In the bustling landscape of modern commerce, where businesses strive to forge deeper connections with their customers, Thanx emerges as a beacon of customer loyalty innovation.
Built with the goal of transforming ordinary transactions into meaningful relationships, Thanx offers a revolutionary platform for restaurants — designed to enhance customer engagement and drive sustainable growth. Thanx unlocks the full potential of customer loyalty, leveraging data-driven insights to foster genuine connections and elevate the overall customer experience augmented with VIP perks and non-discount rewards.
With a commitment to leveraging data effectively and prioritizing non-discount loyalty, Thanx empowers businesses to enhance customer retention and maximize their lifetime value. Founded in 2011 by Zach Goldstein, Thanx swiftly rose to prominence by pioneering a new era of customer engagement defined by personalized interactions and mutual appreciation.
We caught up with Thanx CEO and founder Zach Goldstein to learn how the Thanx platform differentiates itself with on-brand loyalty focused on access, exclusivity, and personalization.
What inspired the founding of Thanx, and how has the company evolved since its inception?
At Thanx, we recognize that restaurants, whether enterprise-level brands or innovative newcomers, share a common goal—maximizing customer lifetime value. Achieving this objective can be challenging due to the struggle to successfully capture and analyze data. In today’s restaurant landscape, the term “loyalty” resonates profoundly. According to a recent study, the loyalty market in the United States is expected to grow by 10.4% on an annual basis to reach $30.38 billion in 2024. Our comprehensive platform places loyalty at its core, empowering restaurants to move beyond outdated punch cards and discount-heavy reward models.
On average, restaurants use anywhere between 5-10 technologies to operate. Since our founding, Thanx has allocated substantial resources to partner with other leading restaurant technologies. This strategic effort aims to help restaurateurs understand their customer base and (of course) grow revenue. Our latest development in this initiative is an integration center that gives restaurateurs the information they need to make informed decisions about what technology they should use in tandem with Thanx, which helps them construct a comprehensive and effective tech stack.
Can you explain the core mission and values that drive Thanx in its pursuit of customer loyalty and retention?
The majority of loyalty programs struggle to achieve participation rates beyond 5%, often relying on costly promotions that inadvertently train customers to wait and “hunt” for discounts. Thanx presents a distinctive alternative that effectively enhances customer lifetime value while also helping to build the restaurant’s brand, aligning with the true purpose of a loyalty program.
- More sign-ups and better data: 80% of consumers join Thanx-powered loyalty programs through our industry-leading, brand-oriented ordering experiences. Thanx automatically enrolls 100% of online ordering customers into loyalty and does not exclude customers by requiring a mobile app download to participate.
- Fewer discount rewards: Thanx offers non-discount reward options that increase engagement by 275%. Generic discounts rarely achieve higher than 15% redemption rates. Thanx targeted non-discount rewards achieve 45%+ redemption rates.
- Higher revenue capture: Thanx revolutionizes loyalty by tracking every credit/debit purchase effortlessly, eliminating the need for consumers to navigate receipts and codes. Guests can seamlessly earn progress by paying as they usually would, both in-store and online, without check-ins. Additionally, Thanx captures a remarkable 57% more data than conventional loyalty programs, with hundreds of millions of U.S. consumers having linked cards for unparalleled insights.
- Drives higher frequency: Thanx drives 15% higher frequency and is more effective at activating customers and encouraging repeat purchases.
Thanx emphasizes the importance of data-driven insights. Could you elaborate on how data analytics shape your strategies and offerings?
In my extensive discussions about measuring loyalty program success, I emphasize moving beyond vanity metrics like app downloads and total users. Instead, we focus on four critical metrics at Thanx:
- Capture Rate: This percentage of monthly revenue attributed to known customers in your loyalty program or CRM is a strong indicator. Industry benchmarks suggest 20%, but Thanx programs often achieve more than double that.
- Activation Rate: Identifying and activating customers who make a third purchase is crucial. The lifetime value of repeat purchasers is significantly higher than that of one-time visitors.
- Retention Rate: Transitioning from legacy loyalty programs to Thanx typically results in a 2-3x increase in customer retention over six months.
- Effective Discount Rate: Understanding the cost of loyalty programs is essential. Thanx customers can swiftly adjust from discounts to alternative strategies (like Hidden Menus) to maintain better control over margins.”
These metrics empower brands to make informed decisions and enhance their loyalty programs effectively.
Here’s a great webinar on the topic with our VP Marketing Emily Rugaber.
In a competitive market, what sets Thanx apart from other customer engagement platforms, and how do you maintain that competitive edge?
Unlike most static loyalty programs, at Thanx, we continuously adapt and innovate our existing systems to provide our customers (and their customers) with the best loyalty experience. Traditional loyalty programs are often conceived and launched years in advance, but they tend to stagnate as customer behaviors, cultural landscapes, and macroeconomic industry factors undergo significant changes.
Consider our Loyalty 3.0 program as an example. Loyalty 3.0 empowers restaurant brands to make real-time updates to critical aspects of their loyalty programs. Previously, adjustments such as dollar-to-point conversion ratios, rewards values, availability, or even the user interface of customer-facing digital touchpoints required weeks, if not months (and sometimes years) of lead time, numerous meetings with technology vendors, and substantial financial investment.
Loyalty 3.0 introduces marketing agility that was previously unheard of in the loyalty space. Now, teams can dynamically adjust point conversion values to align with margin pressures, retire rewards that experience significant increases in the cost of goods sold (COGS), and offer non-discount rewards to encourage desired customer behaviors—all without relying solely on expensive discounts.
How does Thanx cater to the diverse needs of businesses across various industries, from retail to hospitality?
Our customers range from quick-service restaurants to casual dining, from regional powerhouses to national enterprise brands. To name a few: Hopdoddy, Bubbakoo’s Burritos, Smalls Sliders, Union Square Hospitality Group, Velvet Taco, and more.
The level of customization available to all Thanx customers makes our platform adaptable to any restaurant brand.
Can you share some success stories or case studies where Thanx made a significant impact on improving customer loyalty for its clients?
One great example is Thanx customer, Mo’Bettahs. To improve guest experience and revitalize its loyalty program, the brand transitioned from a lower-cost, basic offering to Thanx. By adopting Thanx and implementing credit card-linked loyalty, Mo’Bettahs not only addressed previous challenges related to an outdated user experience but also witnessed improvements in service speed and the elimination of in-store connectivity issues. Guests appreciated the simplicity of earning benefits by merely swiping a credit card. Within just one year, active membership in the program grew over 15 times what had been enrolled over five years with the previous provider.
Additionally, since launch, Velvet Taco has seen an average of nearly 4,000 sign-ups a week across almost 30 locations, with as much as 30% of their revenue each week tied to loyalty transactions. For the Velvet Taco brand, this means more known customers and less data breakage to inform business decisions and strategy.
How does Thanx ensure that its loyalty program effectively drives customer retention and engagement for businesses, and what metrics do you use to measure its success?
The optimal loyalty programs assess performance across three primary categories: reach, impact, and cost. It is crucial to determine the percentage of customers that can be reached, the influence the program can have on them, and the associated cost of making that impact. Reach is gauged through the capture rate, representing the percentage of revenue attributable to loyalty members. The higher the loyalty program’s influence on revenue, the greater its potential impact on the business. Impact assessment involves understanding the customer funnel and evaluating the restaurant’s effectiveness in activating, engaging, and retaining customers. Cost, measured by the effective discount rate (EDR), calculates the program’s cost relative to the revenue it generates, requiring careful consideration alongside the other two metrics.
Can you elaborate on the features and functionalities of Thanx’s loyalty program that make it stand out from traditional loyalty programs, and how do these features benefit both businesses and customers?
Traditional loyalty programs grapple with four significant challenges:
- The one-size-fits-all approach often results in poor revenue capture and an overreliance on discounts.
- Complex marketing tools contribute to generic emails with low engagement rates and minimal return on investment.
- Clunky ordering experiences, stemming from poorly integrated loyalty systems, drive customers to third-party delivery apps, compromising long-term value.
- CRM data silos hinder restaurants from achieving true customer-centricity.
With Thanx, we offer innovative solutions to these challenges. Our platform captures more data without discount dependency, linking all purchases to consumer identities via credit card tokens. Powerful marketing automation ensures easy-to-use campaigns that drive measurable revenue, activating second and third purchases along with addressing cart-abandonment. Loyalty-integrated ordering, facilitated through five-star mobile apps and on-brand web ordering, retains guests on first-party channels, boasting an impressive 80% cart conversion rate. Thanx stands out as a modern, interoperable platform with merchant-owned data. This propels loyalty programs into a new era of effectiveness.
In what ways does Thanx leverage data and customer insights to personalize the loyalty experience for each user, and how does this personalization contribute to long-term customer loyalty and satisfaction?
Thanx provides brands with the tools to leverage data effectively, creating personalized customer experiences that stand out amid the clutter of crowded inboxes and delivery marketplaces. However, possessing data alone doesn’t guarantee optimal utility. Thanx excels at delivering distinct digital touchpoints on a large scale, employing specialized tools to ensure each communication is personalized, aligns with the brand identity, and results in measurable increases in sales.
An example of a successful personalized guest experience can be found in Thanx’s partnership with Bluestone Lane. With Bluestone Lane’s newly launched ‘Local Legends Club,’ loyalty members can earn points through dine-in, delivery, and contactless pickup, collecting rewards for every purchase. The brand’s newly introduced tiered system encompasses four distinct statuses: Welcome, Blue, Green, and Gold. At each tier, loyalty members unlock benefits such as a coffee reward with every 100 earned points, celebration perks for birthdays and anniversaries, surprise monthly bonus awards, and more. Gold Status members can also enjoy exclusive gifts and rewards along with invite-only VIP experiences with the brand. These offerings create a loyalty program that stands out amongst competitors.
The pandemic has drastically changed consumer behavior. How has Thanx adapted to these shifts, and what lessons have been learned during this time?
Thanx has been at the forefront of safeguarding restaurants against the existential threats posed by the pandemic since the early days of COVID-19. Beyond rapidly enhancing Thanx’s platform to facilitate optimized online ordering—a crucial avenue for restaurants to boost sales during the pandemic—we actively advocated for making third-party delivery commission caps a permanent fixture. As we navigate the post-pandemic digital landscape, Thanx’s thought leadership, particularly focused on non-discount rewards to drive revenue and engagement without relying solely on discounts, has garnered widespread recognition and acclaim from industry leaders.
What role does technology play in enhancing the customer experience through Thanx, and what innovations can we expect to see in the future?
In the realm of restaurant digital experiences, there is a significant opportunity to provide personalized recommendations that enhance conversion rates and drive upsells. This scenario is an excellent use case for AI. World-class loyalty programs extend beyond mere rote rewards; they revolve around delivering tailored experiences based on each customer’s purchasing data. While some of the best programs currently operate with tens of unique customer segments, the true potential of AI lies in managing hundreds or even thousands of segments with the same level of effort.
At Thanx, we leverage machine learning and other cutting-edge AI tools to accurately identify and group customers into these segments. This empowers marketers to set up automations that deliver the right message to the right customer at precisely the right time. Whether it’s suggestive upselling on digital ordering channels or targeted email marketing, this approach significantly boosts conversion rates. Looking ahead, we eagerly anticipate incorporating content creation tools that enable mass-scale personalization with just a single click.
