Customer proof on record
How Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken increased guest frequency by almost 6% with Spendgo
- Customer on record
- Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken
- Vendor on record
- Spendgo
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Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken, a hospitality chain, shifted to Spendgo to adopt a "points-based system" that rewards higher-value customers. According to VP of Marketing Dan Sokolik, the brand was paying a legacy provider "for more than we needed" and found Spendgo "more right-sized for us." The company says it is now seeing its loyalty database "grow by about six and a half percent month-over-month."
Approved quotes
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Showing all 31 quotes
- Background
Self Intro
“I'm Dan Sokolik, the Vice President of Marketing with Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken.”
- Background
Company Intro
“I am the Vice President of Marketing with Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken. We are a 130-unit golden fried chicken chain that has been around since 1966. We're located in 12 states, mostly in the Midwest and Upper Midwest area.”
- Before
Legacy System: Poor Service and Flawed Rewards
“We were working with one of the giants in the restaurant loyalty space, and as a small brand, we were getting less than acceptable service from them. The program I inherited was a check-in-based system, so we were rewarding all of our guests at the same level, regardless of spend or frequency. We saw a clear need to adjust that to a points-based system where folks that were spending more with us were getting rewarded.”
- Before
Rewarding a $5 Sandwich and a $50 Family Meal Equally
“In the fried chicken business, our average tickets can vary based on the use case. We sell a lot of individual meals at lunchtime, but on dinner and weekends, we sell an awful lot of family meal bundles that have significantly higher average tickets. We were rewarding guests the same whether they bought a chicken sandwich or whether they bought 20 pieces of chicken and four sides to feed a family.”
- Before
Paying for a Cadillac, Needing a Chevy
“Cost, right? We were paying for a Cadillac when all we really needed was a Chevy. We weren't taking full advantage of everything we were paying for from that larger provider. Spendgo is just more right-sized for our brand.”
- How they use it
Switching from a Complicated, Unsupportive Giant
“When I first came aboard, I inherited a loyalty program from one of the giants in the industry. We weren't getting the type of service we needed. They had great features, but being a small brand with limited bandwidth, we didn't have the capabilities to take full advantage of it. We were paying for more than we needed and not getting the help to use what we were paying for. By shifting to Spendgo, we've been able to correct that. They've been incredibly helpful and supportive for a small brand like ours. We feel like they're more right-sized for us, from a cost standpoint and for our needs.”
- Before
Lack of Service from an Industry Giant
“When I first came on board with Lee's, I inherited a loyalty program that was already in place. We were working with one of the giants of the industry at the time, and we really just weren't getting the level of service and support that we needed to fully take advantage of their offerings.”
- How they use it
From Transaction-Based to Value-Based Rewards
“The program I inherited was a check-in based system. We were treating all guests the same based on transactions, not taking into account the level of spend and the true value of each customer. That's why we shifted to a points-based system where we're providing more rewards to our more valuable guests.”
The Basic Logic of Loyalty
“It seems so basic to me, right? You spend more with us, we should treat you better. You give us more, we give you more.”
- Before
The Risk of Devaluing High-Spenders
“The whole purpose of a loyalty program is to develop loyalty. If I'm spending fifty or sixty bucks to feed a family and I get the same reward as a guy that spent $4.99 on a chicken sandwich, I don't feel very valued and I'm probably not going to be very loyal.”
- Before
Inflexible and Overpriced Legacy Platform
“The legacy provider that we were working with was not really set up with a flexible pricing model to fit our needs. We were paying for more than we were using.”
- Before
Overwhelmed by a Complicated Legacy Platform
“One of the challenges we faced with the legacy provider was the complicated nature of their platform. We're a small team with not a lot of internal bandwidth, and coming in midstream, it was an overwhelming task to try to catch up with their technology.”
- Before
Small Team, Complicated System
“We're a small brand with a small marketing team, and we don't have the resources, bandwidth, or manpower to tackle the complicated nuances of the legacy provider we were working with. Spendgo has helped by making things easier for us.”
- Before
Lacking Bandwidth for a Complicated System
“We're a small brand with a very small team, and one of the biggest challenges we had with our previous provider was the bandwidth and manpower to fully take advantage of their complicated system.”
- Results
Superior Support and an Easier Platform
“First off, it's the support, both from an onboarding and an ongoing standpoint. They've been there to help us. And the platform dashboard and the tool is just, frankly, simply easier to use.”
- Results
Ongoing Support and an Easy-to-Use Platform
“Spendgo has made things easier for us in a couple of ways. One, the platform is simply easier to use—less bells and whistles to distract us and more of what we need. But secondly, they've held our hand all the way through. They didn't just leave us after onboarding; they've provided ongoing support and are always there to help.”
- Results
Flexibility to Choose Partners
“With Spendgo, the notion of best-in-breed allows us to pick and choose our other partners. It's not an all-in-one package, which gives us the flexibility to pay for what we need.”
- Results
Growing at Our Own Pace
“We're not there yet, but we'll be able to take advantage of that. We're going to be able to grow and expand our capabilities as we grow, instead of biting off more than we can chew up front.”
- Results
Flexibility to Expand Capabilities in the Future
“One of the things we really like about Spendgo is the ability to expand our capabilities as we grow. It gives us a lot more flexibility in the future to enhance what we're already doing.”
- Results
Growing Capabilities with Internal Bandwidth
“One of the things we really like about Spendgo is the ability to grow at our own pace. The ability to integrate with the partners they provide gives us the opportunity to expand our capabilities as we expand our internal bandwidth.”
- Results
Rewarding High-Spending Customers Appropriately
“We shifted to a points-based system with Spendgo, and that allows us to reward our higher-spending customers at the level that they deserve.”
- Results
Rewarding the Highest-Value Loyalty Members
“By shifting to a points-based system with Spendgo, we're now able to reward our higher-value customers better. We know that our loyalty members spend more with us, and now we're able to give even more rewards to those loyalty members spending the most with us.”
- Results
6.5% Month-Over-Month Member Growth
“We're growing our member base at about six and a half percent month-over-month.”
- Results
Nearly 6% Increase in Loyalty Guest Frequency
“Since shifting to Spendgo, we've seen an increase in frequency from our loyal guests of almost 6% versus the prior program we were running.”
- Results
Database Growth and SMS Opt-in Rate
“We're currently seeing our loyalty database grow by about six and a half percent month-over-month, and of all our loyalty members, about 16% have opted-in for SMS.”
- Results
Exceptional Support from Onboarding Onward
“I really can't say enough great things about how the Spendgo team has taken care of us, from onboarding all the way through more than a year of working with them. They're always there to provide support, answer questions, and help us find new and exciting ways to use their tool.”
- Results
Future-Proofing with Drive-Thru AI Integration
“One of the things we're leaning into is AI technology in the drive-thru. I'm really excited about how we can implement Spendgo as a part of that. By only having to collect a customer's phone number, it makes it a lot easier to get people signed up on the spot.”
- Results
Using Drive-Thru AI to Grow Loyalty Database
“One of the things we're really excited about is what AI technology can do for us in the drive-thru. We started pilot testing an AI for order taking. What's exciting to me is how we can layer Spendgo into that to start collecting guest phone numbers and getting them into our loyalty database right there in the drive-thru.”
- Results
Enabling Local Store Marketing for Franchisees
“Spendgo has the ability to do local store marketing through their platform. A franchisee in a particular market who wants to be aggressive can use the offers and communication tools to reach their guests, without having to blanket an offer across the entire system. That was something that was attractive to us for sure.”
- Results
The Experience of a Fantastic Partner
“What really matters to us is the experience of working with a partner. And with Spendgo, everything's been fantastic. I just can't say enough good things about the support they've provided to us.”
- Results
The Importance of the Day-to-Day Experience
“One of the most important things to us is what that day-to-day experience working with a partner is going to be like. With Spendgo, everything's been fantastic. I just can't say enough good things about the support they've provided.”