Why do you need a restaurant loyalty program, you ask? Ask Your Target Market’s online survey states 39% of restaurant customers signed up for multiple restaurant loyalty programs and 42% of them belong to one or two.
In this competitive time, no restaurant owner wants to be left behind in the race. Though several factors like the quality of the food served, ambience, and customer service draw a customer towards a restaurant, you certainly can’t overlook the importance of a successful restaurant loyalty program.
How to Implement a Successful Loyalty Program
Nowadays, every restaurant offers a loyalty program. However, they don’t necessarily implement it the right way. So, if you want to gain a competitive edge, try implementing the below 5 tips and making your restaurant loyalty program stand out.
1. Reward Customers for Every Visit
Your loyalty program needs to reward your customer each time they visit your restaurant. The reason is simple. Harvard Business Review states acquiring a new customer is 5 to 25 times more expensive than retaining an existing one. So, retaining your customer with an attractive loyalty program is the way to go!
You can have a point-based loyalty program where each visit and spend accumulates points to be redeemed later. Further, you could also use redeemable gift vouchers to attract good customers. We’re sure the idea of discounts will definitely attract the first-time customers to visit your restaurant repeatedly. Additionally, repeated visits mean more word-of-mouth publicity and greater revenues for your restaurant.
2. Keep the Loyalty Program Simple
Your loyalty program should be simple to use and easy to understand for the customers. You can offer a customised loyalty program based on several customer retention plans. It can be based on the volume of spending by the customer or the number of repeated visits. With inresto Loyalty designing a customised loyalty program becomes quite simple.
You can come up with a sign-up benefit for new customers by offering a 10% discount on their first meal. When it comes to redeeming gift cards, the customers should have an option to pick a menu item themselves. So, if a customer is crazy about Chinese noodles, you can offer him/her a buy-one-get-one scheme for Chinese noodles when he/she visits the restaurant.
Also read: Why and How to create a restaurant loyalty program.
3. Train your Employees on the Loyalty Program
The staff members are the eyes and ears of any restaurant. They are the ones who interact the most with the customers and know their taste better than anyone else. So, you need to ensure that the restaurant staff is well-versed on the various features of the loyalty program. Your staff should be able to explain the details about how to redeem the gift vouchers or the minimum billing amount to fetch loyalty points effortlessly.
If the customers have not yet signed up, your employees can explain the various benefits of the loyalty program. Further, they can go a step ahead and offer a 5% discount for signing up right there. After you see a customer light up due to the discount amount, you’ll answer the question: why do you need a restaurant loyalty program yourself.
You can also encourage employees to collect feedback from customers about the loyalty program. Based on their feedback, you can alter the features making your restaurant loyalty program more beneficial.
4. Develop a Strong Digital and Mobile Strategy
It’s utmost important that your customers should be able to view and redeem the reward points using the restaurant’s mobile app. As per survey conducted by LocalCircles, nearly 81% of the consumers who order food via delivery apps do it because of the convenience factor. So, if a customer wants to place an order for a pizza from your restaurant, allow him/her to check their loyalty points on their mobile devices.
By checking the loyalty rewards program on his mobile app, a customer may find that he’s eligible to get a Black Forest cake without paying anything extra. Consequently, he gets delighted and enjoys his favourite pastry absolutely free from the comfort of his home!
By making your restaurant loyalty program mobile friendly, you can tap into a much larger market. Further, you can also send timely notifications on redemption offers and discounts to build your brand name and credibility.
Similarly, building a strong social media presence is also quite important as it speaks volumes for your restaurant. For new customers just signing up for the loyalty program, you can offer a 10% discount if they share their experience on Instagram. An excellent review about your restaurant on social media platforms works wonders for your brand name.
5. Get Insights from Customer Spending Patterns
The answer to how to implement a successful loyalty program depends heavily on customising the rewards program based on valuable insights. Digital platforms such as inresto loyalty helps you easily generate reports to infer the behaviour and spending patterns of your diners.
Take the case of a particular customer who prefers to have Schezwan fried rice along with Chicken 65. During his visit to the restaurant, you can inform him that his reward points are due, and he can order Chicken 65 for free now. Such simple measures without a doubt add to the reputation of your restaurant and leave a lasting impression in the customers’ minds.
Rewarding loyal customers definitely leads to repeat visits to your restaurant. You can also keep a check on the loyalty program’s performance and tweak the rewards program if it’s not working out according to you.
Parting words
In this article, we’ve discussed how to implement a successful loyalty program, in detail, using 5 effective tips. However, for the loyalty plan to be a success, you need to build trust and solid ground with your loyal and happy customers. Never forget the fact that word-of-mouth publicity by existing customers gives a boost to your business in the long run. After implementing these steps, we’re sure you won’t be asking the question why do you need a restaurant loyalty program anymore.
