Following its festive launch in May, the Missouri Spirits Expedition App, built by Local Explorers for the Missouri Craft Spirits Guild, is creating buzz and reaping notable benefits for the guild and its member distilleries.
The app, a digital upgrade of the guild’s popular paper passport map, allows users to learn about member distilleries and their offerings, create their own self-guided tours of distilleries, and earn points and prizes by visiting member distilleries and checking in on the app.
The convenience and ease of the app immediately resonated with users, according to Brandon Eckardt of the Missouri Craft Spirits Guild. “We launched it for about 90 days as what I would call a soft launch, or an internal launch, just to get the distilleries up and running. So really, the app itself, from a forward-facing position, has only been active about 60 days,” he explained. “And we’ve got a very good response. We’re getting a couple hundred people a month signing up. And the feedback we’ve been getting from end users has been fantastic.”
The app not only gives users the convenience of not having to carry a paper passport, it lets them access a fully up-to-date list of participating distilleries and their latest offerings. This has been a win not only for passport users, but for new guild members joining the passport. “Where we see the true value of the app is when we bring new distilleries on, we’re able to immediately get them onto the app,” Eckardt said. “In the past, it would take us up to 18 months to get them onto a paper map, so they didn’t see the value of it.”
Member distilleries have also embraced the app’s ability to capture intelligence about their guests and their interests. “The app itself has really given us an ability to collect data and feedback that we’ve never been able to collect,” Eckardt said. He added that much of this data comes from the app’s comments section, where users can comment “about what they liked about a distillery, or what they found interesting, or their favorite location that they’ve gone to.” This data can help the guild and its members better understand and respond to customer trends. “We’re really going to be able to start using that for marketing efforts going forward,” he said.
The guild has actively promoted the app to regional media as well as to its target users. “We have gotten a local news station and did an interview with them, which went very well,” Eckardt said. “We’ve also got QR codes now that will be able to load the app for folks in a much easier way when they’re on location. That’s going to be going out to distilleries within the next 30 days. So it’s on a little acrylic sign that they’re going to be able to take to take to events and have in their tents.”
Looking ahead, the guild also sees opportunities to use in-app advertising as an additional revenue stream. “What we see going forward is the ability to start marketing the app to outside businesses as an advertising space,” Eckardt said.
In the months following the app launch, Eckardt said the Local Explorers team has been in regular contact to solicit feedback and offer strategic advice on how to make the most of the app. “They’re very easy to work with, great with helping us find answers along the way,” Eckardt said. “So the support I’ve gotten is fantastic.”
“When a client launches one of our apps, we’re just as excited as they are,” said Susan Erickson, co-founder and vice president of Local Explorers. “We’ve earned a reputation as leaders in the hospitality loyalty app space because of our clients’ success and our experience helping them best leverage their apps.”
Local Explorers apps by software designers Daruma Tech are designed to help communities better connect with visitors and local consumers by making it easy for them to discover and patronize local businesses and attractions. Each app is custom branded for the community it serves, and the Local Explorers team offers ongoing, proactive support, from development to training to regular maintenance and updates.
To learn more, visit https://www.localexplorers.com/
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