Rock Bottom has reinstated its Mug Club loyalty program, according to Benjamin Brown, Vice President of Loyalty for CraftWorks Restaurants & Breweries.
Brown said the Mug Club, along with several new enhancements to Rock Rewards, went live on April 2.
“We didn’t want to change it on April 1 and have everyone think it was an April Fool’s prank,” Brown said.
Enhancements to Rock Rewards include new cash rewards once guests exceed the 500-point level and new visit-based multipliers that accelerates how quickly guests can earn rewards during certain days.
“The Mug Club is very similar to its previous format, though it is now an exclusively recognition-based program since rewards have been shifted into Rock Rewards,” Brown said.
The Mug Club, Brown said, was shut down four months ago when Rock Rewards – Rock Bottom’s new loyalty platform – was rolled out.
“While Rock Rewards brought many new benefits to our guests, there were also rewards and experiences associated with the Mug Club that did not carry over and that our guests missed,” Brown explained. “It was always our intention to fill this gap with a new tier of Rock Rewards, but the guest feedback we received led us to conclude that the new tier we were contemplating would not fully fill the void left in the Mug Club’s absence. So we ultimately decided to update and re-introduce the Mug Club.”
Customer insight played a significant role in the Mug Club’s relaunch, Brown said.
“Customer feedback was the first indicator that our proposed new tier would not adequately fill the gap left in the Mug Club’s absence,” he said. “To better understand the gap, we implemented a quantitative survey of our Mug Club members that highlighted a number of new findings. Then to dig deeper, we sought out the most passionate Mug Club members in our restaurants. Talking with them over a beer provided a new depth of insights and helped us contextualize their experiences. The insights from our quantitative and qualitative research became the guiding principles for our recent program enhancements.”
The comprehensive loyalty program at Rock Bottom – which has 33 locations nationally -- has been upgraded from the previous Mug Club. With Rock Rewards and the Mug Club, guests now earn better rewards and faster.
“We’re also rewarding more purchase behaviors than before to ensure there’s something for everyone, regardless of how they engage with Rock Bottom,” Brown said. “And so far, we have been overwhelmed with positive guest feedback. So we’re thrilled about where the program is today, but we’re already working on the next iteration so we can continue to provide best-in-class rewards for our guests at Rock Bottom.”