Bravo Brio Restaurant Group, the parent company of Brio Tuscan Grille, has joined forces with Paytronix to offer a new Eat, Repeat, Reward loyalty program on its updated mobile application that also leverages enhanced employee training tools.

After launching the frequency-and-spend system in its Texas restaurants and seeing successful results, the restaurant group rolled out an updated mobile app that consolidates all loyalty messaging and data, such as how often a specific individual visits the restaurants and how much he or she spends. Part of the program also includes training webinars, videos and Q&A for servers to easily discuss the rewards benefits with consumers.

“The mobile device delivers several communication advantages,” said Kristen House, marketing and product manager at Paytronix Systems, Newton, MA. “When it comes to apps that are integrated to loyalty programs, consumers gain the convenience of a card-free program where they can identify themselves through the app, view their reward balance and redeem rewards with a simple touch.”

“For restaurants competing for the millennial share of wallet, a mobile strategy is a required.”

Mobile loyalty
Leveraging data from mobile devices enables the restaurant to send consumers location-based advertisements and promotions, in addition to providing guests with relevant offers influenced by customers’ dining frequency. Its guests will receive a slew of benefits after signing up for the MyBRIO Rewards app, including $10 every sixth restaurant visit, push notifications regarding gift card promotions and messages about new menu items.

“Marketers gain an advantage through leveraging the data that’s available today via a mobile device, such as location, for example,” Ms. House said. “Our customers are directly benefiting from sending highly relevant geo-fenced messages that leverage location.

“It pays for a restaurant brand to catch its guests’ attention when they’re on-the-go, in the midst of making buying decisions. These campaigns are delivering unbelievable redemption rates.”

The loyalty data collected also allows the restaurant to see how specific promotions are faring with customers and how individual members respond to push messages. The restaurant group has more than 350,000 registered members between its two brands, and recognized that adding a mobile rewards app was paramount to reaching the mass of smartphone users.

Benefits for employees
The new Brio loyalty program’s benefits are two-fold: Bravo Brio Restaurant Group has ensured that enhanced training materials are readily available for restaurant associates. Servers and managers can take advantage of the simplified Q&A to be ready to answer customers’ inquiries and aid in driving more downloads of the MyBRIO rewards mobile app.

Paytronix has also added other helpful features into the app, such as seat filtering, which allows multiple checks and loyalty programs to occur at a single table.

Store managers can use Paytronix’s system to run reports on how many loyalty and gift card promotions have been redeemed, and undertake daily checks for fraud activity.

The Restaurant Group believes that the loyalty program’s success will streamline many processes for restaurant employees, as well as drive brand awareness, app usage and restaurant visits of its consumers.

“Bravo Brio Restaurant Group’s applications (and Paytronix’s applications on a whole) entice non-loyalty members to download the application and join the program, as well as existing members to link their plastic card to the app,” Ms. House said. “About 50 percent of the guests who engage with the mobile application are brand new members.

“We expect that the value the app provides – including enabling quick identification, location finding, relevant messages, online ordering functionality, and even reservations, will continue to drive engagement across Bravo’s consumer base.”

Final Take
Alex Samuely is an editorial assistant on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York