Punchh, a brand-centric mobile customer engagement platform for restaurants, announced a new partnership with CiCi’s Pizza to develop a loyalty app that will let CiCi’s customers collect punches for each visit and earn a free buffet at any of the restaurant’s nearly 450 locations. With its cloud-based, POS-integrated mobile CRM platform, Punchh will help CiCi’s better engage guests more frequently, according to a company press release.

"We’re working with CiCi’s to create a program that will allow the family-friendly restaurant to connect with their guests on a deeper level," said Vic Mahadevan, CEO of Punchh. "Punchh’s mobile platform will provide CiCi’s with insights about its customers’ personal tastes that can result in better customer service and happier guests."

The Punchh platform collects customer information, such as orders they are placing, which friends they are referring and offers they are redeeming, the release stated. By providing CiCi’s with segmentation capabilities, this partnership hopes to achieve an incremental boost in sales, increased engagement on social media, word-of-mouth referrals and return traffic.

"CiCi’s is moving into the digital space as part of our new feeding individuality positioning. We are working to connect with our guests in ways that makes it more convenient to them," said Sarah McAloon, CMO of CiCi’s. "The mobile app is one of our first launches along with a new website and our first year of digital media."

CiCi’s Pizza has nearly 450 restaurants in 32 states.