Pizza Hut Digital & Technology’s research team supports customer-facing and staff-facing products across 12 markets, each with its own language, customer expectations and priorities. The team wanted to bring locally relevant research into decision-making across every market.
Recruitment was well established in locations such as the UK, while markets including Japan, Peru and Kuwait required more tailored sourcing. Research in Japan also reinforced the importance of participant screening. The team wanted greater visibility into participants’ language skills and local experience so it could understand how closely each study reflected customers in that market.
To support research across its growing footprint, the team looked for a partner that could combine broad market coverage with detailed participant information and responsive support.
Katie began using Askable in Japan and Peru before expanding to additional markets.
"What stood out to me when using the Askable platform was the ability to hand select my participants, so being able to read through and engage if they were actually going to be a good fit."
Detailed profiles gave the team more information when selecting participants for each study. Observer links also made it easier for designers, product managers and leaders to attend sessions and hear directly from customers.
"Another thing that stood out to me when using the askable platform is the ability to have observers, or silent observers. This is really crucial, because I am in the throes of getting more buy in with research."
A dedicated Slack channel added another layer of support. Designers could manage smaller research tasks independently, while the Askable team was available to assist throughout the process.
Leadership began attending sessions through observer links, bringing customer evidence into product and business conversations. Research was also given responsibility for initiatives including the Mexico call centre redesign. During this period, Japan’s website rating increased from 1.0 to the high 2s within a year.
In one session, Katie observed that a vegetarian participant received meat-based upsell recommendations."We had a woman who was vegetarian. Everything in her cart was meat free, and all of her suggestions of things to add to her basket were chicken wings." The observation prompted the team to explore recommendations that better reflect customer preferences.
Askable also gave designers and product managers direct access to research activity and participant information, making customer evidence easier to use throughout product development.
As additional markets express interest in joining Pizza Hut Digital & Technology’s platform, the team plans to make locally relevant research available across more regions.
"My goal at the moment is to have a researcher for each GEP, which are the different regions that sit within the markets, to make sure they're really getting everything they need in terms of research."
Askable gives the team a flexible way to establish recruitment panels and support research as new markets join.
Pizza Hut Digital and Technology
Pizza Hut Digital and Technology develops and manages customer-facing applications and staff tools, from the online ordering experience to backend systems such as call centre platforms and restaurant manager dashboards. Its technology supports hundreds of stores processing thousands of orders every day.
Food & Beverage
350,000+ employees
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