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3 strategies to create a loyalty program in your restaurant

3 strategies to create a loyalty program in your restaurant

Currently the behavior of customers has changed, now consumers are much more informed and consult opinions about your restaurant, compare prices and products with the competition and take the service you provide as an important part of their decision when looking for where to eat And one of the keys to choosing your restaurant is offering a real benefit, which is why a loyalty program ensures that customers remain your consumers in the long run.

The main objective of a loyalty program is to retain existing customers, that is, those with whom you already have an open communication channel, with them the next step is to convert them into recurring customers that increase your profits and prefer you over competition, that is why in the following article we share tips and advice that can help you create a loyalty program for your restaurant. 

How to create a loyalty program in your restaurant?

In order to create a successful loyalty program for your restaurant, you must follow these 3 strategies:

1. Set the goal of your program 

Think about what you want to achieve and what is the goal of your program, whether it is to increase sales, attract new customers, reward loyal customers, etc. For this part it is also very important and necessary that you know your customers, find out what their tastes and needs are to know how they are motivated to return to a restaurant, this will help you to know what kind of benefits you can offer. 

Some examples of objectives are: 

  • Average ticket increase 
  • Increase in the number of clients
  • Introduction of new cymbals 
  • Boost the influx into a new branch. 
  • Strengthening the brand. 

When you are clear about the objectives, it is time to get to work and propose benefits that motivate your clients to achieve them.

It may interest you: Why do restaurant sales go down and how to avoid it?

2. Identify the type of loyalty program ideal for your restaurant. 

Loyalty programs are based on and designed according to the following customer behaviors: 

  • Frequency with which the restaurant is visited
  • Average ticket
  • Promotional products. 

Taking these three points into account, we present you 3 options from which you can choose the loyalty program that best suits the objectives of your restaurant:

Points-based program

points-based loyalty program

This is the most common loyalty program and it can be as complex as you want, but basically it is about the customer earning or accumulating points with each visit to your restaurant and then being able to exchange them for rewards such as discounts on consumption , free products when buying another, courtesy of a drink or even complete meals.  

Program with social value

These are associated with social responsibility actions, that is, in each ticket the restaurant will donate a percentage of the consumption, in this way customers are involved in charitable actions for a foundation or movement. 

Partnership-based programs

If you are starting with your restaurant or you are in an area with a lot of competition, this program can be beneficial for you and attractive for your customers, since it is about allying with other businesses in which your customers also obtain discounts when consuming in your restaurant. 

3. Follow up on your program. 

Make sure that your interactions with your customers are meaningful and you don't waste efforts, that's why it's important to evaluate your loyalty program to see if it is meeting the goal you set at the beginning, although at the beginning it is normal that it is not so popular, it is It is important that you continue to monitor their progress, since in this way it will be easier for you to identify if it is necessary for you to make changes or improvements to help you achieve your goals. 

Remember that if your customers have chosen your loyalty program it is because they appreciate and value your service enough to remain customers, so your job is to continue improving for them.  

Bonus type: Use restaurant software to automate your loyalty program. 

soft restaurant loyalty program

A restaurant software has the solution for every aspect of managing your business and that includes loyalty programs, Soft Restaurant 10 has a loyalty module called Rest Card, which allows you to manage your customers' loyalty cards in your system , giving you the opportunity to assign discounts according to consumption or visits, among its various functions it has an electronic purse and gift cards. 

It may interest you:  7 reasons to implement a software in a restaurant this 2021

Start your loyalty program now!

As you already saw, most loyalty programs offer benefits such as gifts, coupons, movie tickets, among others, however, the most successful programs are those that reward customers in an original way and it is important that you know what they are. Loyalty programs not only benefit your customers but also your restaurant. If you want to start a loyalty program easily and effectively, click the button below and discover how Soft Restaurant® can help you achieve it.  

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