Las Palapas Builds Customer Database for More Effective Marketing

Founded in 1981, Las Palapas offers delicious Mexican food to the San Antonio, Texas community. Gene Larson, a successful business owner of two other restaurant concepts, became a new franchisee in 2004 opening a
single Las Palapas (LP) location at Leon Springs with his partner.

While Gene was provided with training resources from the franchise, marketing at the store level was his individual responsibility. LP Leon Springs needed to quickly and efficiently build their customer database and cultivate customer loyalty turning new guests into long-time repeat customers.

2,600+
Contacts collected
4,100
Return customers
15%
Walk-Through Rate

Challenge

Prior to finding Adentro, LP Leon Springs had struggled to collect customer contact information. Gene reminisces, “There was no database, no outreach, and no time to think about marketing.” He lacked an efficient way to connect with his customers, run promotions, and spread the word about new menu items and happenings at the restaurant.

“With Adentro, we have collected thousands of our customers’ contact information without any effort through signups or fishbowls—and it’s happened seamlessly alongside our operations. The ability to capture and maintain our customer database with no input other than guests connecting to the WiFi is pretty remarkable.”

Gene Larsen, Franchise Owner

Solution

Gene plugged in his new Adentro-enabled WiFi access point and instantly started collecting customer email addresses through a custom-branded WiFi portal. Las Palapas Leon Springs started building what Gene likes to call “his master file”– complete with visit history and demographic profiles including name, age, gender, and location. Using this data, Gene created
customized smart messages that automatically reached out to his first time,
lost, and loyal customers to bring customers back to the restaurant.

Results

Within the first 30 days, Gene collected 250 new customer email addresses
and has now grown that list to over 2,600 customers over the course of the
year! Through automated smart messaging and targeted message blasts,
LP Leon Springs boasts a 15% Walk-Through Rate equating to 4,100
customers returning as a result, with one campaign in particular driving
record sales to their new Sunday brunch menu! Adentro has changed the
game for LP Leon Springs.