Customer Highlight:
El Pollo Loco Increases Customer Loyalty & Spend Lift
“Over the past three years Punchh has become our core digital marketing partner, helping position us to provide our customers a seamless omnichannel loyalty experience that includes the mobile convenience of digital ordering in our app through GPS informed arrival for curbside pickup,” – Andrew Rebhun, Vice President & Digital Officer, El Pollo Loco.
For over 40 years, El Pollo Loco has served up a combination of fresh, authentically prepared food and a welcoming atmosphere. Partnering with Punchh in 2017, they launched a customized points unlock banked rewards program that now includes 1.9 million loyalty members. The Punchh loyalty solution helps El Pollo Loco keep their customers highly engaged with the brand.
Over the past several years, El Pollo Loco made technology investments in e-commerce and a POS system. Punchh integrated with all of these key business systems to provide El Pollo Loco a single, robust platform to manage their loyalty and marketing initiatives and activities. These investments helped El Pollo Loco pivot their operations during the start of the pandemic to provide customers with drive-thrus (in some locations), take-out, delivery, online ordering and mobile pickup for a seamless omnichannel experience.
In the spring, El Pollo Loco shifted their marketing initiatives to highlight digital ordering, limited-time, free delivery through Postmates, and large family meal options. They generated demand for their new food operations and menu items by communicating to their loyal customers with personalized campaigns they created and delivered through the Punchh platform via email, push and rich messaging.
Customer Loyalty Program Results
El Pollo Loco’s enhanced digital efforts have increased sales through this channel to approximately 9 percent and delivery to 6 percent. An increased digital presence has also helped grow customer acquisition to 1.9 million loyalty members. Engaging their Loco Rewards Loyalty members has paid off with an increase in member spend by 7 percent YTD and by 11.9 percent YOY.
“Over the past three years Punchh has become our core digital marketing partner, helping position us to provide our customers a seamless omnichannel loyalty experience that includes the mobile convenience of digital ordering in our app through GPS informed arrival for curbside pickup,” says Andrew Rebhun, Vice President & Digital Officer, El Pollo Loco. “The Punchh Loyalty and Engagement Platform drives digital engagement that increases the value of our loyal customers and increases same store sales.”
Future Plans
Looking ahead to future enhancements, El Pollo Loco has been working with Punchh to relaunch the Loco Rewards Loyalty Program in September with new program enhancements designed to continue growing customer acquisitions and engagement. A free sign-up offer will be awarded immediately to every new Loco Reward member and all members will have a lower threshold for redeeming loyalty rewards. Understanding the value of building loyalty, El Pollo Loco will be promoting their Loco Rewards program via television, social media, digital ads and in their restaurants. Stay tuned.