Melinda Caday and Susana Holloway opened PCW in 2011 as a fun, non-judgmental place to learn about cooking. “We treat people how they ought to be treated,” says Casaday. “We don’t charge you if you have a question or want a recipe, and we aren't interested in selling you a fancy gadget that’s only good for one thing. We take out the intimidation in cooking and instill confidence in our students.”

PCW uses Perka to encourage customers to enroll for additional classes—and rewards them for continued loyalty with free merchandise. Students earn a free utensil—their choice of tongs, kitchen thermometer, or peeler—after buying 3 classes. This perk not only equips students with a useful cooking tool, it also acquaints them with PCW’s culinary merchandise shop. They can also earn 20% off their next class after purchasing 5 classes. After 9 classes, die-hard cooking students earn an additional class free of charge. PCW’s students are ardent Perka fans: nearly all of their students use Perka actively and it has demonstrably increased student loyalty.

“Perka makes it so easy for us to reward our frequent students, and we know how important is it to have people who want to come back,” Casaday remarks. “It's convenient and easy for everyone. My time as a business owner is valuable, so having a system like Perka that keeps track for us is fantastic.”

Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) wanted to maximize customer loyalty across multiple campus stores – a challenge many multi-location organizations face, from shopping malls and airports to downtown development associations.

One of the nation’s top biomedical research institutions, OHSU encompasses 2,800 students, 14,000 employees and 235,000 hospital patients and their families—in fact, it’s a micro-economy in its own right. OHSU uses Perka to increase repeat sales at campus cafes and capture more dollars that could easily be spent in nearby restaurants not affiliated with the university. “Hospitals and universities are unique environments,” said Paul Southerton, restaurant manager at OHSU. “Experiences and emotions run the gamut from extreme joy to sadness. Our purpose is to always give a positive experience to every guest we interact with. From Carmen Ranch Beef to soups, sauce prepared from scratch, fresh seafood and great staff, OHSU is not your typical ‘hospital food’. Our biggest fans often remark about how great the food is—they forget they’re in a hospital when they come into our cafes.”

OHSU deployed Perka at 9 separate cafes across its multiple campuses. The program has attracted considerable participation on campus and demonstrated a sales “lift”, in terms of encouraging customers to eat on-campus versus venturing to off-campus restaurants at mealtimes. “We selected Perka as our mobile loyalty solution because of its ease of use, local support, and proven platform,” Southerton continued. “We feel Perka offers the best way to enhance our customer experience.”

Green Bean gives its young, hip customers what they crave: boldly delicious, healthy salads and a smart mobile loyalty program. “Salad can get boring, and we strive to mix things up,” says Sarah Haselkorn, who founded the café with Nick Guzman. “We have a salad that features dried apricots, duck confit, and spicy chickpeas—it's a texture and flavor explosion!”

Green Bean launched its Perka program in June, 2012 with a first-time signup special: free iced tea for one day only. This limited-time special launched their program with over 300 customers and snagged 52 redemptions on day one.

With a constantly evolving menu and a wide array of dressings, Green Bean customers stay enticed and engaged. Their ongoing Perka programs complement this approach, rewarding customers with a free wrap or sandwich after 10 punches; “VIPs” graduate to earning a freebie after buying 9 wraps or sandwiches. Variety mixed with rewards have many Green Bean customers lunching at the café daily. “Quite literally, our secret sauce is our dressings,” Haselkorn continues. “They’re all original recipes created by a 9-time, James Beard Award-nominated chef, made in-house, from scratch.”

“Perka was the perfect choice for us for many reasons,” Haselkorn says. “First, the format is a simple stamp program, which fits the nature of our business since we only do salads/wraps. Second, Perka doesn't exclude people who don't have a smartphone. This is important to us because our customers range in age a lot. Lastly, Perka fits within our budget!”

Not a technology guru? Not a problem. Brothers Pizza wanted to offer a forward-looking customer loyalty program, without complicating their own lives. Perka offered an ideal balance.

Co-founder Bob Elster describes how Brothers began 14 years ago: “It all started with seven brothers from Italy who migrated to New York, then worked in Philly and eventually brought those flavors and recipes to Northeast Ohio.” Brothers Pizza prides itself on fresh-made bread for its subs and pizzas and has become a local town fixture.

Brothers wanted to reward its most loyal customers, but needed a solution to suit everyone—from the local kids who grab a slice after school to the elderly patrons who’ve frequented the shop for over a decade. Why Perka? “We wanted something easy, simple and interactive, simple to manage—and most of all, something that works,” recalls Elster.

They quickly signed up nearly 200 customers for their Perka program, which rewards customers at 3 levels. As a “local” you can earn a free large, 2-topping pizza after buying 8 or get a free sub after buying 8. At the “regular” level, Brothers sweetens the deal: you earn the same free pizza after 7 purchases, or a free sub plus drink after 7 purchases. The deals get sweetest at the “VIP” level: free pizza after 6 purchases, or free sub, drink and chips after 6 purchases.

With Perka, Brothers Pizza can focus on what they do best—make great pizza and subs—with zero technology headaches.

Entrepreneur Bryan Reynolds began Anthem Coffee & Tea six years ago, initially as a franchise and last year re-launching the stores as an independent brand. “Our secret sauce is our culture, hands down. Culture is everything,” Reynolds says. Anthem’s infectious energy stems from more than just caffeine: “We do coffee Pike Place Market style, with fun banter and flying cups. We engage customers as guests at a party we host daily. Everyone’s invited!”

Reynolds offered Perka at both Anthem locations from day one. Perka was also core to the launch of his second successful business in 2011, Elements Frozen Yogurt. “What sold me on Perka was the cleanness of the app and the overall look and feel of the brand,” Reynolds recalls. After test-driving it at a trade show, “it was a no-brainer that this was the direction we needed to go!” Reynolds says.

At both businesses, Reynolds used an innovative, limited-time special to boost initial Perka signups. Element’s opening day signup special was a particular smash-hit. Offering a free chocolate-dipped banana for every new Perka signup, Reynolds captured local attention for his new business while building a valuable customer marketing database. Elements’ signup special snagged the company over 200 new signups in their first month. Now each of these thriving businesses has over 1,000 Perka participants active at every level of their respective programs.

“We're still growing and learning, but we’ve leveraged the power of Perka as an integral tool in our system and business model,” Reynolds remarks. “Perka kicks bootay!”