FOODSERVICE
Feeding Off the Power of Loyalty The real-time data and consumer insights provided by loyalty programs can boost marketing efforts and improve foodservice category sales By Angela Hanson
the convenience store industry has shifted from an early interest in mobile ordering to a widespread adoption of digital services. Many c-store retailers are scrambling to catch up — but as they do, it is critical that they not overlook the advantages of a not-so-new concept: loyalty programs.
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When paired with new investments in technology, loyalty programs can do a lot to help c-store operators move the needle, particularly when it comes to foodservice category sales. One of the key benefits is their ability to incentivize trial of new items. “Pilot Flying J is always innovating our foodservice program to expand our menu offerings and provide our guests with fresh, seasonal flavors. As we continue to introduce new foods, the myRewards Plus app and our loyalty program provide an opportunity to feature those products and encourage trial through in-app offers or redemption of points,” said Steven Root, director of loyalty CRM for Knoxville, Tenn.-based Pilot Co., which operates more than 750 travel centers in 44 states. The success rate of such offers improves even further when programs take individual customer data into account. The true value of loyalty comes from analyzing a customer’s purchasing history through integrated point-of-sale data —
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right down to individual SKUs, according to Lori Stout, vice president of marketing at customer loyalty and engagement solutions provider Punchh. “As you aggregate data and build a more complete view of the customer, you can then use AI [artificial intelligence] to make predictions about future buying behaviors,” Stout said. “This is especially helpful for the foodservice category, as it becomes much easier to pinpoint and deliver offers that will resonate with that customer.” Examples include sending a new breakfast burrito offer to a customer who regularly purchases breakfast burritos, or sending a pizza-and-breadsticks combo deal to a customer who may not be a regular pizza buyer but always stops to buy fuel on Fridays. “Once you connect loyalty to the various touchpoints where your customer interacts with you, the possibilities are virtually endless when it comes to creating personalized, timely foodservice offers that will resonate,” Stout added. This data, however, is only as good and usable as retailers set it up to be. Many legacy loyalty programs lack connection to the point-of-sale (POS) system, fuel pumps and other relevant systems. In the c-store ecosystem, everything affects everything else. Stout recommends that retailers just beginning their