Hot Dish Advertising's Michelle

How does your marketing department work with other internal departments to enhance your brand’s customer experience? Michelle “Shelly” Bythewood Executive Director of Client Services Hot Dish Advertising As a former CMO of a fast-casual restaurant brand, I learned quickly that great marketing doesn’t happen in a silo. It’s not just about clever campaigns or eye-catching creative.

Marketing has to work across the organization to bring the brand to life at every customer touchpoint. Some of our most impactful work happened in lockstep with the operations team. We knew that whatever we put out into the world, whether a new product launch or a national promotion, it had to be both exciting and executable.

Ops helped us think through staffing, prep timing, and service flow, making sure the guest experience matched the promise. That partnership helped prevent surprises in the field and kept things consistent. Culinary was another essential partner.

Marketing brought customer insights, trend data, and competitive intel while the culinary team brought creativity and feasibility. Together, we built “craveable” products that were on-brand and operationally sound. When that collaboration clicked, we could confidently build campaigns around food we knew our teams could deliver and guests would love.

Technology was a big piece of the puzzle too. Working closely with IT and digital, we refined the customer journey through our app, online ordering, and loyalty program. The goal was to make the digital experience as seamless and on-brand as walking into the restaurant.

Even HR played a role. From hiring to onboarding and employee engagement, we worked with HR to weave our brand values into the team member experience. We wanted everyone, from hourly staff to leadership, to understand how their role shaped the guest experience.

At the end of the day, marketing was the brand steward, but we didn’t do it alone. The real magic happened when we connected the dots across departments. That alignment made our storytelling authentic, our execution reliable, and our customer experience strong from start to finish.

Now, as the executive director of client services at Hot Dish Advertising, I carry those lessons with me every day. Cross-functional collaboration isn't just a best practice; it’s the secret sauce that brings a brand to life.