Skift Take
For restaurants, loyalty is not just a service to thank repeat customers. It’s an incredibly effective data acquisition strategy that is an increasingly vital component of any restaurant’s operations, from discount-driven chains to fine dining experiences.
[caption id="attachment_321381" align="alignright" width="240"] Download your copy of Skift Megatrends 2019[/caption]
We've just released our annual industry trends forecast, Skift Restaurant Megatrends 2019. You can read about each of the trends on Skift Table as well as download a copy of our magazine here.
Lettuce Entertain You, a Chicago-based restaurant group that includes over 60 different restaurant brands, is no stranger to loyalty programs. The 47-year-old company has offered a diner rewards program since the 1990s, but, until recently, it primarily existed as a physical card-based program.
Five years ago, Jennifer Bell, Lettuce Entertain You’s executive vice president of marketing, sought to change that. Bell led an initiative within the company to ditch the pen-and-paper program that it had been running for decades in favor of a digital loyalty app, got rid of a $25 charge to sign up for the program, and watched member count grow exponentially as a result.
Speaking in October 2018 at TechTable, a restaurant industry conference, Bell told the audience t
