By: Erika Stevens

This week I have spent a good amount of time on Twitter reading through the conversations regarding loyalty programs and rewards programs.  I have been tweeting using my personal account on and off for awhile, but just recently started using it for Tecmark and wanted to get the lay of the land before jumping in.  I have to admit I was surprised at the number of tweets regarding loyalty and rewards.  Conversations are happening on Twitter and if you haven’t checked it out you are missing the action.  

One particular link that caught my eye was an article from Nation’s Restaurant News regarding the new Red Robin Gourmet Burgers loyalty program called Red Royalty.  The article highlights the steps taken by Red Robin before deploying their loyalty program that are a testament to the positive effects a loyalty program can have on your business.  Red Robin included the loyalty program as part of their Project RED initiative to turnaround their business.

Red Robin took their time with the loyalty program understanding the need to know what results loyalty would hold for them.  They first tested the program in 45 locations over the past year.  After seeing positive results (2% increase in guest traffic) and positive acceptance from members they decided to roll the loyalty program out to the rest of the 450 locations.   

The other important note is Red Robin’s desire to have a deeper relationship with their guests than frequency.  Frequency or punch card programs allow businesses to reward their guests, but they are not learning anything about them in return.  Part of the Project Red initiative is to send specific promotions to customers based on their preferences and buying habits. 
Red Robin also studied loyalty programs before deploying theirs so they have an understanding of what currently does and does not work in other industries. 

Check out Red Robin's Red Royalty program page to learn more about the benefits of joining the loyalty program.