News Nearby: LoyalTree App Creates Deals, Supports Local Business

Brock Bergman is helping customers across the Pittsburgh area lighten their key chains with a new smart phone app that holds discounts and rewards from local businesses in one centralized place.

“Anytime anyone would offer me to enroll in their programs, I would just say, 'No, I am fine.' I just want to get in, get my purchases and get out,” Bergman said. “What really started as a way for people to aggregate their current loyalty programs and put them of their phone has evolved into what we consider to be called a loyalty network.”

A business based in the Strip District, LoyalTree is a brand new concept that already has Square Cafe, Crazy Mocha, NOLA on the Square, North Park Lounge and various Atria’s locations on board. At  a bar code is featured inside the menu. After a customer has signed up for Loyaltree by answering four questions in the app, they can scan the bar code and receive a reward at the given restaurant or cafe right on the spot.

Bergman of Wexford wanted to ease the burden on customers and increase the value of rewards programs for local businesses. Those who download the free app can join as many rewards programs as they like that are included in the LoyalTree network.

“How it works and why it works is because previously, every business that developed a loyalty program, whether it’s a punch card at Square Cafe or a Jimmy John’s sub club card, they were all independently run,” Bergman said “The inconvenience for the consumer was still always there. If I have a punch card, I need to keep track of it; I have to hold it in my wallet. People lose them, forget that they have it and it’s terribly inconvenient.”

A centralized space on the iPhone and Android smart phones was the natural way to go, Bergman said, because with new technology, the phone is usually the one guaranteed item people take with them anywhere—and it doesn’t add more to the keychain-style rewards programs. A dashboard in the app serves as a “digital wallet.”

“I have my phone with me at all times, so this customer loyalty network is each individual business can come onto our platform, create their own program that helps them sell a particular item, and we can develop programs that specifically fit what that business’ goals and needs are,” Bergman said. “They come onto our platform just as they logon to Facebook and instead of just having a page, we allow them to get real value out of it in a rewards program people can sign up for right on their phone.”

Square Cafe Owner Sherree Goldstein said joining the Loyaltree program made good business sense.

“We think it’s an easy way to track customer loyalty while at the same time, rewarding our customers,” she said.

Deals offered by the businesses can change from month to month. At Elements downtown, a new restaurant that fills the previous space of Palomino near Gateway Center, a specific deal hangs on the elevator walls that takes $10 off the total bill. By joining LoyalTree, those who dine at Elements also currently receive a complimentary Charcuterie selection. Customers scan the bar code and present it to their server on their phone while dining.

A free coffee or tea is an earned reward for customers at Square Cafe for simply joining Loyaltree. NOLA in Market Square offers a $5 off discount as a reward for joining LoyalTree.

“The number of businesses on our platform is also growing because we are a young company,” Bergman said.

Bergman, who has a background in marketing and spent time living in China, said that with his spirit of entrepreneurship along with a love of his hometown city, Loyaltree not only helps support customers, but the local economy.

“My father was an entrepreneur and he really taught me that you can do this,” Bergman said. “I have had a lot of opportunities to see other parts of the world and it continues to reaffirm or reconfirm how strongly I feel about Pittsburgh. There’s something about it—even if people move here and really give it a chance, they love this place. Places like Square Cafe make Pittsburgh what it is—no question.”

LoyalTree currently is working on pilot programs with national companies, along with exploring options to include BlackBerry in the network. Find LoyalTree on Facebook here. To download the free app, search “LoyalTree” in the app store.

Full Disclosure: Local Editor Stephanie Rex previously worked as a server at Square Cafe.