FriendShip Sees Strong Results From Rewards Program Revamp

FREMONT, Ohio — In less than one year since its revamped rewards program launched, FriendShip is experiencing impressive results.

Chief among them: the convenience store retailer increased in-store visits by 5 percent and gallons purchased by 18 percent through targeted pump-to-store promotions. Additionally, it has more than doubled the percentage of its loyalty transactions and sales. 

Among the other successes seen with its revamped rewards program include:

• More than 66 percent of loyalty transactions have come from registered members, exceeding the set goal of 50 percent.
• Overall loyalty penetration — the percentage of total transactions attributed to members — exceeded 15 percent.
• A new FriendShip Kitchen concept location saw 28.5 percent penetration with a 3.6-percent conversation rate.

In order to drive registrations, promotions were communicated via exterior and in-store advertising and social marketing campaigns. Store managers also received an incentive bonus for reaching 90-day enrollment goals.

According to FriendShip, it wanted to better understand and engage its customers through a more compelling loyalty program that included one-to-one marketing, better customer segmentation and more robust reporting, in addition to strengthening brand awareness and trust after its recent brand refresh.

FriendShip selected Paytronix Systems Inc. to help launch the new loyalty program that promoted its new brand and created deeper connections with guests.

"At FriendShip Stores, we know exactly how the loyalty program is performing, thanks to real-time data from Paytronix. We are able to see unique guest habits and develop custom reports that provide us fast insights so that we can react quickly if we see something isn’t working," said Kevin Campbell, director of marketing at FriendShip. "Additionally, Paytronix simply works — it's always on and works flawlessly within our technical ecosystem. We can now fully engage with our customers, which is critical in making our loyalty program a success."

Based on the results of its revamped loyalty program, FriendShip was awarded the 2019 Paytronix Loyalty Award for Best Launch.

"FriendShip is a brand with its sights set on the future," said Michelle Tempesta, head of marketing for Paytronix. "Its product mix with an extensive selection of prepared foods coupled with its new loyalty program will propel it into strong growth and a solid future. We're glad to help drive that."

Based in Newton, Mass., Paytronix a provider of SaaS customer experience management solutions for restaurants and convenience store brands.

FriendShip is the retail division of Fremont-based Beck Suppliers, a family-owned and -operated retail and wholesale petroleum marketer. Today, FriendShip operates 26 FriendShip and FriendShip Kitchen locations.