Red Robin
Serving Up Loyalty: From Merits to Points
with a Personalized Touch
Reengage, attract, and connect with tailored rewards and journeys.
The Challenge
Red Robin’s loyalty program had lost its spark. An audit revealed that it wasn’t effectively attracting, retaining, or nurturing a thriving member base for long-term growth. Member frequency was low, with significant gaps between visits, reducing overall customer lifetime value. While the program resonated with a small segment of Members, it lacked the personalization and flexibility needed to engage and grow a broader audience, both existing and new.
The Strategy
The goal was to transform the loyalty program from a rigid, merit-based system into a dynamic, points-based experience—one that offers personalized rewards and creative experiences, making a clear distinction between Members and Non-Members. Equally important was maintaining control over discounting. Shifting to a points-based model provided deeper insights through robust reporting, analytics, and predictive analysis, ensuring better liability management while enhancing member engagement.
The Solution
Points Based Loyalty Program: A simple, transparent rewards system that makes earning and tracking points effortless for Members. Migrating existing Members to this program successfully reengaged lapsed customers—some of whom hadn’t visited in over a year. Additionally, it drove New Member sign-ups at a higher percentage, surpassing historical benchmarks.
Personalization & Custom Journeys: Powered by DBM’s marketing communications platform, Members receive tailored messaging based on their preferences, behaviors, and visit cadence. Strategic, data-driven offers encourage engagement, keeping the brand top of mind even as consumer dining habits shift. Personalized customer journeys were implemented for key milestones, including New Member onboarding, post-visit engagement, bouncebacks, reactivation, and lapsed Member reengagement—ensuring every interaction is meaningful and impactful.
The Results
The revamped Royalty Program earned high industry accolades, positioning Red Robin as a standout competitor in casual dining. Its launch drove a surge in New Member traffic, contributing 16% of all transactions, with New Members spending 15% more per visit than existing Members. This momentum fueled a 150% year-over-year revenue increase, proving the program’s effectiveness in boosting engagement and customer spending.
Beyond new traffic, the program strengthened Member value, with Net Sales growing nearly 16% YOY and Members spending 26% more per transaction than Non-Members. Even in a challenging economy, it successfully captured a larger share of wallet, turning loyalty into sustained profitability.
YOY
Members—2023 vs 2024
Members Transaction
GJ Hart
CEO
The statistics so far have been “phenomenal.” To wit – about 25% of loyalty transactions in 2024 were from acquired customers, while 20% were lapsed users. Customers who have historically visited three to five times a year also started coming in more frequently after the launch.
The loyalty program also allows us to personalize our offers, which we couldn’t do before, which will then drive frequency and also drive discounts down because we will give them surprise and delight offers, but we don’t have to wholesale across-the-board discount as much.
Driving Customer Growth Through
Customized Journey Mapping
