Weigel’s is launching “highly targeted campaigns that drive specific purchasing behaviors” with PDI’s new Experience Designer tool for loyalty programs, said Jessica Starnes, director of loyalty at Weigel’s, Powell, Tennessee.
The new tool from convenience retail and fuel technology provider PDI is a self-service platform that helps retailers create personalized, omnichannel loyalty campaigns that track conversions, product recommendations and customer re-engagement efforts.
PDI Experience Designer, which is integrated with Weigel’s price book, allows the c-store chain to identify price lookups and product naming hierarchies to segment customers based on purchase behavior, Starnes told CSP. Prior to this tool, Alpharetta, Georgia-based PDI offered only managed customer relationship management services, and Weigel’s was limited to sending the same communication to all customers.
“One key improvement is access to clear and actionable reporting,” Starnes told CSP. “We're now able to track whether our communications are leading to actual purchases, giving us more insight into campaign performance.”
Weigel’s is using personalization in several ways, such as qualifying customers for additional tobacco-related offers, promoting hot and cold dispensed beverages and running a happy hour specifically for hot dispensed drinks, Starnes said. It’s also leveraging time-of-day targeting to promote pizza during relevant dayparts.
Campaigns are created manually through the Experience Designer platform, Starnes told CSP. While it is designed for self-service, Weigel’s can also work with PDI consultants for strategic input or support.
“The self-service tool is a big leap forward and was necessary to support our goals and allow us the ability to respond to market opportunities,” she said.
Weigel’s participated in a focus group for PDI’s new tool along with four other customers, where the c-store chain could describe the user experiences it wanted for its MyWeigel’s Rewards customers. Weigel’s continues to provide feedback, Starnes said.
“Standing up a loyalty program alone isn’t enough,” said Starnes. “A retail loyalty marketing team needs to use all the data available to create meaningful, personalized member experiences that impact lift. PDI Experience Designer allows us to launch highly targeted campaigns that drive specific purchasing behaviors and achieve excellent open and conversion rates.”
PDI created the PDI Experience Designer solution through an integration with Braze, a customer engagement platform used by companies like Gap, Intuit and Max. This design is key for the convenience channel, where retailers vary greatly in number of stores and sell age-restricted items, the company said.
“We launched PDI Experience Designer to respond to the specific needs and use cases of our customers,” said Mike Melson, senior vice president and general manager of payments and loyalty at PDI Technologies. “From very simple drag-and-drop content creation to complex, automated lifecycle management, PDI Experience Designer enables retailers to execute on their strategic objectives. And this is just a glimpse into some of the loyalty- and promotional-focused innovations we’re developing for retailers as we optimize and integrate their operations across the enterprise.”
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