Caribou Coffee’s Loyalty Program Members “Best of the Best”

Caribou Coffee Loyalty ProgramCaribou Coffee launched its Caribou Perks loyalty program in January 2014 and, during that time, company officials have gleaned significant customer insights.

Loyalty360 caught up with Caroline Larson, Director of CRM and Loyalty, Caribou Coffee to discuss how the loyalty program has progressed.

Can you tell our audience how your loyalty program has progressed since Caribou Perks launched in January 2014?

Our members are the best of the best. We now better recognize our members with special drink previews, special experiences (behind the scenes tours), merchandise sales, etc.

Technology makes loyalty easier. With the launch of our app, we are making interactions with our program (e.g. checking in and paying with their phone) even easier for our members (and our stores)–it’s a win/win.

We’ve had steady membership growth month over month since launch, but have seen a spike in enrollments since the launch of the app. Starting in 2015, most of our offers will be presented as part of the Perks program–you have to be a member to get the offers.

What customer insights have you gleaned from the program during that time that you’ve been able to leverage to improve and enhance the offering?

By being able to capture survey and transactional data, we are better able to segment our membership and send them more relevant offers. We can learn more about our business by watching our best guests.

What customer feedback have you received from members?

Because our program is unique (surprise & delight), initially members weren’t sure what to expect. With the structure, we are able to send a multitude of rich, relevant offers. They are seeing more value in the program as all major offers are now only eligible to Perks members (e.g. Mother’s Day BOGO, etc.).

What has been the biggest surprise that has come as a result of the program?Caribou Coffee Customers

We always knew our customers loved us, but our members are UBER-engaged and can completely make the difference between a good and bad day (financially speaking). As our membership continues to grow, we can manage costs better because of segmentation.

How would you define customer loyalty and has that definition changed at all since the program’s launch?

Customer loyalty, to me, is building trust and appreciation with our guests by creating an ongoing dialogue around what the guest likes and what they don’t. If we do it right, they’ll come back more often and spend more–and they will feel more appreciated.

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