frequent QSR patrons align with all adults on corporate transparency and environmental issues. For example, there is agreement on being "willing to pay more for a product that is environmentally safe," and that "a company's environmental record is important to me in my purchasing decisions."

One of the more interesting insights to be gleaned from our analysis is how much more tethered to their cell phones frequent QSR patrons are than the general adult population. While just 2% of U.S. adults used a text message to respond to an advertisement delivered via cell phone in the last 30 days, frequent QSR patrons are anywhere from 50% more likely on the low end to beyond 90% more likely on the high end to have done so. And while just 4% of all adults have signed up for a text "alert" service, frequent QSR patrons are far more likely to have done so, in percentages similar to their penchant for responding to cell phone advertisements. Clearly, QSR marketers can use text as a touchpoint for connecting with frequent patrons on the go.

Another point of interest to marketers: our analysis shows that frequent patrons of Mexican chains are 80% more likely than the typical U.S. adults to go to the movies two or three times a month. Thus, promotional tie-ins between Mexican restaurants and the motion picture industry would appear to go together like chips and salsa.