Baltimore’s Atlas Restaurant Group was doing all the traditional marketing stuff. The operator of more than 50 restaurants and other venues in the Mid-Atlantic bought ads in print and online and even on billboards around town.
But it found that the usual tactics weren’t quite cutting it.
“With a lot of that stuff, you’re not really understanding a return on investment,” said Joe Sweeney, Atlas’ director of marketing and PR. “And you’re not really connecting with your guests.”
So about three years ago, the company began developing a loyalty program that would help it do that.
To achieve its goal of gathering truly useful data on its customers, Atlas knew it would need more than the typical punch card programs or email clubs that are common at many independent restaurants. It went several steps further and developed a mobile app, complete with a points-based loyalty program and push notifications with personalized offers.
“It was a lot of money and a lot of upfront investment to do something like this,” Sweeney said. He declined to share how much Atlas has spent on the program. But the results speak for themselves: Atlas Rewards members visit more frequently, and spend twice as much as non-loyalty customers when they do.
“It really connects us to our guests in a way we otherwise would not have been able to,” Sweeney said.
Loyalty programs have become popular in the restaurant industry as operators look to boost frequency and learn more about their customers. But they are more common at limited-service chains than full-service operators and independents like Atlas.
Atlas Rewards launched about a year and a half ago and has amassed about 50,000 members. Members earn a point for every dollar they spend and can begin cashing them in after they’ve accumulated 500, which yields a $10 reward. Those willing to wait can get $20 at 1,000 points, $25 at 1,500 and $30 at 2,000.
The point system is a real motivator for some customers. Sweeney said it’s not uncommon to see a group of diners fighting over who gets to scan the QR code at the end of the meal to score the reward points.
But what has perhaps been even more effective are the app’s promotional capabilities. Atlas can use the detailed customer data the program provides to send tailored marketing messages to specific customer segments or even individuals.
“With those data points, we’re able to push content to certain customers to get them into spaces that they most likely haven’t been visiting or maybe have been visiting,” said Erin Black, Atlas’ VP of marketing and design.
The Elk Room in Baltimore is one of Atlas' bar concepts. | Photo courtesy of Atlas Restaurant Group
One of Atlas’ advantages on that front is that it operates a wide range of restaurant types, from cafes, delis and pizzerias to bars and high-end steak and seafood houses. Frequent customers will typically visit multiple locations throughout the week. And the app allows Atlas to introduce them to places they haven’t been to yet.
“That’s what’s really made the app work well is that there’s so many different kinds of properties in a pretty concentrated geographic region,” said CEO Alex Smith.
At the same time, developing offers that apply to so many different concepts can be challenging.
“You have to remember that you can get a $5 High Noon at the bar but you can also get a $250 tomahawk steak at one of our restaurants,” Sweeney said. Promotions have to make sense for all occasions. The team often lands on deals that give customers a percentage off, rather than a dollar amount.
On the other hand, when it comes to getting people to download the app, cash has worked best. Instead of free points, Atlas now gives customers a $5 reward that they can use as soon as they join. It has helped the company drive more signups at its bars in particular, where $5 can go a long way.
“That’s our in-store marketing now,” Sweeney said: “‘That drink could be free.’”
The freebies are offset somewhat by rewards members’ tendency to spend more than the average patron.
“I think loyal customers are willing to try new things,” said Black. “They know that the quality is going to be good and are willing to dance around the menu, and that has evolved into an eventual higher check.”
And, aside from free stuff, loyalty members also get something that’s a harder to measure, but arguably just as important: recognition.
“Our rewards members are our VIPs,” Black said. “So we talk to them more than any other customer.”
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