Q&A with Marlow’s Tavern, Paytronix Loyaltees Restaurant Loyalty Program of the Year

This year’s Paytronix Loyaltees winner for Restaurant and Convenience Loyalty Program of the Year is Marlow's Tavern. Paytronix recognized the polished-casual concept with locations from Orlando to Atlanta for exceptional creativity, innovation, and success in their loyalty strategy.

Marlow’s Tavern features the “Best of the Best” in American tavern fare served in a modern atmosphere. The menu offers a diverse combination of classic dishes that are updated and elevated to gourmet level. Marlow’s Tavern has a warm neighborhood yet contemporary feel that is the perfect complement to the modern-tavern menu.

We spoke with Kaffee Hopkins, vice president of marketing, Sterling Hospitality, who has been with the company since 2014. In addition to Marlow’s Tavern, the Atlanta-based Sterling Hospitality Restaurant Group also is the parent company for Southern Culinary Management and the Woodall.

In 2019, Marlow’s Tavern migrated its Insiders Club guest engagement program from Fishbowl to Paytronix. The program includes Paytronix loyalty, gift, mobile app, SMS and strategy and analytics. Online ordering is handled via an integration with Olo.

Moving to Paytronix has paid off in a big way for Marlow’s Tavern, which has seen membership in its Insider’s Club program grow more than 250 percent over the past seven years.

The Insider Club program counts visits to generate points. Members graduate through Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum levels as they visit throughout the year and achieve rewards at each new level. Then at the beginning of the year, they start all over again.

Members earn a qualified visit when they dine at any Marlow's Tavern and spend at least $15 on food and beverages. With four qualified visits, members receive a free loyalty item up to $20 on their next visit .Members identify themselves as Insiders at check-in via their app or the phone number/email used to register or associated with their account.

Marlow’s Tavern also subscribes to the Paytronix Strategy and Analytics service, which provides a dedicated team that advises on goal setting, benchmarking, and KPI evaluation, as well as guidance on program design and campaign optimization.

“We use insights from the strategy and analytics team to help personalize the Insider Club program,” says Hopkins. “Members select their favorite tavern to receive customized offers for that location. They join the ‘Marlow’s One Hundred’ once they have 100 lifetime visits.

80 percent of Insider Club members check in on their app where it’s easy to tap a check-in code. They also can order online or buy gift cards via the app.

And because a member’s favorite tavern is registered in the app, they get specific creative and offers for that location. It might be a promotion for a special multi course wine pairing dinner, or a weekly promotion like “Join us every Thursday for half off a bottle of wine.”

“We’ve found that members don’t care what’s happening in other parts of the city,” says Hopkins. “They want localized offers that are easy to respond to.”

Earlier this year, Marlow’s Tavern launched a special Spend 250 campaign in honor of America’s 250^th anniversary.

The campaign menu included a revolution burger for $17.76, Long Island Peach tea, as well as a challenge to spend $250 around July 4^th to get a reward. More than twice the number of Insiders got to the 250 level than were expected. There also was an America 250 Instagram campaign that tied in to the Insider account.

“Personalization is very important to the Insider loyalty program,” says Hopkins. “We did a summer ‘Nudge’ campaign where we emailed guests who have almost graduated to the next level and let them know how much they have to spend to get a reward, such as a branded tote bag or salt and pepper grinders. We’ll repeat the campaign again at the end of the year.”

Looking forward, Hopkins is already working to improve the Insider Club program for 2027.