AutoAwards’ Loyalty Rewards Program Helped Grow Fred Beans’ Membership

AutoAwards, a leading auto dealership marketing company, is happy to announce their client, Fred Beans’ celebration of the redemption of the 10-millionth loyalty point. The prize? A year’s worth of car payments. Customers who redeemed points last August — 546 in all — qualified for a drawing. The winner was a teacher who purchased two cars from a Fred Beans dealership the previous year.

The Fred Beans Family of Dealerships put in place AutoAwards’ loyalty rewards program to help give back to the community they serve. The Fred Beans Family of Dealerships delivered the prize at just the right time to Central Bucks East ceramics teacher, Ann Huuki, who has three children in college and is planning a wedding with her daughter, Louise. The Fred Beans team surprised Huuki during a school meeting with news that the company would cover her car payments for a year. With this being a significant expense, she no longer needs to worry about during a high-pressure time, it is a life-changing event, for which she is extremely grateful.

“We are always trying to connect with our customers in interesting ways, create excitement and more win-win situations,” said Beth Beans Gilbert, Vice President of Fred Beans Automotive Group. “Our AutoRewards Loyalty program is an example of this, and we are proud to see it have such a positive impact.”

Huuki, of Plumsteadville, Pa., is the grand-prize winner of a recent promotion run by the Fred Beans Family of Dealerships to celebrate the redemption of $10,000,000 in points in the company’s AutoRewards Program. Randomly selected, Huuki won the prize valued at $4,800.

The AutoAwards team behind the loyalty program for the Fred Beans Family of Dealerships’ designed the program to thank loyal customers. The customer rewards program has been in place since 2003 and motivated tens of thousands of car-buying customers to return to the group’s dealerships to put more than $11.6 million in earned rewards toward down payments on vehicles. The Fred Beans Family of Dealerships has established a remarkable reputation for being honest, transparent, and customer-centric.

AutoAwards created the program as simple to understand, and for customers to participate. Members earn 15 percent in rewards points on purchases with the swipe of their key tag. Each point equals one dollar. Rewards members may redeem up to $2,000 in points per vehicle purchase or $250 towards their collision center deductible. Members also enjoy discounts from more than 200 area merchants and special perks such as exclusive events with the extended Fred Beans Family.

Gilbert continued, “Our AutoRewards Program is our way of thanking customers for trusting us with their business, and promotion like this allows us to both celebrate and give back to our most loyal customers. Ann Huuki and her family are repeat Beans customers, and we could not be more appreciative of their loyalty and excited to present them with this grand prize.”

Huuki is undoubtedly a living example of both the loyalty and excitement the program has brought. Huuki remarked she was “overwhelmed and surprised” to learn she had won the prize. Her coworkers, who helped celebrate the win alongside her, said that she was “totally deserving” because “good things should happen to good people.”

Membership in Fred Beans’ AutoRewards program — in place at the group’s 20 dealerships in Pennsylvania and New Jersey — has grown to more than 323,000 members who have earned nearly $35 million worth of points since the program’s inception, according to company officials. The program, created and administered by AutoAwards, has helped thousands of customers for more than ten years.

“The program works because customers know those points go to waste if they buy a car from other dealerships,” said the enthusiastic Gilbert. “It’s a great way to marry customers to the dealerships.”

Stories of sustained loyalty to the dealerships who have AutoAwards’ loyalty programs are common. Customer, Art Ehlo, applied $2,000 in points to his down payment on a 2019 Ford Fusion. It’s the 18th car he’s purchased from Fred Beans since the 1980s.

The program now includes free rotating monthly gifts from local merchants and discounts from about 175 local businesses. Free member-appreciation events include movie nights, minor-league baseball games, skating outings, and pictures with Santa during the holidays.

“We recently took 450 customers to see a Star Wars movie,” Beans’ Gilbert said. “There’s nothing more gratifying than renting out a theater and having customers come over and hug me and my dad.”

AutoAwards helps dealerships establish their rewards programs in exclusive marketing areas. By working with one auto dealership in their marketing area, AutoAwards helps them build partnerships with local businesses through their Keep It Local program.

To find out more information about AutoAwards’ loyalty program, call us at (302) 696-6000.