The retailer’s Smokey Pokey restaurant joins the coalition loyalty program enabling customers to earn rewards on fuel, foodservice and other in-store purchases.
For K.C. Andrews, providing convenience and outstanding service isn’t an empty promise. It is a way of life. So when the founder and owner of the Cowboy Travel Plaza in Stillwater, Okla., was looking for a way to reward his loyal customers for their business in the convenience store, at the fuel pumps and at his new Smokey Pokey restaurant, he turned to KickBack Points to help.
“We love giving back to our customers and our previous rewards program, which was based on how many gallons of gas they purchased during each store visit, just wasn’t cutting it. Companies or regular customers with smaller vehicles never benefited from it,” said Andrews, who opened the travel plaza in 2008. “Plus, we had several of our frequent customers asking us why we didn’t have a loyalty system that would include every type of customer we receive. We then decided we need to get a more structured program.”
To meet and exceed the needs of his customers, Andrews set out to integrate a comprehensive loyalty program that rewarded customers for every purchase made at his multi-faceted travel plaza. He wanted customers to be able to earn discounts on fuel, free food and drinks and had a fun social component that allowed customers to be part of a much broader coalition loyalty network. He first added KickBack Points in the convenience store about two years ago. He recently updated the partnership to include the Smokey Pokey restaurant, making it available throughout his entire facility.
“We chose KickBack because of its dynamic support. We were also already part of the Conoco fuel network, which is a national partner on the KickBack network, so it made more sense to integrate the KickBack platform instead of another loyalty program,” said Tiffany Cosgrove, operations manager for the Cowboy Travel Plaza and Smokey Pokey restaurant. “It was super easy to integrate into our facility.”
For a smaller operator like the Cowboy Travel Plaza, a coalition loyalty program offers the company a big opportunity. A major cost benefit is that most of the development work is already established. Plus, the opportunities to earn points are more frequent and varied, the rewards are bigger and can be more aspirational and the range of rewards can be greater.
Coalition programs, such as KickBack Rewards Systems, have a proven ability to increase average transaction value, increase transaction frequency and increase customer lifetime value.
“An effective loyalty program that rewards your customers for their business is quickly becoming the crucial difference between driving sales and losing customers,” said Pat Lewis, CEO of KickBack Rewards Systems. “We are always looking for ways to help our marketers and retailers succeed and will continue to go the extra mile to help them build programs to reach a wide range of customers.”
KickBack Rewards Systems has been an innovator and leader in loyalty solutions since it was founded by retailers in 1999. Today, KickBack stands as the leader in loyalty marketing in the convenience store, quick-service restaurant and grocery channels and has also designed effective programs for drug stores, gaming casinos, truck stops, furniture stores, clothing stores, and many others.