Strategies for the restaurant sector: How to build customer loyalty
26 de April, 2022
Did you know that acquiring a new customer costs, on average, 5 times more than retaining an existing customer? (Source: Light Speed) It’s obvious that attracting new customers is a fundamental part of the success of any business, but that shouldn’t mean that you stop focusing your efforts on retaining the customers you already have. Satisfied customers become repeat customers and, what’s more, they contribute to your restaurant’s reputation by sharing their positive experience with their family, friends and, very importantly, sharing their experience online! That’s why you should pay attention to the following strategies for building customer loyalty.
1 – Create a loyalty program
Loyalty programs continue to be a good customer retention strategy. Generally, customers accumulate points for each meal until they can access a certain advantage (a free coffee, a dessert or even a meal). These initiatives motivate customers to visit your restaurant more often. So create a program that keeps customers excited with frequent, easy-to-achieve rewards. What’s more, if you ask for data such as customers’ names, cell phones or email addresses, you can engage with them in an even more relevant way (you could, for example, send them a congratulations message on their birthday).
2 – Invest in excellent customer service
Customers’ experience in your restaurant will dictate whether they come back or not. And the quality of the food obviously contributes to this, but also the atmosphere of the restaurant and the way they are served. Ensure that the service is provided with competence, friendliness and care. Also ensure that waiting times are not too long. Together, all these factors will help your customers have a good experience in your establishment and be more likely to return.
3 – Involve your customers
Social networks are not just useful tools for attracting new customers. They also play a very important role in retaining existing customers. By posting frequently, you are maintaining that contact and providing that engagement. Other ways to do this are, for example, those birthday messages or a gesture as simple as asking customers at the end of the meal if everything was OK or if anything could be improved. In this way, customers will feel that their opinion is important.
4 – Collect customer feedback
Following on from the previous point, collecting customer feedback and paying attention to comments, especially negative ones, is another very important way of increasing loyalty. Negative reviews are always an opportunity for growth and can be very valuable in understanding what can be improved in terms of service, food quality or other aspects. If these reviews have been made online (on your website, social media, Google or other platforms), take the time to respond to customers and try to let them know what is being done to improve.
5 – Use seasonal ingredients and foods
The use of seasonal ingredients and foods has numerous advantages from the point of view of the quality of the food served. Fresher food certainly results in richer, tastier dishes. However, it also allows you to introduce some variety into your menu throughout the year. And while you may have those customers who come to your restaurant to enjoy the same dish over and over again, there may be others who don’t come back as often if there’s nothing new. That’s why you should use seasonal food whenever possible. And don’t forget to advertise these menu updates on your website, social media and other platforms where your restaurant is present.
What do you think of these strategies for building customer loyalty in the restaurant sector? Are you already implementing any of them? Or do you have any other strategies that we haven’t mentioned here? Tell us all about it!