Customer loyalty programs are powerful tools for bringing in repeat customers and keeping them in the door. However, building a loyalty program that works takes careful planning and execution.
Many restaurants ask guests to register their phone numbers with the restaurant. Still, diners are often uncomfortable giving out their phone numbers for fear of being spammed or receiving unwanted marketing texts.
Offer a Special Menu for Loyal Customers
With third-party delivery options available and diners increasingly mindful of how they spend their hard-earned dollars, restaurant customer loyalty is at a premium. While earning and burning programs are a staple within the industry, innovative restaurateurs are experimenting with other restaurant loyalty programs ideas that are more likely to keep customers returning for more.
Whether you’re a sit-down restaurant or a fast-casual eatery, providing perks for your loyal customers can be a great way to promote your business. Consider rewarding your patrons with a free appetizer or discounted meal for their birthday, checking in with them on social media to see if they’re enjoying their food, or giving them priority access to reservations when it’s busy.
You can also offer branded merchandise in exchange for loyalty points or a buy-one, get-one coupon. It can boost sales of a particular item, encourage on-premise spending or online ordering, and make your loyalty program more attractive to new guests. Pairing these promotional tactics with data from your POS system can help you understand which rewards are the most popular and how to streamline them into an effective loyalty strategy. For example, you can track which perks have the most longevity by calculating how often diners have redeemed them. You can then use that information to inform the design of your next promotional campaign.
Create a Secret Menu for Loyal Customers
The personalized loyalty programs of the future lean away from discounting and towards offering exclusive experiences. In this way, restaurants can make customers feel part of an in-group, not just a target for sales pitches. A Miami-based burger chain is one restaurant embracing this trend, launching a hidden menu for the highest-spending loyalty members. The secret menu features higher-end burger options like a VIP 20-person burger bash with the chef. This unique approach to loyalty rewards is a great way to build customer engagement and keep loyal customers returning.
In addition to making guests feel special, this secret menu strategy can also be an effective marketing tool. The staff are encouraged to share the secret menu with their friends and social media, which drives awareness for the restaurant.
Loyalty programs are a great way to collect data on your patrons, including their ordering history, dietary preferences, and other factors that can help you provide them with a more personalized experience. You can also use this information to send targeted promotions to loyal customers, such as a freebie on their birthday or an offer for their favorite dish.
Offer a Special Discount for Loyal Customers
Acquiring new customers is expensive, so turning them into loyal patrons is vital for many restaurants. Restaurants can also increase profits by offering a special discount to reward those who keep returning.
Paper punch cards were one of the first loyalty programs in the restaurant industry. Still, modern restaurant software gives restaurants more options to create personalized perks and rewards for their guests. Loyalty program solutions integrate directly with your POS system, which saves you money on card printing and maintenance and provides valuable customer data with every transaction (like how much they spend, what they order, and how often they visit).
Some restaurant loyalty programs offer all of their diners freebies, while others may reward specific groups of people or their biggest spenders. These programs make it easy to identify your best customers and deliver unique, personalized promotions to encourage them to return.
Loyalty program members who visit frequently can become your most valuable brand advocates, so encourage them to share their experiences on social media or with their friends. Give your most vocal diners a higher chance of winning a prize by rewarding them with points or perks for every referral they make.
Partner with Other Businesses in Your Industry
Loyalty programs allow restaurants to create a more personal relationship with customers. Restaurants can use the data collected by their loyalty programs to develop targeted marketing campaigns and communication strategies that can improve engagement and increase revenue in different business areas. For example, a restaurant could provide an exclusive offer for its loyalty program members to encourage dine-in sales during off-peak hours. Or, a restaurant could reward its loyalists with a limited-time offer that can be used online and in-store to increase sales in a new revenue stream.
Many restaurants choose to offer paper punch cards, but loyalty programs are becoming increasingly digital. Digital restaurant loyalty programs can be connected to a guest’s credit card or POS system, so guests don’t need to carry around a rewards card and can easily earn points. These systems can also help restaurant staff track customer behavior and identify trends, allowing them to provide tailored customer offers.
Ultimately, loyalty programs help restaurants increase revenue by encouraging repeat visits. But they can only be successful if the rewards are worthwhile. A restaurant offering subpar rewards may deter rather than attract loyalists. For this reason, it’s essential to ensure that a loyalty program is a good fit for the restaurant before launching it.
