Leaders in Customer Loyalty, Powered by Loyalty360
Leaders in Customer Loyalty, Powered by Loyalty360
Scoops of Success: Häagen-Dazs’ Refreshed Approach to Loyalty
Memorable experiences are a key part of creating lasting customer relationships, and Häagen-Dazs Shops are taking steps to enhance its approach. In this conversation with Maya Pocock, Brand Marketing leader for Häagen-Dazs Shops, Loyalty360 CEO Mark Johnson gets the inside scoop into how the iconic ice cream brand is building loyalty through its refreshed app. With a focus on frictionless engagement and visually stunning design, Häagen-Dazs is improving user experience and operational efficiency in a simplified and aesthetically appealing platform for customer engagement.
Read the full article on Loyalty360 here.
Rolling out new or enhanced technology that is organizationally aligned can be a challenge for larger and well-staffed organizations. Yet for smaller teams, making sure to not only create the most robust customer loyalty approach and experience is very important. Ensuring that the program is easy to understand and the value is shared from the frontline to the C-suite all the way through to the end customer is of tantamount importance. Today we have the pleasure of speaking with Maya Pocock. She's a brand marketer for Hagen Dazs Shops and she is going to share their journey of how her small team is refreshing their loyalty program with aplomb Thanks to a newly designed app meant to elevate customer engagement and experience. Thank you very much for taking the time to talk with us, maya. How are you?
Speaker 2:I'm great. Thanks so much for having me Excited to chat.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Thank you very much for taking the time. First off, we'd like to start these with a little information regarding the brand that we're speaking with, so we'd love to get a short introduction to Haagen-Dazs Shops and your role within the company, and maybe even some of your past experience in customer loyalty.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I work with Haagen-Dazs Shops, which is part of the Haagen-Dazs brand. We have 200 plus shops across the country, with our biggest markets in South Florida and New York Northeast area. We're a small team of nine. We have regional managers and our development team across the country, so we're a fully remote team we are. The Haagen-Dazs shop system is franchise owned and operated, so our role is to really you know, you know be the cheerleaders and be the advocates for our shop owners across the country, and that includes, you know, national marketing efforts, some local marketing efforts and, of course, the loyalty program.
Speaker 1:Excellent High Mass Shops. You're rolling out a new customer loyalty app. Can you tell us how it works, how customers are engaged with the app and how they're encouraged to join?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so we actually just rolled it out. We work with Punch, so that's our kind of loyalty program provider, and we launched the app in 2019. We've recently updated it, so a new SDK, so backend technology as well as design, and the real goal for us, given our market, is to make it frictionless. A frictionless app experience, frictionless loyalty experience. That is super simple. So it's a point-based system. So for every dollar you spend at a Hagenau shop, that is applied to your account in the way of points that you can redeem for toppings, scoops, dazzlers which is what we call our sundaes, milkshakes and even pints. So that's kind of the super high level way that it works, yeah.
Speaker 2:Excellent when you look at the app.
Speaker 1:You know what are two or three things that you are most proud of.
Speaker 2:Excellent. When you look at the app, you know what are two or three things that you are most proud of. I mean, to be honest, you know it's beautiful, it's, it really matches the look and feel of the Haagen-Dazs brand. So that's, that's huge for me. I'm a very visual person and, frankly, you know if, if you know, I've got a lot of apps that I use regularly on my phone. If they don't look great, I'm not interested, and I know that that's how our consumers think as well and it's super straightforward and easy to use. So, again, I think you know we are in the dessert, the snacking space. So you know we don't need complicated, we don't need a, we don't need a complicated program, we just need it to be super simple for our guests. So it's simple, it's straightforward, the user interface is just beautiful. So I'm really really proud of that.
Speaker 1:Excellent, as we kind of talked before. We, you know, kind of started this interview. You talked about some of the things that you did when you redid the app. You know, when you redeveloping the app, adding new functionality, updating the SDK, you know, when you redeveloping the app, adding new functionality, updating that SDK, the software developer kit can be kind of challenging. Were there some things that you saw surprising, that you saw in the process, in the app or going through the process, that you maybe didn't expect to see?
Speaker 2:The process itself. I mean, it definitely took longer than we thought it would. You know, nothing's ever as simple as you think it's going to be, but you know, we got everything out of that experience that we wanted to. But, yeah, it took much longer. I will say it took much longer than we were hoping, but you know, we think that it was definitely worth the wait.
Speaker 1:Excellent. Engagement and loyalty are all the rage right now within those who have custom loyalty programs within our community. When you look at things that Haagen-Dazs does you talked briefly, as I mentioned, and we kind of led up to this about Haagen-Dazs University. You know how do you plan to maintain and increase the engagement, especially with maybe younger demographics, with the app and with? You know the loyalty program.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's a great question. Right now we're really focused on increasing guests. So overall, you know, users within the program, that's our number one goal right now. I think in the new year, thinking more about engagement and repeats, that's going to be a bigger sort of focus for us. Right now it's really increasing those users because, frankly, we were very quiet on our program before the update so we're really trying to get back to those goal numbers. So that's the main focus. But certainly in the new year we'll be thinking about new ways to increase engagement number of visits per month and specifically how to cut through to specific demographics of segmenting.
Speaker 1:Excellent. You touched a little bit on personalization. Personalized experiences, rewards, offers, cadence are very important within the customer loyalty arena as well. When you look at personalization, how would you effectively leverage data and the insights that data brings to help personalize the app and the experience for each user?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So that's an interesting question. I feel like again, right now we're not focused so much on that personalization and, frankly, you know, with our program it's ice cream and the reality is you're only visiting a Haagen-Dazs shop maximum three times a month because the nature of our business is that it's often in the moment right. So you're at the mall with your family, hey, there's a Haagen-Dazs shop, let's, let's go. I forgot that there was a Haagen-Dazs shop at this mall. Let's, let's visit that. So it is different the way that we think about and the way that we strategize with our specific industry. You know, we we frankly can't personalize in the same way that you might be able to do with Starbucks. You can go to Starbucks every day, right, you could eat there, you can get a morning beverage and an afternoon beverage, and that's just not the reality of our business. So I think for us it's truly a very simple program, so it's just not as much about personalization in that way.
Speaker 1:Okay when you kind of onboard new customers or even training. You know when you look at training, the importance of training and making sure that their internal stakeholders are bought in the value of the customer loyalty program. You know we continue to hear that that's a big challenge and an opportunity for brands to make sure that not only the customers understand the program but the frontline staff and the organization understands the importance of the program. You know frontline staff and the organization understands the importance of the program. You know what training do you provide for your employees in the Hagen-Dazs shops to encourage, you know, the customers to download the app or to educate them as to the benefit of the program?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so we were just previously talking about Hagen-Dazs University. That's our, I think we do it four times a year. It's our program that we educate new franchisees on how to truly run a Haagen-Dazs shop. So there's a lot of training there. Additionally, for every new hire there's significant training about the program, how to talk to guests about the program. We've got POP surrounding the cash register, so there's a lot of emphasis on the program and training in that way.
Speaker 2:Additionally, we have a secret shopper program and that's one of the questions that they hit on is, you know, was I asked about the loyalty program? Was I asked, do I have the program? If not, was I asked to join? So there's a lot of emphasis on that. I think even more emphasis can be on, you know, not just like telling the guest join the program, like really understanding the why behind joining the program, because I think to your point, you know we certainly want to bulk the number of users we have on the program, but beyond that, we want them to be engaged, so reminding them, like, the benefits of the program. So there's a lot of training, you know, and continuous training about the program with our frontline teams, because you know I can do a lot of work on my end to send out push notifications and emails, but it really doesn't matter if we're not getting new users to sign up at the shop level.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. You know data privacy security are also big topics in customer loyalty. Now, when you look at data, everyone's talking about data first-party data, zero-party data, third-party data, transactional, non-transactional. You know how does the launch of the new Haagen-Dazs Shops app impact the ability to collect and analyze data within your team?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so with the app and this is not just since the update, but since we brought it on in 2019, we're able to gain more insight into how our customers interact with the brand. It allows us to better understand their preferences and experiences. But, of course, with that data that we take that very seriously and we recognize that having that access means that we have to safeguard it as well. So, you know, it certainly helps us to again to understand what guests gravitate towards when we do certain offers like what, what is really impactful? What do our guests actually want to use? What offers do they want to use? So that's super important to us and it helps better inform future LTOs even.
Speaker 1:But, yeah, we definitely take that data very, very seriously, especially with and Montana just rolled out a new privacy legislation. California obviously you're quite familiar with. You know CCPA and some of the restrictions there. You know how do you kind of manage the need for data and also making sure that data is secure and that you're building trust with the customers within the loyalty program.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it's. You know that data privacy is a top priority for us. We have a lot of safeguards in place. The privacy policy on our app is the privacy policy on our website. So it's, you know, it's not just for our app, it's for, you know, our, our company and the corporation that owns us. So we have policies in place to ensure that the app, you know, is that all of that information is safeguarded.
Speaker 2:And you know, we want to make sure that the app is accessible only to users over the age of 18. So that's actually something that we implemented when we updated the app and that's really just in the interest of, you know, a commitment to protecting younger audiences. So that was actually a tricky thing to implement, right? So we essentially had to provide written, we had to email all of our current guests and those individuals under the age of 18 and let them know that we would be changing this policy and that they had a certain number of days to use their points and on the date that we updated the app, we would not allow new minors to use the app. So that was just really in the interest of protecting children. We don't market to children. So, yeah, we take it very, very seriously and it's something that we're always thinking about. We audit just to ensure that all the info, that we don't have any new minors on the program. But yeah, we take it very seriously and and have a team behind us to to ensure that we do.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. You talked about the process of developing a new app and launching it. Being able to leverage technology is a core challenge with many brands now. Oftentimes they sign up for a technology that says they're going to do X and it does X minus Y. Getting it to integrate with your other systems can be a challenge. Now you have this new wonderful app, are you planning to add enhancements to it? Are there other types of technology you would like to be able to integrate within it? Maybe a smart device or payment systems that could potentially enhance user experience?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean just I would love to allow for Apple Pay. You know, I would love to be able to do virtual wallets through our loyalty program on the app. We currently aren't. It's quite cost prohibitive for us, but there's certainly things that we think about longer down the app. We currently aren't. It's quite cost prohibitive for us, but there's certainly things that we think about longer down the line as we build the program and as the program becomes more profitable for us. So certainly more integrations and technologies are really really helpful to us, but right now we don't have anything in the pipeline.
Speaker 1:Excellent Measuring success and being able to optimize around. That is very important as well when you look at some KPIs that you have and what are the key metrics you use to measure the success and efficacy of your app.
Speaker 2:So most of our offers we send through push notifications and emails. We know that emails just don't get opened right. So for us it's like looking at those open rates and it's looking to see those push notification rates to see who actually read the information. And also it's just looking at when we create an offer, so a BOGO or a 10% off how many redemptions did we get? So that's really important to us. Beyond that, we're looking at the shop level and the regional level to see, you know, new users who have joined the program, new signups. We're looking at lift rates, we're looking at user engagement and number of visits per month. So we have goals, you know, on a monthly basis and then, of course, on a yearly basis. So that's really what we're looking at and we were able to get all of that data through reporting on the backend on Punch.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. Do you guys do anything with regard to kind of listening customer feedback, being able to potentially iterate for new app enhancements or added functionality from a voice of the customer perspective, when you look at potentially continuous improvement?
Speaker 2:Yeah, definitely so. With the release of our updated app, we have a committed customer experience team. So when a guest needs to leave feedback, they can reach out to that team immediately, whereas before it was through our website. So it's a more direct communication with the punch team and then for anything specific to guest experience it goes to our team. So we're always looking at that. We're looking at those reviews. In addition, you know, even if it's not direct to the app, we're looking at reviews across Google and Yelp, because often they're related to the app, and then, of course, on the app, the iOS app store and the Google Play store. So I feel like we get sort of a front row seat to what's really going on in the shop level, because you know, I can't be in 200 places at once. So it's really valuable feedback for us and for our shop owners.
Speaker 1:Excellent and last question, a little bit self-serving. You know, what can loyalty 360 do to help you and your team of one and nine with your customer loyalty efforts?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I think the biggest challenge for us is understanding our specific market. Right? So it's dessert and it's snacking. You can't compare us again to like a Chipotle or a Starbucks, right? So you know our guest is a lot different. They're visiting less often and they're spending a little bit more money. So just thinking about our guest and also thinking about competitors in the market and strategies that they're using would be super helpful to us, because you know we found it challenging to actually get that insight. So that's the biggest thing for us is really understanding. You know how how to serve our guests in the best way through loyalty. You know how how to serve our guests in the best way through loyalty.
Speaker 1:That, yeah, super helpful to us, excellent. And now we have the wonderful quick fire question around. Like these two, a one word or short phrase, and the first question we have is what word or short phrase do you use to inspire others?
Speaker 2:This too shall pass.
Speaker 1:Okay, what is your least favorite word that other people use?
Speaker 2:Quota.
Speaker 1:Okay, what excites you at work?
Speaker 2:Our guests, making our guests happy, and my team.
Speaker 1:Excellent. And what do you find tiresome at home or at work?
Speaker 2:Trying to properly forecast for the future.
Speaker 1:Okay, what is your favorite flavor of the Haagen-Dazs ice cream?
Speaker 2:New York strawberry cheesecake.
Speaker 1:Okay, is there a book that you've read, or read frequently, that you'd like to recommend to colleagues?
Speaker 2:Kitchen. Confidential by Anthony Bourdain.
Speaker 1:Okay, what profession, other than the one that you're currently in, would you like to attempt?
Speaker 2:Photography.
Speaker 1:Is there something that you enjoy doing that you often don't get you like to attempt Photography? Is there something that you enjoy doing that you often don't get the time to do?
Speaker 2:See my team in person.
Speaker 1:There you go. Who inspired you to be the person that you are today?
Speaker 2:My mom and my sister, and it's both their birthdays today.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow, that's good. And happy birthday to them. It's cool that they have it on the same day. That's awesome. And last question we have how do you want to be remembered by your friends and family?
Speaker 2:Kind and hilarious.
Speaker 1:Well, Maya, thank you very much for taking the time to speak to us today. It was great getting to know you and getting to know more about the program. We appreciate you sharing your journey with our audience and look forward to hearing more in 2025 and beyond.
Speaker 2:Awesome. Thank you guys. Thank you Mark.
Speaker 1:Thank you, everyone else, for taking time to listen today. Make sure you check back for another additional episodes in our leaders in customer loyalty series soon. Until then, have a wonderful day.