1-888-353-5012Like many small businesses, Royalty Rewards® didn’t begin with a polished business plan or a clear road map. It started with one dedicated entrepreneur and a simple idea: to deliver high-quality frozen meals to people’s homes—a concept that was well ahead of its time back then in the mid-1990s. At the time, our founder, Rory Fatt, was juggling a full-time job while trying to build this side business. He had a marketing degree, but quickly discovered that traditional, big-brand marketing strategies didn’t work for a small, Independent Operator like him. Like any Small Business Owner, Rory needed to know that if he invested $500 into marketing, it would produce measurable sales.
Sales were flat, he was working constantly, and debt was piling up. Desperate to turn things around, Rory immersed himself in learning everything he could about marketing that actually worked for small businesses. He discovered the power of database marketing and direct response—and it changed everything. He could learn exactly who his customers were. Who was buying from him? What were their lives like? Where did they live? Where did they work? And with that, he could customize his communications even more, but most importantly… he could use that information to find other people, other potential customers, just like them.
Instead of hoping people would find him, he could build a system that spoke directly to customers and delivered measurable results, and he did. Rory’s food business started to gain some local notoriety. The food delivery concept created curiosity, and the marketing even more so. (One of Rory’s best performing print ads in a local newspaper used the headline “Order Thai Chicken In Your Underwear”… so you can imagine the intrigue it created.) Word spread, and soon other Business Owners were asking Rory how he did it. They saw his success. Saw he was doing something different, and it worked.
And one question – “Can you help me grow my business?” – sparked what would become a movement.
It was that one question that lit the fire in Rory’s belly. He knew his next mission would be to help other Independent Business Owners grow their businesses based on everything he learned. And that’s exactly what he did.
He put together a package of information, manuals, and audio tapes that taught Independent Business Owners how to grow their sales using these techniques. The company grew instantly. It was the early 2000’s and there were not many resources for Small Business Owners. Many were struggling, isolated, and didn’t know where to turn.
Fast forward through two decades of seminars, coaching groups for the really keen Business Owners (one of those still exists today, our Royalty Rewards® Platinum Elite Program), legendary marketing campaigns, and a growing community of Independent Business Owners, and Royalty Rewards® has become a trusted partner to hundreds of merchants across North America focused on one mission: taking the marketing burden off your plate, so you can focus on what you do best—running your business.
And this year, we’re celebrating 20 years of doing just that.
Over the years, we brought together customers at seminars, where we hosted guest expert marketing speakers – and even celebrity guests like George Foreman, Mike Ditka, Mark Victor Hansen and Famous Amos. The events grew in size and one year, the only hotel venue we could find that worked was a large outdoor tent. So, the event became Circus themed, and in a moment of brilliance, Rory considered renting an elephant to ride in on to open the seminar. It was quickly kiboshed by more levelheaded team members.
Another event had a Magic theme. We hired a magician to make Rory appear on stage as his entrance, but he inadvertently got locked out of the ballroom via the door he had practiced entering from. After a lot of scrambling, he appeared onstage on time for his cue, with an elevated heart rate and a lot of sweat. Despite our constant planning and backup systems, there was always the unexpected.
At every seminar, we collected all the best marketing examples from our attendees and their results and compiled them into a highly coveted Million Dollar Marketing Manual. Many Royalty Rewards® members still have them sitting on their shelves and reference them often.
It was from this manual that many of our most successful turnkey automated marketing campaigns for Royalty Rewards® were born, like the Thanksgiving Gift Card Promotion, The Tax Break Promotion, and The $20,000 Giveaway Bounce Back.
With access to this new information, this new community, the lives of our customers have changed for the better. They were able to take vacations they had never taken, send their kids to college, prepare for their future, sell their businesses for profit. They were able to enjoy the benefits of all their hard work. But the one overarching piece of feedback we always heard was, “I just don’t have enough time to do this.”
As a Small Business Owner, you likely started your company because you have a passion for what you do. Maybe you grew up in the industry, have a burning desire to help people, or to serve. It’s not likely that you wanted to be a marketing expert. But in order for small businesses to be successful in today’s economy, you MUST be a marketing expert… or have one of your team.
And so Rory decided we would create a company that would solve that problem. It would take all the legwork away from our customers so they could focus on what they did best. We would do it for them. We would help them collect their customer data, we would manage their list, and we would fulfill the marketing campaigns for them – print campaigns, e-mail campaigns and, as technology evolved, mobile campaigns and text messaging and so on. And every customer would have a personal marketing Coach that they could call for help when they needed it.
And in 2005 Royalty Rewards® was born.
We welcomed Restaurants, Retailers and Auto Repair Shops that also wanted effective, automated marketing with seamless support. We created a community, and from that we welcomed hundreds into our Platinum Elite program, Royalty Rewards® members that wanted to accelerate their rate of success so they could focus on what they do best, running their business. If you are interested in joining them at their next meeting in Dallas, you can find more information enclosed.
A lot has changed over the last 20 years. We’re constantly updating the program and services to deliver cutting-edge marketing for you. Most of our team members have been here for over 8 years, some coming up on 15+. They love working with our clients because it’s a one-on-one relationship, they get to know the business and feel like part of their successes.
As we’ve been reflecting on last 20 years, we are incredibly honored to know that some of our clients have been with us for a majority of our journey. As we look ahead, our mission remains the same: to empower Independent Business Owners with the marketing tools, support, and community they need to thrive. Whether you’ve been with us for 20 years or just joined last week, we’re here to help you grow—consistently, measurably, and with heart. Thank you for being a part of the Royalty Rewards® story.
