The most essential ingredient in any restaurant customer loyalty program is time. It’s time to establish who your loyal guests are at scale and determine what types of loyalty perks will appeal to them.
Loyalty programs that include high-quality rewards like complimentary appetizers, drinks, or exclusive events will see the most success. Ensure your rewards are enticing enough to encourage repeat visits and spending.
Identify Your Loyal Customers
A loyalty program can help restaurants connect with their customers meaningfully. It can also promote return business and increase brand recognition by offering privileged advantages to devoted clients. The most creative restaurant loyalty program ideas are those that recognize your most enthusiastic customers and send them offers tailored to their preferences. For example, if a customer regularly dines at your restaurant on the weekends and spends more than average, you can create campaigns that target them to make them feel valued.
A restaurant loyalty program is a system that rewards loyal customers for their patronage by tracking their spending or visits through a card, app, or digital customer account. Customers can redeem points for free or discounted meals and drinks, as well as special events and services. Loyal customers tend to be more frequent and spend more than non-loyal diners, which means a successful loyalty program can boost your revenue.
Ensuring that all front-of-house staff understand and promote the program to their guests is crucial to maximizing your restaurant loyalty program. This will increase the effectiveness of your rewards program and create a sense of urgency for non-members to join. In addition, a well-designed loyalty program should feature valuable content such as recipes and food commentary from famous chefs’ newsletters.
Promote Your Program Effectively
A well-designed loyalty program can help forge genuine connections with your customers. Beyond offering discounts, a successful program creates value by building relationships and enriching your patron’s dining experience.
Ensure your guests know your restaurant’s loyalty program by prominently promoting it on all your social media accounts and websites. This will generate a sense of FOMO (fear of missing out), motivating non-members to get on board.
Ensure your staff is also aware of the restaurant’s loyalty program and is on board. This program will boost employee satisfaction and morale and encourage them to advocate for it while interacting with customers.
Offer an easy sign-up process with minimal required information. Incorporating a mobile app for your restaurant can significantly improve customer satisfaction and interaction. With the ability to send customized messages and exclusive deals to each customer, you can enhance their overall experience and foster greater engagement with your brand.
Give your patrons an irresistible rewards incentive such as free delivery or a gift card. In addition, gamification techniques like leveling up can add more appeal to your loyalty program. Especially for fast-casual and fast-food brands, a tiered points system can be a great way to drive participation and boost the perceived value of your program.
Offering members-only events is another way to enhance value and encourage a feeling of exclusivity. This will reward your loyal patrons for their support and motivate them to continue visiting your establishment.
Create Rewards That Fit Your Restaurant
A loyalty program is excellent for drawing new customers into your restaurant. However, the impact comes from the loyal customers who consistently dine with your business. According to research from Fivestars Insights, this group makes up about 20% of your customer base but generates 80% of your revenue.
The best way to keep this group happy is by creating rewarding experiences that allow them to get closer to your brand. The more personalized these experiences are, the more they’ll appeal to your loyal guests.
There are many different ways to create these rewards; each restaurant can find the approach that fits its brand. In general, though, rewards can be broken down into item- and experience-based categories.
Item-based programs reward customers based on specific menu items they purchase. These rewards can include anything from a complimentary beverage to discounted food.
Experience-based restaurant loyalty programs give customers exclusive access to events at their favorite restaurants. These perks can include VIP events with the owner or chef, cooking classes, and rare wines and whiskey tastings. This type of reward can create deeper emotional bonds between customers and their restaurants and make them feel more special.
Make It Easy to Redeem
Most restaurant loyalty programs rely on accumulating points and exchanging those points for free food and drinks. While this can be a great way to attract new customers and drive frequency, more is needed for true guest loyalty.
When creating a restaurant loyalty program, offering valuable rewards beyond just food and drinks is essential. These can include things like preferred seating or invitations to exclusive events. For example, a loyalty member might be invited to a private wine-tasting or whiskey event with the restaurant’s chef or owner. This creates a more intimate connection with the brand and makes guests feel special.
Conclusion
In conclusion, making it easy for loyalty members to redeem their rewards can increase participation and retention. Many restaurants allow loyalty members to skip the line by showing them their digital coupon or code in-restaurant. This allows for a smoother and more efficient experience that can be especially beneficial in busy times.
For a loyalty program to be successful, it’s also crucial that employees understand how the program works and know how to promote it to customers. Training and encouraging staff to mention it to patrons during the dine-in process can effectively get the word out. Some restaurants even give their employees bonuses or incentives when they have many loyalty program sign-ups.
