Latest / Leaders in Customer Loyalty, Powered by Loyalty360 / #509: Leaders in Customer Loyalty: Brand Stories | Listening Before Leading: Friendly’s New Approach to Customer Loyalty

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#509: Leaders in Customer Loyalty: Brand Stories | Listening Before Leading: Friendly’s New Approach to Customer Loyalty · Leaders in Customer Loyalty, Powered by Loyalty360

• 0:02
  SPEAKER_01: From nickel cons to a renovation-led revival.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_01: Friendly's born in 1935 and beloved for family-friendly meals and classic desserts is refreshing its restaurants, enhancing the classic diner experience, its family franchising, and rethinking its customer loyalty approach after customers didn't respond as expected.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_01: In this episode of our leaders in customer loyalty series, we're going to unpack the lessons lifting to signals, remixing nostalgia with personalization, and turning everyday moments into lasting brand love.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_01: All the while we're building the customer loyalty program and approach to match what the customers are asking of the brand.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_01: All of this being driven by Eric Jensen, a recently appointed vice president of marketing at Friendlies.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_01: How are you today, Eric?
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_01: I'm doing very well.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_01: Great to be here.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_01: Appreciate it.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: So first off, uh, for those who may not be familiar with Friendlies, can you give us a brief introduction to Friendlies, what you guys do, how you do it?
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_01: Be good to know.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's uh it Friendlies is an interesting brand.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's one of the, it's actually one of the oldest surviving national uh family dining chains.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: It was actually founded, interesting story, founded in 1935, believe it or not, during the Great Depression up in uh the Northeast, Springfield, uh, Massachusetts.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: And it really started as affordable ice cream and and really built on a basic belief that even in hard times, again, this was happening during the depression, even in hard times, everybody deserves a little comfort, a little joy, some togetherness.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: And that's really how it started.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: And so kind of a really nice purpose statement for a brand to sort of kick off their tenure with.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: And while there's been some nice innovation over the years, I mean, certainly there has to be over a 90-year period of time, um, I think what makes friendlies very unique is they really stayed rooted in being a place where families make memories and really lean on nostalgia.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, but still serving up that same comfort, joy, and togetherness that was the original purpose way back in uh 1935.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: So interesting brand, sort of a pr it's it's it's it's sort of a brand that's um been revitalized and starting to show some real signs of intense growth.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: So we're excited about it.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: Uh can you tell us a little bit more about your role at Friendlies, uh, you know, kind of what you do on a daily basis?
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: So as the VP of marketing, I'm focused primarily on uh brand strategy, uh storytelling, uh the overall guest experience.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: And and my role is really about stewarding the brand and ensuring you know friendlies feels relevant today uh while moving it forward, but without losing its heart.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: And that's so important.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: So my background, I've spent about 30 years in marketing, uh both on the agency side and on brand leadership roles.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um and really a fairly extensive experience at franchise organizations, and I love the idea of revitalizing heritage brand while also looking to scale growth brands.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: So I sort of look at friendlies and I love this brand because it really sits at the intersection of nostalgia and modern relevance, is is really uh based on my past experiences, uh the challenge is uh is really honoring that emotional equity while earning today's consumer choice.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's really the important aspect.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: And um, and as we sort of look at, you know, what is the challenge you know for the future, it's really it's really about balance.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: So everything we do has to do with balancing the past and the future.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: You know, how do you protect what was built over 90 years?
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but how do you not rely on it and how do you sort of build towards the future?
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_01: Well, and that's interesting.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_01: You look at uh kind of keeping the passion uh of the brand and how the kind of the it's been traditionally engaged with going forward, that can be a pretty significant challenge uh for many brands.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_01: I know uh you look at some of the cracker barrels, some of the things they went through recently, trying to make sure that uh, you know, that it it it it addresses and engages all generations, which can be a pretty significant challenge, wouldn't you say?
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean it it's it's it's interesting because friendlies means something deeply personal to a lot of people.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: And and with that comes a real responsibility from a marketing perspective to be intentional, not reactive.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: Certainly you want to take advantage of trends and so forth, but but you have to be intentional about how you are communicating with your base audience.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: And and again, and again, we're not trying to live on memories alone.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: It can't just be about nostalgia.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: We have to create new reasons to choose friendlies today and in the future.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_01: You know, the casual dining industry, the restaurant industry is is changing pretty rapidly.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_01: You talked about some of the changes that you see.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_01: But when you look at it holistically, how has the casual dining experience changed over the years?
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think it's changed fairly significant.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, casual dining used to be about the time you would spend together.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: It's almost the time within the restaurant.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: We usually always say butts and seats, but today uh some of that, of course, is changing, right?
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's more about flexibility, uh relevance, uh, ease.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: You know, what's the least amount of friction that someone has walking into a restaurant?
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, guests really expect uh brands to to meet them where they are, you know, whether that's digital ordering, whether it's off-premise, but those things are really, you know, table stakes at this point.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: And so you just have to be really good at that, uh at those kind of things.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: But but I do believe, you know, that emotional component hasn't gone away.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: It hasn't completely departed.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, you know, I think comfort, especially nowadays, I think comfort, familiarity, trust uh matter more than ever.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so I think sort of seeking that emotional clarity is is is so important.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_01: So emotional loyalty, that's a that's a pretty significant area of interest from our community.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_01: We'd have, you know, hundreds of brands that are part of the association.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_01: We talk about it quite often.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: When you look at emotional loyalty, what does that mean to you and to the friendliest brand?
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's really built on family moments um and trust and nostalgia.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's multi-generational.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but it but it was important, I think, even as we think about any of our programs, as we think about loyalty, which we're which we're going to be talking about here, it can't feel transactional.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's there's got to be an emotional component to it uh where there's real relevance.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's something we we always keep top of mind as we're developing programs.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_01: Excellent.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you have a brand that's deeply rooted in the nostalgia, the family moments that you talked about, and obviously deep trust.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_01: You know, how did that legacy impact or influence how you designed the custom guilty program?
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, uh, you know, we intentionally crafted the voice towards multi-generational, you know, it's parents, it's grandparents, it's the I grew up with friendlies guest.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: Uh things like offers and triggers are mapped to real family occasions like you know, after school treats, uh outings, birthdays, and traditions that people already associate with friendlies.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: But but we also got some real-world learning from a period when we moved away from rewards and relied primarily on email.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: You know, engagement dropped, um, excitement, I mean, honestly, faded, and it became clear our most loyal fans wanted something more tangible and frankly more personal.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: So when we relaunched Friendly's Rewards Fan Club in 2025, um, we we essentially started from scratch.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but the response validated the approach.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: And in under a year, we've grown to more than you know 100,000 members uh with significantly higher engagement and and conversion than the email only model.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: But uh but admittedly we are still really early on in the revitalization period, uh, but we are seeing some momentum.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: So it's so so there's some positives there.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: Excellent.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_01: Can you can you tell us a little bit more about the uh friendlies fan club rewards program, you know, how it was designed.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I read in the press release, it's obviously trying to be more than points, uh discounts, uh and frequency base.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's trying to be a little more holistic.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_01: So we'd love to know a little bit more about the program.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and we're we're still early on, um, and I can't I cannot emphasize that enough.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but you know, overall at its base, the fan club rewards is is a branded points and perks system.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it does encourage repeat visits and engagement.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: And so for us, uh, loyalty really starts with frequency.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but but earning that frequency frequency is really built around guest insights and and really understanding what motivates our guests and how they want to be spoken to.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: So loyalty for us isn't just about counting visits, it's about delivering the right message at the right time in a way that feels relevant and motivating for our guests.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_01: When you look at uh kind of Gen Z, younger audiences, it's uh it's an area of pretty significant interest uh in the loyalty community, as you know as well.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, we actually just did a uh research paper on it.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: Uh when you look to engage the younger generations, are you noticing that certain trends, things that they're interested in that uh that may be different than others?
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_01: And and how does that impact how you actually engage with them?
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, I think overall our everyday joy uh strategy is designed to maintain that emotional connection with every group uh in every visit.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, loyalty program is kind of the cherry on top.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's a reminder, not the reason necessarily uh people people choose friendlies.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: But that being said, I think there's some general trends that that we're seeing.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: I think you we look at like millennial parents.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, we're a very kid-focused brand, and you especially look at parent-friendly uh scenarios where millennial parents often say they want value and convenience.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: But at the same time, when you sort of focus on the younger generation, like a Gen Z, they really talk about personalization and flexibility.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, in reality, both groups respond most when the experience is how we see it, when the experience is simple, immediate, and feels relevant uh to their specific moments.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: So, for example, you know, families might we might send a timely reward that fits into an after-school stop or a weekend outing.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but for Gen Z, it's it's more of a clear value, like a low friction and content that feels authentic.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um not getting too promotional, I think, which is which is really important.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: But but I would say this is like neither group, no matter who we look at, um no one wants to manage a complicated loyalty program.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: It should be, it should, it should be really quite easy.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely, 100%.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: Well, when you look at uh the the numerous channels that you talked about a little earlier, but being in the right channel at the right time or being in the channel that the customer wants to be in, and what role do uh digital channels like the mobile app, email, and SMS play in activating and engaging those in the customer loyalty program?
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, really, the digital channels don't replace the experience.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, they activate against it.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: And and we sort of look at it as email sets the story, our mobile wallet drops drive action, but together they they keep the entire uh you know the loyalty program relevant for our guest.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um But you know, I think overall what it's really done, it's made our marketing approach more evidence-based, you know, so we can quickly see what works versus what doesn't, who responds, what lifts frequency or check size, and and what frankly an offer looks good on paper oftentimes, but doesn't actually change behavior.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: So we can iterate faster uh and invest in the campaigns that where we're delivering you know more measurable results.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: And so those things are really, really uh imperative as we as we go forward.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_01: You talked about behavior, and obviously that is the most important part of a loyalty program is kind of optimizing the behavior of uh the guest, uh, but being able to leverage the different data points you have to better understand the guest preferences and you know the personalized experience is important.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, how do you look at data and how do you look at data to drive some of the behaviors that you would like to see in the program?
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, you know, we try to use loyalty data uh to listen, to not just to measure, uh, but to really understand how our guests engage, um, when they visit, uh, which occasions matter most.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: And then that transactional data allows us to be more relevant, tailoring the messages and offers to real behavior versus just assumptions.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: So we try to use the data to simplify the experience, make it really relevant, reduce the friction instead of overwhelming guests with you know multiple choices, multiple messages.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and in the end, the the hope and desire is that our loyalty program, our messaging, feels personal versus intrusive, which which I think we could all argue oftentimes loyalty programs can feel overwhelming.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_00: And so we try to use the data to to uh supersede that.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_01: When you look at uh choice, the big uh area of focus uh we've heard a lot about in the number of uh recent restaurant and QSR uh interviews we've done.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_01: Uh needing someone to uh you know convert choice, how do you uh you know translate uh that?
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_01: Because so many restaurants, so many opportunities, you know, how do you get that consumer to try and and how does that uh potentially you know translate into conversion after they make that first choice?
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: No, yeah, it's a great, great question.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the key is that I think kind of goes back to a lot of the things out of the approach to loyalty is that it should feel helpful, not overwhelming.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: And to me, the most effective lowerly programs don't ask guests to make more decisions than they already have to make.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so the program really should use insight to narrow down the options and present the right choices at the right time.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um at its best, you know, customer choice and loyalty creates a sense of control and personalization.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it allows the guests to sort of feel like you know they are in control of their own, of their own direction and their own program, which I think is really important.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_01: Excellent.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_01: When you look at uh customer loyalty, uh you know definitely changing the technology, every uh kind of the Martech stack is is growing every year.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: You know, what do you think the next big thing in customer loyalty, customer experience is going to be for your brand?
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, we're that's it's a good great question.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_00: And and who knows what's around the corner.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I think we're still really early on in our journey.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and and I don't know if the future of our loyalty is about you know one feature or technology.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's really for us, it's it's what's next is about the deeper relevance and and how do we continue to build around everyday moments, not just transactions.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: And so our focus is really on understanding why guests choose friendlies in a given moment and showing up in ways that really do feel helpful and and familiar.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: And that means aligning the experience, the offer, the message around those real life occasions.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, in the end, you know, we'll continue to focus on simplifying engagement, making rewards more meaningful, and really delivering what we are known for, what friendlies is known for.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: That's awesome.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_01: You talk about simplicity, that that's definitely uh an opportunity as well, right?
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_01: So being able to take that data, leverage it in store from a client telling perspective, uh, you know, personal personalized experiences are meant to be simple.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_01: That's a whole Cheers um uh mentality, modality, right?
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_01: That everyone knows your name.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, but sometimes technology can inhibit that, right?
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_01: So, how do you balance personalized experiences with that simplicity for you know kind of the a very multi-generational audience?
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we try to focus on on a small number of meaningful signals rather than you know over-customizing every interaction.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: And that approach really lets us personalize in ways that feel helpful and relevant, not overwhelming.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and being intentional about keeping the experience simple, uh consistent, and and frankly approachable for all of our guests so they don't feel overwhelmed uh throughout the process.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_01: Excellent.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_01: And when you look at the program, uh I know you've mentioned a couple times that it's early on, but what are you most proud of so far with regard to the program?
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think what I'm most proud of is that we listened, we listened to our guests and we acted on it.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_00: So when engagement declined after moving away from rewards, we didn't force it.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_00: We didn't force the issue.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_00: We took the feedback seriously and we evolved the program.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_00: And so rebuilding the friendlies fan club reward system meant starting from scratch.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_00: And that's often scary, especially when you feel like you're late to the game and it's so late in the process.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: But we wanted to stay true to what made the brand familiar and loved.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, really, really focusing on making the program meaningful and simple and easy to engage with.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_00: And so what we've seen is that strong adoption, the higher engagement, uh, the enthusiasm from longtime fans have really validated our approach and the direction we're going in.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: But um, yeah, I mean, essentially when you start from one program, you go to another program, and then back to another program, and you lose a lot of those guests within those transitional periods, it can become a kind of a terrifying, um a terrifying thing to take on.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_01: Well, and it's great to hear that you actually listened uh proactively and use that insight to drive changes in the program.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_01: Uh sometimes there's a little bit of reticence with brands that they feel they may know better than the customer does and keep the program a certain way.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_01: And they can obviously uh run into a little blowback there as well.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_01: So it's great to hear you made those changes.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: Great.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: Appreciate that.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_01: Well, and the last uh question we have, you know, what can multi-360 do to help you and your team and your customer multi-program going forward?
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, that's a great question.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_00: I think, you know, we're still learning, as everyone should be, you know, and we certainly don't have it all figured out.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_00: But and and when I look at it, loyalty is constantly evolving, uh, especially as expectations shift across generations and trends evolve.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: But but having a forum like this really does help us understand, you know, what's what's working, what's not working, where guest expectations are headed, uh, who's being innovative in the space.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um, because learning how other brands navigate similar challenges, and we all got similar challenges, allows us to really make you know smarter, more informed decisions as we continue to evolve, continue to build out these programs.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: Excellent.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_01: Well, Eric, thank you very much for taking the time to join us today.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_01: It was a great getting to know a little bit about you and also the program, uh, how you are you know laser focused on on kind of keeping the program fresh and and you know uh resonant to the customer needs.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_01: So it's great to hear what you're doing with the program.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_01: So thank you very much for sharing your story.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, really appreciate the platform and and we're very excited about the uh the future friendly.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_00: So appreciate that.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_01: And thank you everyone else for taking the time to join us.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_01: Uh make sure you join us back every Thursday for our Leaders in Customer Loyalty podcast.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_01: And until then, have a wonderful day.