Customer Retention and New Revenue Streams: Marketing Lessons With me&u's Boden Westover

05/13/24 • 49 min

Boden Westover, SVP Marketing at me&u and former VP Marketing at Mr Yum, joins us on the pod for a candid chat on the intersection of technology and customer service in the hospitality world.

Boden shares his perspective on why marketers need to hone their focus on retention, and how the brilliant minds in the marketing team at me&u are innovating to drive retention, loyalty and uncover new revenue streams. We cover the much-discussed merger of Australia's top two mobile ordering companies in me&u and Mr Yum to form one true market leader, Boden's advice for marketers today and so much more.

Podcast Show notes: Unconventional Business - Season 3 Episode 2

Host Kat Warboys, Senior Marketing Director APAC for HubSpot interviews

Boden Westover, Senior Vice President (SVP) of Marketing at Me&U.

Boden's background includes experience in fast-growth startups, ed tech, and sports technology.

This episode of Unconventional Business delves into the dynamic landscape of hospitality tech, the power of personalised customer experiences, the role of data-driven marketing strategies in driving growth and loyalty, and what a spicy marg has to do with this.

Key Episode Moments

Company Background:

me&u is a platform offering sales and marketing tools and services for hospitality brands.

Notable acquisition of My Guest List and subsidiary company Sprout, enhancing technology offerings for the industry.

The focus on personalised customer experiences through data capture and application.

Navigating the Pandemic:

The impact of the pandemic on the hospitality industry and Mr. Yum's pivot to pick up and delivery services.

Strategic move towards supporting local venues and reducing fees for customers.

Industry Evolution:

The evolution of hospitality tech post-pandemic, emphasizing seamless customer experiences and operational efficiency.

me&u's successful pivot and integration within the tech ecosystem to enhance user experience.

Future of Hospitality Tech:

The trend towards consolidation and integration in the hospitality tech space.

The importance of data-driven, personalised marketing strategies to enhance customer engagement and loyalty.

Insights and Takeaways:

Boden highlights the importance of brand marketing in the age of AI and the evolving role of the CMO.

The significance of tailored customer experiences and leveraging data for effective marketing campaigns.

The impact of technology integration and partnership in transforming the hospitality industry.

Want more?

If you enjoyed this conversation, make sure you hit follow and subscribe so you’ll know when the next episode drops. Head to www.hubspot.com/podcasts/unconventional-business for more information.

Unconventional Business was written and produced by HubSpot ANZ, Catherine Sumner and Amiria MacKinnon, and VidPod (www.vidpod.com.au).

Boden Westover, SVP Marketing at me&u and former VP Marketing at Mr Yum, joins us on the pod for a candid chat on the intersection of technology and customer service in the hospitality world.

Podcast Show notes: Unconventional Business - Season 3 Episode 2

Host Kat Warboys, Senior Marketing Director APAC for HubSpot interviews

Boden Westover, Senior Vice President (SVP) of Marketing at Me&U.

Boden's background includes experience in fast-growth startups, ed tech, and sports technology.

Key Episode Moments

Company Background:

me&u is a platform offering sales and marketing tools and services for hospitality brands.

Notable acquisition of My Guest List and subsidiary company Sprout, enhancing technology offerings for the industry.

The focus on personalised customer experiences through data capture and application.

Navigating the Pandemic:

The impact of the pandemic on the hospitality industry and Mr. Yum's pivot to pick up and delivery services.

Strategic move towards supporting local venues and reducing fees for customers.

Industry Evolution:

The evolution of hospitality tech post-pandemic, emphasizing seamless customer experiences and operational efficiency.

me&u's successful pivot and integration within the tech ecosystem to enhance user experience.

Future of Hospitality Tech:

The trend towards consolidation and integration in the hospitality tech space.

The importance of data-driven, personalised marketing strategies to enhance customer engagement and loyalty.

Insights and Takeaways:

Boden highlights the importance of brand marketing in the age of AI and the evolving role of the CMO.

The significance of tailored customer experiences and leveraging data for effective marketing campaigns.

The impact of technology integration and partnership in transforming the hospitality industry.

Want more?

If you enjoyed this conversation, make sure you hit follow and subscribe so you’ll know when the next episode drops. Head to www.hubspot.com/podcasts/unconventional-business for more information.

Unconventional Business was written and produced by HubSpot ANZ, Catherine Sumner and Amiria MacKinnon, and VidPod (www.vidpod.com.au).

Previous Episode

Season 3 - Coming May 14

Unconventional Business is back, with season 3 coming May 14th.

Follow the show and get ready to hear from some of our best homegrown challenger brands, including Airwallex, Tracksuit, me&u, HotDoc, Gelato Messina and more.

Next Episode

How Airwallex Grew to Start-Up Unicorn Status with Luke Latham

In season three of HubSpot's Unconventional Business we delve into the journey of Australia's third technology unicorn, Airwallex, and learn how the scaling company is disrupting the banking and financial services sector.

We're joined by Luke Latham, Managing Director and GM of Airwallex ANZ, and explore Luke's diverse career background (from AWS to MILKRUN) and the importance of a builder's mindset in challenging and disruptive industries.

On the show, Luke takes us on the journey of how Airwallex became a global disruptor in such a short space of time, where the company's growth (they now have over 100,000 customers worldwide) stems from, and insight into how the founders and leadership team think, build and go to market.

You'll leave the episode with valuable lessons for businesses aiming to disrupt traditional sectors and prioritise customer-centric practices, and insight into the significance of trust-building, and broader trends in the fintech industry.

Key Episode Moments:

Luke Latham's diverse career background spanning Microsoft, Milkrun, Groupon, Amazon, and now Airwallex, with a focus on disruptive industries.
Discussion on the importance of a builder's mindset for thriving in challenger brands and disruptive industries.
Overview of Airwallex as a global disruptor in banking and financial services, offering infrastructure for payments and money movement.
Explanation of how Airwallex addresses the costly and timely nature of cross-border transactions and the unique market timing for its establishment in 2015.
Building trust with consumers through reliability, credibility, service level monitoring, and personalised customer support within the financial technology sector.

Want more?

If you enjoyed this conversation, make sure you hit follow and subscribe so you’ll know when the next episode drops. Head to www.hubspot.com/podcasts/unconventional-business for more information.

Unconventional Business was written and produced by HubSpot ANZ, Catherine Sumner and Amiria MacKinnon, and VidPod.