Born Curious

So apparently it’s food week at Born Curious. Here’s an article about one brand’s attempt to track sales to social media efforts. I think it’s the shape of loyalty programs to come.

Tasti D-Lite has introduced an integrated program utilizing both social-media and standard guest loyalty initiatives called TastiRewards, in a unique move that could showcase the potential to be gained by harmonizing the two workhorses of modern marketing.

Customers who sign up for a Tasti TreatCard, and register that loyalty program card with either their Twitter or Foursquare profiles, will earn extra points toward a free purchase. In addition, an automatic update will be posted to that user’s Twitter or Foursquare profile with every registered purchase, saying, “I just earned TastiRewards points at Tasti D-Lite.”

Best of all for Tasti D-Lite, said chief executive Jim Amos, the brand can track exactly how many purchases resulted in social-media impressions, and a concrete dollar amount can be affixed to its social-media efforts.

“You can measure every initiative you have. Tasti D-Lite can collect all this data and analyze how we allocate our resources to social media as part of our marketing efforts. You can quantify this social-media data with sales figures, plus you can track changes over time. It’s really sophisticated for such a consumer-driven effort.”

Tasti D-Lite rolled out the new program Jan. 14 to 10 units in Houston, Miami Beach and other markets. A national rollout is expected this spring. Currently, purchases with a Tasti TreatCard earn users 1 point for every dollar spent, and 50 points qualifies them for a free medium cup or cone.

The company said the new initiative will help customers share praise for Tasti D-Lite online even when they may not have the smart phones or mobile devices needed to do so in a store at the point of purchase. With TastiRewards, that praise is registered automatically to thousands of friends and followers, the company said.

Tasti D-Lite already is exploring upgrades to the system, such as allowing custom messages for redemptions, integration with Facebook, or a method of rewarding cardholders for referring friends. He added that a fairly low cost drove the program’s return on investment further.