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This blog post is going to showcase how PassKit technology gamified the customer experience for Subway customers by converting paper coupons into digital perpetual coupons.

Digital coupons generated +300% in-shop traffic on peak hours and positively affected Subway brand recognition positioning Subway as a highly innovative company.

Subway coupons Before PassKit

We are all familiar with those… Little paper coupons that we always forget or lose somewhere. Those coupons provide little-to-no value as they are thrown away after being used. They don’t provide any insight about the customers’ behaviours and preferences, and they can not be reused. In two words: waste and inefficiency.

The innovation

By digitising paper coupons, Subway went from merely printing little pieces of paper, to actually open a whole new communication channel with their customers by directly getting into their phones. Digital coupons drove more traffic to the three chosen pilot stores, positioned the brand as an early innovation adopter and increased publicity.

After PassKit: a sexy customer experience

Here’s where the magic happens: Making your business and brand be in that little moment when it matters the most, when your customer is ready to make another purchase in your shop.

In fact, digital coupons can dynamically change their content in a matter of seconds, for unlimited times. And once they are installed in the customers’ phones, they will stay there. For the merchant this means the following things: a whole new, more personal and direct communication channel with customers, more traffic and brand seen as innovative.

This is exactly what PassKit made possible for Subway. But let’s take a look at this through a real example:

Step 1: Customer is walking by a Subway branch during lunch time and a proximity notification is automatically triggered onto his phone through a beacon.

Step 2: Customer slides the screen notification and automatically gains access to the offer of the day. In the example above, a free can of soda for any 6″ or 12″ sandwich.

Step 3: Subway employee scans the coupon, which automatically changes into a ‘Keep Me Image’ for next offer.

Perpetual retargeting is the key

So, what happens to our Subway customer next? Let’s take a look at the second part of the example:

After some time, Subway notices that the customer did’t make any purchase. Subway then decides to push a lock-screen notification onto the customer’s phone. Here’s what happens:

Step 1: Subway pushes a new offer. In this case, an upgrade to a 12″ sandwich upon purchasing a 6″.

Step 2: The customer receives a lock-screen notification and gains access to her new coupon.

Step 3: As in the first offer (previous part of the example), the customer redeems her reward and her coupon converts into a ‘Keep Me’ coupon again.

This process can be repeated over and over again, generating more traffic, more returning customers and ultimately more revenue.

The simple, yet thrilling Merchant Experience

Now that we have covered the customer experience, let’s see what it takes for the merchant to implement a forever digital coupon solution.

Digital coupon creation: in this phase, the merchant just needs to log into CherryPie and easily create a digital coupon. Please take a look here to find out more about coupon creation.

Distribution: This step is related to the promotion of the digital coupon to the public. In CherryPie you will be prompted to a QR code and a link that you can share to distribute your digital coupon. Fantasy is the only limit. You can in fact take advantage of SMS, e-mail, your social media channels, newspapers, banners, adverts and basically any channel you prefer.

Use: As in the example above, at one point customers with the coupon will actually use it. The employee who is attending, will just scan the coupon which will change into whatever the merchant decided. In the Subway example, a ‘Keep Me’ message.

Management: At this point the merchant has a new customer base that can be retargeted. The digital coupon can be updated to provide new offers, special treats or useful information to the customer.

The Results for Subway coupons

After the PassKit implementation, the three pilot Subway franchises measured the following results:

Coupon Usage: 25k digital coupons were installed,

Traffic: peak hour traffic increased by 300%,

Redemption: more than 3000 coupons have been redeemed, meaning about 12% redemption rate,

Bran Reputation: The franchise got awarded and recognised as the best regional Subway franchise owner.

It’s your turn to make sh*t happen

Do you want to replicate the Subway experience in your business? If so, please contact us here and we’ll make it happen for you. If you liked this case study, please let us know by sharing it on your social media and following our accounts.