Sol Jakubowicz, Chief Marketing Officer for TigerChef Restaurant Supply, told Loyalty 360 that the company has always had an incentive program whereby clients opened an account and received several benefits such as discounts on items, bulk discounts, and easy re-ordering. But TigerChef, an online supplier of restaurant supplies and equipment, never had a loyalty program.
Until now.
TigerChef recently launched TigerChef Loyalty Program, created to reward dedicated customers who rely on TigerChef for their restaurant supply needs. The program offers food industry professionals an opportunity to earn points and save money every time they shop on the site.
For each dollar spent, customers will earn one loyalty point; for every 100 points, customers can save $1.00 on any subsequent order. Points become available 45 days after placing an order and customers can track their points by logging into their TigerChef accounts. What’s more, an email will automatically be sent when reward points become available.
Just by signing up, customers receive a 5% discount on all TigerChef smallwares, as well as special monthly offers and exclusive discounts. After logging into their accounts and placing an order, customers will earn reward points, calculated automatically based on what they buy.
Jakubowicz explained why TigerChef launched the loyalty program.
“In the restaurant/food business, owners are often dealing with low cash flow making it difficult to buy products in larger quantities, or they may not have the space to store extra equipment,” he said. “In order to address these concerns and to help our clientele, we developed our loyalty program which is based on aggregated spending over time. This provides businesses with the same benefits, but without requiring them to spend a lot at one time, helping them with their cash flow. They can spend according to their needs, at their own pace and still be rewarded with great benefits.”
The owners of TigerChef have been in the business of supplying kitchen equipment for more than 30 years. TigerChef was created about seven ago to address online purchasing of restaurant supplies, Jakubowicz said.
“Our target audience is the purchasing person in any food related business: chefs, bartenders, caterers, pizza shops, restaurant owners/managers, bakeries, cafes, and B&Bs,” he said. “We also service many larger organizations such as hotels, industrial cafeterias, breweries, and wineries.”
Jakubowicz said the TigerChef loyalty program is unique because it was specifically created for its target demographic (restaurant supply) and its distinct needs.
“There is no qualification for the program,” he said. “Everybody is eligible, and the points accumulated do not expire so there is no pressure to spend them early.”
Jakubowicz hopes the program increases customer loyalty.
“We want our customers to realize that we are not only selling products to them,” he said. “We aspire to be their partner in enabling them to grow their business, and would like them to view us their go-to place for resources, information, and of course products. During Hurricane Sandy many businesses were hit very hard with huge losses and expenses. In an effort to help our brethren in this business, TigerChef offered to help affected businesses recover by providing equipment at just above cost. This is all part of the same overall approach - that we can all be partners in each other’s success.”
Customer feedback played a major role in developing the loyalty program.
“We have many loyal customers in small businesses who have explained to us their inability to purchase larger amounts, or don't have the space to store extra equipment, even though they are constantly in need of fresh supplies,” Jakubowicz said. “It is these loyal customers who have a relationship with us and communicate with us that helped formulate our loyalty program concept.”