As a restaurant owner, retaining customers is a guarantee of steady revenue and lower acquisition costs. While a study commissioned by Lightspeed reveals that nearly half of guests surveyed* say that they can’t support restaurants due to inflation, customer retention appears to be an obvious and absolute necessity in order to counteract the decline in patronage. Here are a few ways that’ll keep customers coming back and ensure recurring revenue.
Restaurant subscriptions
Just like gyms or streaming platforms, more and more restaurants are setting up subscription packages to build customer loyalty.
Pret has chosen a coffee subscription formula (also known as Club Pret) at £30 a month, giving customers the opportunity to enjoy five barista-made drinks (organic coffees, teas, hot chocolates and more) a day, plus 10% off everything else sold in Pret’s stores, except at some service stations.
Lightspeed customer WatchHouse has chosen a coffee subscription formula with two options – ongoing or a gifting subscription. The gift coffee subscription lets you choose between 3, 6 and 12 months-worth of beans or pods. If you sign up for 3 months you get 10% off, 6 months for 15% off, or 12 months for 20% off.
A major advantage of restaurant subscriptions is the collection of data on the consumption habits and profile of subscribers, at the time of subscription and during the subscription period, which restaurant owners can use to refine their menu or improve their service.
Collecting customer data
In order to set up an effective loyalty programme or an incentive subscription formula, it is essential to collect data on the behaviour of customers. To do this, restaurant owners can use technology to better detect the consumption habits of their guests.
For example, ordering terminals or online ordering tools via QR code can be used to collect valuable data (email, address, age) which is essential for building and segmenting the database.
An all-in-one electronic point of sale system like Lightspeed Restaurant has the advantage of being able to collect both quantitative data (average ticket, frequency of visit, most ordered dishes, etc.) and qualitative data (possible allergies, food preferences, special requests), enabling restaurateurs to feed their customer a more personalised service, and maximising their chances of having guests return.
Personalising the customer relationship
For a relationship to work, you have to be committed. The same is true in the restaurant business to prevent customers from going elsewhere. One of the key ways to build loyalty among your coveted customers is personalisation. Whether it's reactivating dormant customers who haven't been in for a while, or rewarding loyal customers, personalisation is key.
This could be a discount on a favourite dish, a voucher for a birthday, or an exclusive invitation to try a new menu. Personalising the relationship with your customers is not just a matter of the right offer, but also of timing.
Again, an advanced ePOS is the ideal ally for deciding on the right moment: last visit, average ticket over the last six months, or the most ordered dishes are all data that can be used to optimise your loyalty programme and send, for example, your promotional offer at the right time.
