National Coney Island, a Michigan-based chain of 20 restaurants, has increased guest visit frequency and spend since launching the Coney Bucks rewards program, which is powered by Paytronix technology.
A July 2014 instant-win promotion helped National Coney Island double new Coney Bucks registrations over the average month’s registrations. To date, Coney Bucks has accumulated 58,000 loyalty program members.
In 2013, National Coney Island replaced its coupon-based advertising program with the Coney Bucks rewards program, which is built on the Paytronix Rewards Platform. Offering discounts based on visit frequency and spend, Coney Bucks collects myriad of data points, which helps the restaurant chain better understand and engage with guests.
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National Coney Island has deployed Paytronix promotions, messaging, and test-and-control features in an effort to recruit and engage loyalty program members on a more ongoing basis.
The July 2014 instant-win promotion, which celebrated National Hot Dog Month, targeted two specific customer segments. The promotion gave unregistered visitors the chance to win a free beverage, fries or a Coney Combo. These rewards were only available for redemption upon registration. As a result, registrations for that month nearly doubled that of previous months. The registration spike continued over the next three months.
The promotion also gave registered guests a chance to win. Because the expiration dates on the instant-win rewards were relatively short time periods, when guests redeemed the rewards, it created an incremental visit during the promotion month. Visits for this segment were 40% higher than the average visit behavior recorded during the three months leading up to the promotion.
National Coney Island has used behavioral messaging, and leveraged a variety of offers, to engage with guests, increase visit frequency and overall spend.
With target-and-control capabilities, National Coney Island can determine which offers will deliver incremental and profitable visits. For instance, the restaurant performed a head-to-head offer test between a dessert versus a milkshake. In the end, team members determined that the free milkshake offer delivered more incremental visits than the free dessert. Additionally, the test found that those who redeemed a milkshake were more likely to spend about a dollar more per check than those redeeming a dessert.
“Overall, Paytronix has helped us to increase knowledge of our guests and keep them engaged with both our loyalty program and our brand,” said Martyna Nowak, Marketing Director at National Coney Island. “There’s a lot of competition in this area. Coney Bucks further differentiates our offering and makes a positive impact on sales.”
