case study

From Coupons to Customer Insights: How Sonny'sBBQ Achieved Higher-Margin Growth with Thanx

Thanx helps drive high-margin growth

10% to 1%

Effective Discount Rate

Redemption Rate

+42%

Growth in Habitual Guests

About

Sonny’s BBQ: Higher-Margin Growth with a Modern Loyalty Platform

Sonny’s BBQ, a nearly 100-location full-service barbecue chain, operated for 55 years without a loyalty program. With rising fraud, declining margins, and franchisees calling for digital tools, the brand partnered with Thanx to modernize its approach to customer engagement. By implementing a mobile-first, points-based loyalty program with tiered rewards, Sonny’s reduced its effective discount rate from ~10% to 1%, increased habitual users by 42% and redemptions by 4x, and shifted from costly mass marketing to precision campaigns, driving a 15% increase in digital revenue —all without adding operational complexity.

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With Thanx, we’ve gained much more control over our marketing spend and the ability to influence specific guest behaviors. For the first time, we’re able to reward loyalty in a more intentional way without always relying on deep discounts.

Katie Love, VP of Marketing

Sonny's BBQ

We launched without needing any new hardware. Franchisees were surprised by how easily it could be rolled out. They see this as a profit lever now.

Katie Love, VP of Marketing

Sonny's BBQ

RESULTS

Saw immediate results

Redemption Efficiency

Digital Revenue Lift

+15%

Effective Discount Rate

<1%

Sonny’s Recipe for Success

To evolve beyond discount-heavy marketing, Sonny’s built a modern loyalty program centered on personalization, reduced discount dependency, and incremental visit generation. Thanx supported every step of the transition with a data-driven approach and accessible tools.

Franchisee-first execution

With support from their agency and a cross-functional task force, Sonny’s evaluated top platforms. They chose Thanx over competitors for its simplicity, transparency, and a partnership-oriented rollout, earning praise from franchisees.

Campaigns that drive visits

Exclusive programs, such as Sweet Tea Tuesdays, Sweet Sonny’s Summer, and Smokin’ September, are designed to bring high-value guests back more frequently. Tiered perks and targeted offers drive one more visit per month from top customers.

From TV ads to targeted engagement

Sonny’s has dramatically reduced reliance on costly traditional advertising in favor of targeted, loyalty-driven traffic initiatives. This enables more precise ROI measurement and better resource allocation, while maximizing the value of both point redemptions and tier-based perks.

Guest engagement for every segment.

Thanx made this data actionable through lifecycle insights, A/B testing, automated campaigns, and recommendations.