Creator Spotlight: How QR Codes Power This Party Destination

Steven Filippi, Ballard’s Beach Resort in Block Island, Rhode Island

Tell me a little bit about your business and what you do:

My name is Steven Filippi and I run Ballard’s Beach Resort. Ballard’s Beach is a famous beach on Block Island, Rhode Island. We are the number one party destination in New England. Ballard’s has live music everyday, two live bands on the weekends, seven bars, a full service restaurant, a hotel, twenty-four VIP cabanas to rent, and three tiki bars. Ballard’s has it all and there’s no better place to spend your day with your family or friends.
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How have you seen the hospitality industry shift over the past few years in terms of customer expectations?

Customers now expect ease of transaction. They want to buy everything quickly and easily. As an independent business, it’s difficult for us to constantly invest in new technology because it’s not cost effective. Flowcode has been excellent because it’s very affordable comparatively, our guests love it, it’s mobile friendly, easy to use and looks great.

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How has the pandemic changed how you think about your business, marketing, and connecting with consumers?

When it comes to our customers, public safety is paramount and is always the most important thing. Additionally, our customers have been in quarantine for over a year now, and it’s our job to make sure they have a good time. When they want to let go and have a great time, we have to be the number one place in their mind. It’s really our job to ensure our customers are safe and have a good time.

Why did you start using QR?

A great friend of mine owns a restaurant in Rhode Island called Matunuck Oyster Bar, and on a recent visit, I saw they were using Flowcode. I was blown away. I was at his restaurant on Sunday, and by Monday I had already signed up for Flowcode  and ordered printed materials.
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What are some of the ways you are using Flowcode and Flowpage?

The most important way we are using Flowpage is within our phone system. We’re an independent business so we don't have a 24 hour call center, but when gusts call our main number, they can press “1” and we’ll actually text them our Flowpage. From there, they book reservations at any time, 24/7. We actually encourage them to go to our Flowpage first, even before they speak with a guest representative. Additionally, we have our Flowcode, which is linked to our Flowpage, throughout our establishment so it’s easier for everyone to access our menus or order takeout.

How has Flowcode helped your business?

Investing in Flowcode is not only saving us money, but it’s going to help us grow our revenue. Flowcode allows us to reduce menu costs, but really, the biggest advantage is the ability to cross-promote different products on our Flowpage. For example, if someone wants to book a table reservation, they’ll go to our Flowpage where they can also book a cabana, a hotel room... so the cross-pollination of revenue streams is really going to grow our business significantly over the next 3-5 years.

What has been the most important piece of data that you have leveraged from the Flowcode platform?

There’s a lot of great data that you get with Flowcode. It’s good to see what time of day people are scanning, and it’s also great seeing high-level click and scan data, but the most important piece of data is seeing which links are being clicked the most on our Flowpage. This will help us optimize our Flowpage going forward.
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In a business like yours with many different consumer touch points and marketing channels, how are you thinking through tying all of those pieces together with Flowcode?

It’s quite simple. First of all, it starts on the backend. We aim to make everything digital, so if you want to purchase anything, make a reservation, book a cabana - everything can be done online. And then, what our Flowpage does is tie it all together. So if you call us or scan one of our Flowcodes, you can really buy whatever you want in just two clicks.