Back in the day, your regulars were folks you knew by name and face, and they kept coming back because staff knew their orders by heart. Today, with the influence of technology in the restaurant industry, customer care is extended to the digital realm. How much you know your customers is now expressed by how personal your marketing messaging feels, especially how offers and rewards feel specific to them. New-age regulars may not be sitting in the same booth every week, but they are hitting “Order Again” or “Redeem Offer” multiple times a week on their smartphones, giving you repeat business that is dynamic and accelerated. Read on to learn the rising trends in digital marketing and customer retention that are drawing in the new regulars of the 21st century.
Secure a 98% Open Rate!
Those who currently have an email list or loyalty program associated with their restaurant understand that customers love free and discounted items! However, no matter how many promotions you run, they are not worth the time and effort spent if they don't provide the results you desire. Text message marketing is a powerful tool for directly engaging with your customers and notifying them about current promotions. Email marketing campaigns simply cannot compete with text message marketing’s 98% open rate. It’s becoming increasingly difficult for businesses to stand out among all the clutter in customers’ email inboxes, but with text messages you won’t have to fight for visibility.
Yelp Help! Real-time Negative Notifications
What happens when you receive a negative Yelp review? It is disappointing and can be a mad scramble to fix what went wrong to avoid negative reviews in the future. A Harvard Business study reported that a one-star increase on Yelp yields a 5-9 percent increase in revenue. You know that online reputation is paramount for customers who are considering dining with you, and you may be seeking a solution to actively address this. With a digital receipt that has built-in customers ratings, you can encourage real-time feedback so that customers feel heard and valued, while actively preventing negative reviews from being posted online. If a less than positive review is submitted, a manager can be immediately notified and can provide excellent customer service, preventing the disgruntled customer from airing out frustrations online.
Supporting Local Businesses with Gift Cards
Gift cards are a high-margin, low maintenance strategy for increasing sales and getting new customers through your doors. For local businesses, gift cards are a great way to engage with your community by encouraging your regulars to gift loved ones with a delicious meal that they can vouch for themselves! After all, word-of-mouth marketing remains the most trusted among all methods. Encourage your servers to treat gift cards as an opportunity to offer more to your customers, and train them on the most effective methods of promoting them. For example, gift card sales can be an initiative you boost during the holidays (“Giving the gift of a night out…”).
Click here to learn about ComeBackCard Gift & Loyalty Reward Program
Exclusive Perks and Personalized Messaging
Loyalty reward programs not only reward and incentivize customers, they also give merchants knowledge about their customers’ purchasing behaviors to create targeted, customized marketing campaigns. You can utilize this data to find customers who haven’t visited you in a while and encourage them to come back with special offers just for them. Your smartphone carrying customers are bombarded with mass marketing messages daily. Special offers that are exclusive for your most loyal patrons stand-out among all the emails and texts they receive. Most importantly, you’re communicating to them that the relationship matters and that you appreciate their continual business.
Customization is Key
The methods that drive peoples’ decisions to return to a business are the ones that make them feel known and appreciated as your patrons. They know you have delicious food and they enjoy your service – but they want to feel special! Your new-age regulars are drawn by personalized marketing content and exclusive perks that feel unique to them. What’s more, these efforts help reinforce purchase habits and reward your most loyal customers for their repeated business. Steer away from generalized marketing messaging and focus on the targeted, personalized marketing messaging that brings in real results and captures the loyalty of customers today.
