California Pizza Kitchen leads the way in leveraging mobile to drive loyalty engagements and more frequent visits, with more than 80 percent of the chain’s Pizza Dough Rewards members interacting via mobile applications.

The CPK Pizza Dough Rewards programs was cooked up in 2013 and delivered via the chain’s branded Android and iOS apps. California Pizza Kitchen’s success at setting new standards in mobile rewards and motivating customers to visit more frequently resulted in it being named the winner of the 2016 Paytronix Loyaltees Awards.

“California Pizza Kitchen is simplifying guest engagement and identification by delivering value with the app engagement,” said Kristen House, mobile product manager at Paytronix.

“The brand leverages its loyalty program data to send timely and contextually relevant mobile messages that are triggered in real time based on the guests behavior – whether it’s at the close of a check, or traveling within the vicinity of a California Pizza Kitchen location,” she said.

“Plus, the app presents the real time status of the member’s account. Balances and rewards are presented when the guest needs and wants the information.”

A core marketing strategy
California Pizza Kitchen’s points-based rewards program, which is powered by Paytronix, enables members to earn $5 for every $100 spent. Members can also identify themselves at the restaurant, check reward balances and receive relevant messages on their devices.

The rewards program has become a core component of the chain’s marketing strategy, enabling it to reach and engage customers where they are in a targeted and relevant way.

For example, the chain added real-time geofencing messaging to its channel mix. This allows it to reach customers while they are likely making a decision about where to dine with a message designed to encourage them to visit California Pizza Kitchen.

Results from this strategy showed that the visit rate of the targeted group exceeded the control group by about 18 percent. The strategy also equated to a 10 percent spending lift.

Optimizing mobile loyalty
California Pizza Kitchen also leverages the Paytronix platform to test its core program in target markets to optimize the program, resulting in the chain adjusting its strategy to deliver more relevant, targeted messages and adding new channels such as geofencing. Both open rates and responses are up in the wake of these changes.

The loyalty program is promoted on the chain’s Web site and via social media.

“The evolution of mobile loyalty programs will stem from user convenience,” Ms. House said. “We are already seeing the importance of mobile ordering.

“Further innovations will likely center around reward currency accrual and redemption, payment convenience, and relevant messages that are welcomed and valued by consumers,” she said.

“To fully understand the customer, brands will have to expand the channels for data collection beyond transaction and demographic data to survey responses and more. By introducing mobile surveys and coupling that insight with campaign response data and transactional data, mobile loyalty programs will continue to deliver the most reliable, most robust consumer behavior insights that will enable the marketer to predict future behavior in a way that will help them target those guests who are unlikely to visit in future months with relevant and timely offers.”