Did you know that implementing a restaurant or cafe loyalty program is one of the best ways to create repeat customers?
In an industry where sales is so closely tied to fluctuations in the economy and consumer behaviour, F&B establishments depend very much on customer loyalty for survival. It is the regulars – not one-off customers – that contribute largely to the livelihood of many businesses.
So how do you sustain a loyal pool of customers? What are some of the tips and tricks that make a loyalty program work in your restaurant, and how can you manage it easily?
Reward Customers, Earn More
A restaurant loyalty program plays a crucial role in customer retention. By converting each dollar into a point for example, and allowing customers to earn rewards after collecting a certain number of points, you’re incentivising them to keep coming back.
Yes, this all sounds good but you are probably wondering how you can possibly manage the hassle of asking for customer details each time they pay at the cashier and manually adding points for them on a card or on their records in the system.
This is where we got your back. :P
With iCHEF’s all-new Loyalty Points QR Code feature, customers simply need to scan the QR code printed on their receipt to collect points! As the restaurant-owner, there are no additional steps when performing your billing, thus making it hassle-free for you.
In addition, you are able to pre-configure points rewards rules and let the POS system do the calculations for you. Choose whether you would like to activate automatic points or continue to manually input customer information. This flexible customisation allows for you to set rules for your own loyalty points system in your restaurant.
Also, you are able to cut costs on designing and printing membership cards. When cards are damaged or lost, it adds to additional frustration and cost for customers who may have lost their points.
Bigger Checks & Targeted Segmentation
One of the top benefits of customer loyalty programs is giving you opportunities for cross-selling and upselling. When your loyalty program and CRM is fully integrated with your POS such as iCHEF’s, you can easily incentivise repeat orders across all channels – whether your customers order in your restaurant or online. Their order history automatically becomes membership data in your iCHEF POS system.
With this feature on your iCHEF POS, you are able to select different variables to help you segment your customers and study the data easily – and these variables range from their ‘Preferred Order Items’ to their ‘Cumulative Expenditure’ and ‘Member’ information like birthdays.
For example, you could download reports to find out customers who have not visited in the past 6 months, and group them into a list for further analysis by using another variable like ‘Customer Spend’. This way, you can plan a promotional campaign to target these customers specifically and incentivise them to return.
Zero Effort Required to Get New Members
If customers are first-timers to your restaurant, they get added as a new member the moment they scan the QR code on their receipt and fill out their phone number. For example, a customer may have seen your restaurant on the Grabfood app and made an online order delivery for the first time. As a merchant, you are still able to reach out and tap on the potential of this first-time customer by attaching the receipt with the QR code on the delivery bag for him or her to scan. Data on new customers is collected every day for your review, so you can decide how you want to interact with them.
A win-win for both FOH Staff & Customers
There is nothing more beneficial than the front-of-house (FOH) staff being able to ‘analyse’ customer data quickly beforehand and attending to exactly what the customer would want from setting foot in your restaurant.
With iCHEF’s POS loyalty points system, whether your customer is waiting in line, placing an order or just about to checkout, your staff can easily look up their profile and be able to greet loyal or old-time customers by their name. Even though FOH staff are trained to talk to customers and get them to sign up to the loyalty program when they are paying the bill, often there is simply not enough time when there is a snaking queue. With QR code functionality, all they have to do is tell customers to scan it to enjoy rewards at their next visit.
Loyalty Points Programme for You - Yea or Nay?
Implementing a loyalty program at your restaurant is one of the easiest and most effective ways to make the most of your existing clientele. Ultimately, the science of a restaurant loyalty program works on two principles – reward and reinforcement. Behavior that is followed by pleasant consequences is likely to be repeated, and vice-versa.
And when your POS is integrated with a good in-built loyalty points and CRM system, you have more control and ownership as a restaurant owner to enforce the rules in your restaurant. Talk to us today to find out how we can help you get started on the loyalty program journey or learn more here.
Abi Shan is the editor and content strategist at iCHEF Singapore. She manages iCHEF Club, a growing community of F&B owners in Singapore – creating and strategising fresh content, digital marketing campaigns, and the F&B Entrepreneur Bootcamp, the only regular workshop on opening a new restaurant in the country. In her spare time, she loves playing the drums, watching movies, and attending concerts. Her love for fashion runs so deep such that you can can always spot her with new makeup looks ;)
