Every restaurant strives for repeat customer purchases, but given the fierce competition in the industry and the unfavorable economic climate, this is not always the case. In fact, research shows that a staggering 70% of restaurant customers never return.

This is concerning, particularly at a time when it is getting harder and harder to attract new customers. What would restaurants do to survive in the face of all this?  Or have all hopes been dashed? Certainly not!

If you want customers to return to your restaurant time and time again, this article is exactly what you've been waiting for.

While the internet is flooded with several ideas for customer retention, not all of them are effective. However, a proven strategy that can be adopted is a customer loyalty program. According to research, it can increase your sales by 20% if well implemented.

Knowing what a loyalty program is, how it operates, and how to effectively implement it in a restaurant is therefore necessary.

What is a Customer Loyalty Program, and how does it work?

Customer loyalty programs, in layman's terms, are incentives designed to keep your customers coming back for more. It is a system that many brands are using today and has shown to be quite efficient.

Some of the incentives might include large discounts, special deals, gifts, points, and so on. Choosing which incentives to use is very dependent on what your customers would truly appreciate. If you are not already implementing the loyalty program strategy, you are most likely leaving a lot on the table.

Loyalty programs foster a bond between the restaurant and its customers thereby leading to repeat purchases. Here are 5 loyalty program ideas for your restaurant:

5 No-brainer methods for developing a successful restaurant customer loyalty program

1. Adopt the point system

The point system is one of the most effective methods used by numerous businesses across many industries. It can be attributed to the Gamification theory. The logic is that people love receiving points, much as they do when they play a game and receive points for their wins. So, the goal here is to make your customer’s experience fun and enjoy your services.

For instance, customers can automatically be accrued points when they place additional orders or make purchases. They get points for every money spent on your menus. They can redeem the accumulated points after they reach a particular amount. You could also make it redeemable for any amount. 

Telecom giant MTN and others use this system, allowing you to buy data or airtime using your accumulated points alone or in conjunction with your available airtime.

As customers accrue more points, they feel a sense of accomplishment when they dine at your restaurant. 

2. Referral rewards

As the name implies, this involves rewarding your customers for each new customer they refer to your restaurant. You can give interested customers referral codes to share with their families and friends in the hopes of converting them. 

There are several ways to reward your customers for referrals, depending on what your restaurant considers ideal. Some ideas include fixed-price meals, such as a free lunch for every three successful referrals. Points can also be employed as a reward system in this case; the more referrals, the more points a customer gets, and everyone is happy.

3. Leverage Esca's Crypto Cashback

Our very own crypto cashback marketplace ‘Esca’ is certainly one of the most cost-effective methods to reward your customers. With Esca, you delight your customers and keep them coming back for more. 

This is how Esca Menu works: you sign up as a vendor, create an account, upload your menus, and start getting customers on the go. Anyone who orders your menus through our site receives free bitcoin cashback automatically saved in their Esca wallet, without any cost to you. It's as simple as that.

That’s not all, even as a vendor, you receive a cryptocurrency cashback on every three sales. Isn't it amazing? Register for free here.

4. Personalized communication

Research has shown that many customers are loyal to brands that interact with them through their preferred communication channels, particularly if these communications are a little bit personalized. People love to feel unique in general.

With the use of efficient communication tools like emails, texts, and others, restaurants may interact with their customers more effectively and treat them favorably. Consider email marketing as an example; restaurants may send customers personalized birthday emails, as well as emails with useful advice and offers. This will significantly increase consumer brand loyalty.

5. Remember to provide excellent customer service

I put this point last because of how crucial it is. It's important to remember that no matter how fantastic your reward program is, bad customer service can ruin the whole thing. Nobody wants to go back to a restaurant that treated them poorly.

Make sure your waiters give their best effort when serving clients and making them feel at home. This cannot be accomplished by simply telling your workers to do so; you must take the initiative to arrange training on superb customer success service for your staff.

At the same time, you may evaluate how your employees handle customers, by collecting feedback, reviews, ratings, etc, on the quality of service.

Having seen that a loyalty program is an excellent way to retain customers, especially at a time when competition is on the rise, you should implement one at your restaurant if you haven't already. 

Meanwhile, whether you already have customer loyalty programs in place or not, Esca is an excellent platform for supplementing your marketing efforts. As previously stated, we provide bitcoin cashback to your customers at no cost to you. What's next? The process of signing up and creating an account is super simple. Get started here

Miracle

Miracle is an SEO Specialist at Esca Menu. He is a Digital Marketing and Brand Communications Professional.