Want Repeat Customers? This Bar’s Loyalty Strategy Costs $0 and Works Like Crazy

How does a business differentiate its customer experience, and generate loyalty?

One bar in Philadelphia takes a unique approach to differentiation and, in the process, creates Encore Experiences for their patrons.

You’ll find this bar on 15th Street. It’s called “Good Dog” and, as you might guess, the owners are pretty fond of canine creatures. Their motto, “Come, Sit, Stay” is a cute play on the bar’s name, but it’s their unusual approach to endearing and engaging their customers that’s worth discussing. One that’s particularly effective at creating an Encore Experience.

Sure they’ve got friendly staff and great food (their cheese-filled burgers are legendary!), but those aren’t really differentiators in the service industry. That’s an expectation, especially in a town packed with great eateries and lots of bars to choose from. So how do they differentiate themselves in a sea of sameness?

Throughout the year, members of the public (patrons past, present, and—I’m sure the idea—future) are encouraged to submit photos of their dog for a photo contest. On the bar’s “birthday,” they throw a party (everyone who submitted a photo is invited) where they announce the winners. The winning pup’s photos are framed, hung on the wall among past winners, and the winning owners also get a gift certificate to the bar.

Personal Experience

I used to work down the street from this bar, and would regularly go in (for the burgers!) and that’s when I first learned of the contest. My wife and I submitted our dog’s photo (Oscar, a miniature dachshund) for the contest. While we didn’t win, we sure had a great time at the party.

Not long after that, Oscar suffered a back injury from which he just couldn’t recover and we had to make the difficult decision to let him pass and ease his suffering. We were devastated.

One day over lunch, the server learned of Oscar’s passing, and shared that they had another wall of photos on the third floor, for dogs who’d gone “over the rainbow bridge” (a phrase pet-owners often use to describe a dog that has died). We submitted the photo and they framed it, and added it to the wall.

This created the opportunity to take friends (or just ourselves) for a drink, head to the third floor, and have a “toast to Oscar.”

The Lesson

On any given day, we have dozens of bars to choose from should we want a drink or a bite, but this personal connection created a reason to revisit. The sense of pride and connection, seeing our beloved pet on the wall, deepened our fondness for the bar. We felt like it contained a piece of us, even though that piece was “just” a picture of our pet on the wall.

Because of this Good Dog has no doubt received hundreds of “encore” visits from patrons. Some winners, some mourners, all spending their hard earned money at this establishment.

In a world where great food and service are an expectation, Heather and Dave (the owners of Good Dog) created a low-cost but high-value strategy to engage and endear customers to the experience at their establishment.

If you want more Encore Experiences for your customers, your team, or even yourself, start here:

• Make it personal. When people see themselves reflected in the experience, it stops being just another interaction and starts becoming the one they talk about. That’s pride. That’s connection. That’s what keeps them coming back
• Make it unique. Great ideas aren’t always new, but they’re always true. True to your values. True to your people. Good Dog didn’t invent photo contests—they just made it feel like home for the people who walked through their door. They enable each person (employee or customer) to bring something that’s uniquely theirs, their pet, and incorporate it into the experience. Don’t copy what’s already out there. Use what’s already in your people. Their stories. Their passions. Their presence.

So whether you’re designing an onboarding process, launching a product, or planning a team celebration, ask yourself:

What would make someone want to come back and do this again?

Then go do more of that.

And if you’re ever in Philly, stop into Good Dog, grab a burger, and raise a glass to Oscar. He’d be wagging his tail.