A recent survey revealed that 80% of consumers now want premium loyalty benefits. Power up your program by tailoring experiences to guests through data insights.
Brand loyalty and long-term restaurant success are attributed to how special guests feel when visiting a restaurant. While loyalty programs aren’t new, customer expectations are changing, and guests want an experience tailored specifically to them. Utilize technology and improve your loyalty program to elevate the guest experience while attracting new patrons.
Do Your Research
Customer data is crucial to determine what rewards program is best suited to your guests. Create a short survey to determine demographics, favorite menu items, and what types of rewards are most appealing to guests. Show your appreciation for their time by offering an incentive, such as a free beverage, dessert, or discount, in exchange for this info. Once you determine what matters most, tweak your program to their tastes to motivate them to participate.
Bonus: An additional perk to customer feedback is to learn guest pain points, which benefits your overall marketing strategy.
Which Program is Best?
There are a variety of options out there for rewards programs, with well-known rewards such as cashback or premium loyalty programs (fee-based), but it’s crucial to pick the best one for your business. Let’s look at some of the different types out there:
- Reward per dollar spent—spend a certain amount, and when the account reaches that level, a reward is immediately available to redeem.
- Rewards earned per visit—after a certain number of confirmed visits, they receive a reward to redeem instantly.
- Rewards earned with a specific purchase (such as an entrée or special)—with the purchase of a specific item, guests earn a particular reward to redeem.
- Tiered rewards earned with milestone member dates (each month, year, etc.)—with the passing of a certain time or date, rewards are earned and available in the guest’s account.
- Birthday or anniversary rewards—acknowledge guest birthdays or sign-up anniversary dates with a reward.
Use Tech
Punch cards and key tags are popular, but it requires your guest to keep up with the card. According to studies, 79% of U.S. customers are more likely to join a rewards program if it does not require them to keep up with a card.
Instead, make signing up and redeeming rewards simple, quick, and easy with a mobile app. Mobile apps are effective tools to keep track of purchases to easily earn points. More importantly, apps notify them once rewards are earned, so they redeem those rewards instantly.
Performance Foodservice’s One Source Partner FanCONNECT offers a mobile loyalty system to help increase your repeat business by 2X, increase how much your customers spend by 4X, and increase cash flow.
Elevate Your Brand Identity
Loyalty rewards programs are a great way to distinguish your restaurant from competitors. By rewarding customers with incentives specific to your restaurant, it creates a direct relationship with guests. People love to brag about businesses that treat them with special service, and it can lead to word-of-mouth referrals for your restaurant.
Overall, implementing a loyalty rewards program for your restaurant has many benefits, including:
- Rewarding current loyal guests
- Recruiting new guests with sign-up incentives
- Incentivizing both new and current guests with milestone rewards
- Increasing your mailing list and improving your overall marketing efforts
- Increasing revenue and standing out from competitors
