There are a few customers that you see almost daily. Sometimes they stay and chat with you, but oftentimes they come for what they came for and then head home. You start thinking about how these loyal customers are really helping spread the word of your business. They are frequently bringing in their friends, family, and even co-workers. How can you reward them for remaining a loyal customer?
Loyal customers might enjoy the overall experience of visiting your establishment, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t like being rewarded every now and then. They chose to spend their time and money with you, instead of your competitors. Establishing a loyalty program can increase the value of your restaurant in several ways. One way is that it increases revenue. Everyone wants to boost sales. Implementing a loyalty program has shown to do just that. Loyalty programs increase retention which leads to the increase in revenue. Saving money is also another great benefit of implementing a loyalty program. Customer retention strategies could often cost more money -- using a loyalty program is cost effective.
Are you ready to boost sales, measure loyalty through customer engagement, attract new customers AND be able to communicate more effectively with customers? Well, loyalty programs ensure all of those things. By saving money on customer retention strategies, it gives your business the ability to focus solely on sales and fostering a community of loyal, engaged customers. You are able to gather shopping data about your customers through loyalty programs. Therefore, you are able to make better suggestions to the customers when they return to your restaurant, and ultimately increase the likelihood of those customers spending more money.
You are also afforded the opportunity to track important information regarding the engagement of your customers within the loyalty program. Important metrics such as program engagement (how often your customers are using the loyalty program), repeat customer rate (how many of your customers are frequent visitors), and purchase frequency (how often are your customers purchasing within your business). All the while, you are able to efficiently communicate with your customers through the loyalty program. As most loyalty programs require either a phone number or email to sign up for a loyalty program, customers are then able to receive email or text messages with updates about your restaurant. Thereby increasing communication frequency and efficiency.
As mentioned, you are also able to attract new customers through your loyalty program. Offer bonus points or a special in-app loyalty program promotion if a customer enrolls on the spot. As you continue to enroll new customers into your loyalty program, you are also adding more customers to your mailing list because people want to take advantage of any discounts or promotions. Additionally, if a customer sees a loyalty program where rewards are attainable and within reach, they are more likely to invest in your brand because of the accessibility of the rewards.
Loyalty programs offer a lot of advantages over your competitors, if you choose to implement one. They give you measurable data, more interaction with your loyal customers, and most importantly, they increase the value of your restaurant. Learn more about the most frequently used loyalty program providers in our blog, Top 5 Loyalty Program Providers You Should Use to Market Your Restaurant.
Resources
Miller, G. (n.d.). 10 benefits of implementing a customer loyalty programs | annex cloud. 10 Benefits Of Implementing A Customer Loyalty Program. Retrieved June 17,2020, from https://www.annexcloud.com/blog/10-benefits-implementing-customer-loyalty-program/
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