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Every year the competition is on: which house is going to give out the best stuff at Halloween? Not everyone can be the legendary one that gives out full-sized candy bars. And then there are the folks that go all out with decorations, creating a haunted experience that rivals Disney. And let’s face it, you’re not going to be the Red Sox catcher who gave out autographs when facing an empty candy bowl. […]

A big congratulations to Peet’s Coffee, which just launched its new loyalty program on the Paytronix Platform. Peet’s is a longtime Paytronix client and we prize our collaborative and creative relationship that helps push the boundaries of guest engagement programs.

The latest version of Peetnik Rewards is about giving customers more flexibility in how they earn and spend their rewards, as well as getting customers rewards faster. While Peet’s based its previous rewards on visits, this new program focuses instead on automatic and bankable points based on spend. When you add to that the ability for the customer to choose how and when they want to receive their reward, you have a program that lets customers tailor the benefits of the loyalty program to their personal purchasing behavior.

This kind of project doesn’t happen without a number of technologies working closely together, which is why we’re so proud that Peet’s approached Paytronix from the very start. Loyalty is one pillar of a comprehensive system that includes a custom-designed mobile app, online ordering system and POS. It’s the loyalty program that makes it possible for a person to earn points through an online order, and then spend those by redeeming points for alternative milks or espresso shots to lattes, or ordering signature breakfast items, beverages or beans.

Bankable points programs continue to increase in popularity in part because they’re so easy to understand. In our annual Loyalty Report, we found that while bankable points programs account for just 31% of all core programs, they grew tremendously in 2020, largely because of the flexibility the programs offer to customers.

We’re eager to see how this program grows over the coming months and years and look forward to our continued relationship with such an iconic coffee brand. Download the Peet’s app here.

Run the race with joy.  

That was the simple message Blaine Hurst, retired CEO of Panera Bread left us with after his PXUX talk, and honestly, we were all in tears. He’d just finished a story about his son, who is disabled, and ran for his high school cross country team. His son ran very slowly, far behind the rest of the pack. But David did finish a few races throughout the season, often with the help of his teammates.  

Then came the last race of the season, the Regionals. As a father, Blaine was worried. David would be so far behind and delay everyone’s celebration. But David ran. The race was thought to be over, the finish box was taken down, and people were cleaning up when a call came on the radio “runner still on course”. David.  

The race organizer called everyone back. The barriers were set back up, the finish line was re-stretched, and everyone lined up to cheer David in. David broke through the trees with the biggest smile on his face. Blaine and his wife tearfully celebrated with David. Blaine walked around and told everyone thanks and how much he appreciated making the experience so memorable for David. The race organizer said, “this is just what we do. If there’s a runner on the course, the whole team will be here”. 

Blaine walked over to the Gator driver. He had followed David the entire race. Blaine began to apologize to the driver, but the driver looked up with a tear in his eye and said,

“Don’t apologize. I watched your son, dead last, stumble and fall. And fall again. He always got up and looked at me, with a smile on his face and waved. He smiled and waved to everyone he passed along the way.  Sir, this was one of my best days ever.”  Puzzled, Blaine waited for more.

“Sir, your son Ran the Race with Joy”.  

Blaine suggested that that story is so applicable to each of us. Often asked, what is one of the key learnings he’s had throughout his 45 years of business, his first response is always the same.

Regardless of the circumstances, regardless of the challenges, we can all “Run the Race with Joy”. It will impact you, your team, your family … everyone around you.

We all can achieve more when we “Run the Race with Joy”.

The competition is fierce for guests’ online business, and restaurants and c-stores are working to keep their brands competitive and stay on top of platforms as they grow ever more sophisticated and ease-of-ordering takes center stage.

Now is the time to prepare yourself — and your business — by learning about the new features and differentiators hitting the market, how they’ll impact the guest experience, and which will be critical to your brand’s success.

You’ll get a great head start by checking out the recent Paytronix webinar How to Prepare for Next Generation Online Ordering.

Highlights included overviews of:

Menu testing. Your menu’s presentation online really impacts how guests interact with it. Menu variant testing allows you to run different versions of your menu at the same time to determine which is most profitable. […]