For ventures to stay profitable, business owners must tip the balance between loyal customers and the other customers – in favour of loyal customers. A report published by Belly shows that small businesses get 72% of their revenue from their loyal customers. I have a saying – businesses grow by new customers but are sustained with loyal ones. Seeing how important loyal customers are to business, do you know how to build customer loyalty in your restaurant?
If your answer is no, don’t sweat it, you are not alone. A good number of restaurant owners do not know how to. In this article I have outlined 7 keys to help you unlock the door to customer loyalty.
Let’s get started…
- Deliver Top Quality
Well, I guess this key is a no-brainer. You can’t hope to build customer loyalty by providing poor quality service. Every other key outlined in this post is hinged on this first key. Providing excellent service and delicious meals at the right price is a great way to build customer loyalty. People stick to brands that meet or exceed their expectations. Do well to train your staff, from the chef to the waiters, to deliver on the standard you have set.
- Loyalty Programs
Loyalty programs have been used for many years as a tool to boost customer loyalty. Yet, there are a lot of restaurants that do not have a loyalty programs. A study by Deloitte shows that 71% of diners get involved with restaurant loyalty programs. This means that diners love loyalty programs in other to take advantage of the incentives you offer. So when designing your loyalty programs, make sure you make it simple. Let the rewards be clearly stated. Get personal, engage your target customers, and show them that you appreciate them for dining with you.
- Be Unique
The tiger looks markedly different from the lion, even though they are both cats. You must differentiate your restaurant from your competition. Everything you do should scream uniqueness and make it easy for potential customers to tell you apart from other restaurants. Make your dishes unique, give them a different catchy name, serve them differently, just make sure they don’t look, taste, or sound like your competitors’. You could design your dining area sitting arrangement differently. With some creativity, you can come up with designs that will stand out and make your guest say ‘wow’.
- Online Reviews
Online reviews have now become an indispensable tool for businesses to strengthen their credibility. Most diners would check out the reviews about a restaurant before they dine there. Sites like TripAdvisor and Yelp are the go-to for many restaurant enthusiasts. Visit any or both of these sites and create an account for your restaurant. You can then ask your patrons to leave you reviews on there. Use email campaigns or Wi-Fi marketing platforms to ask for online reviews. Do not offer rewards in exchange for reviews. It’s just wrong. And whenever a customer leaves a review, you should respond to it. It shows other potential diners that you care about the opinions of your customers. Here are 4 simple ways to get positive online reviews on TripAdvisor.
- Social Media
As a restaurant in this era you must look for channels to interact and engage with your patrons. Social media provide such channel. You need to create social media pages/handles for your restaurant where you share pictures and videos. Through social media you can make announcements for upcoming events you are organizing or special deals. Platforms that work best for restaurants include Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and twitter.
- Relationships
People are only loyal to a person or brand that they are familiar with. Seeing this is the case, you should have all your staffs interact with your customers. Come around, speak with your diners, makes friends with them, remember their names, share common experiences with them, ask them if they enjoyed their meal, thank them for coming, etc. The more they know about you and your staff the more likely they are to be loyal to your brand.
- Customer Data
Successful restaurants run on adequate customer data. With ample amount of customer data, you marketing gets more targeted; the data helps you know what makes your customers tick. Your customers will feel like you know them when they receive marketing communication that resonates with their desires. Information such as what time they visit, how long they spend per visit, how much they spend per visit, what they usually buy when they visit, and how frequently they visit will help you design more effective marketing campaigns.
Wi-Fi analytics and marketing platforms like SpotOn Wi-Fi can help you collect, store, and organize customer data. You can segment your customers using data points such as age, gender, location, and buying behaviour. Our platform can be integrated to your guest Wi-Fi and POS system for maximum data collection.
SpotOn Wi-Fi makes it easy for you to know your customers by garnering data on autopilot and helping you make sense of it. Want to know how it gets done? Contact us and let’s get you started. You can request a free demo to see how it all plays out.
POSTED ON August 9, 2019
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