For restaurant owners as well as for all merchants, customer loyalty is the sinews of war. How do you get your customers to come back to you instead of going to your competitors?
We have gathered for you "7 digital pearls" so that your customers never forget you!
1/ CRM: the key to customer loyalty
The CRM or Customer Relationship Management means customer relationship management (but it's a lot classier in English, isn't it :-))
It is the foundation of a good customer loyalty strategy. Without CRM, it is impossible to build a solid knowledge of your customers.
And for this, it is essential to have a qualified customer database that centralizes their personal data and very useful information such as :
- The date of their last visit
- The frequency of their visits
- The average amount spent
- Their favorite product
- ...
With all this information, you will be able to propose targeted offers, adapted to the consumption habits of your customers.
So how do you collect all this valuable data?
Don't worry, you don't have to write everything down in a little notebook.
Thanks to new digital solutions such as ordering or paying by QR Code, all customer data is automatically stored in your database.
In one click, you can consult the history of each customer and know his habits: it's a great way to quickly distinguish your loyal customers from occasional customers!
2/ The Restaurant Loyalty Card: a classic reinvented
Obviously, you know the loyalty card. The most classic one, it's a simple card that you stamp at each checkout.
But here again, digital technology is revolutionizing the codes of customer loyalty.
From now on, the loyalty card is "virtual".
Whether your customer orders on your website or directly in your establishment, all these purchases are recorded on his dematerialized loyalty card.
It is recorded on his smartphone and can therefore be consulted at any time.
It's a great way to keep in constant touch with your customers. Plus, it gives you much more flexibility than a stamped card:
- You can broadcast new loyalty offers in real time
- It can be integrated into your digital menu to encourage the purchase of certain products
- You collect detailed information about your customers
- It works for all purchases: website, payment at the table, order terminals, cash register software...
3/ The piggy-bank: another way to motivate your customers
Collecting money with every purchase is a dream come true for all customers. Even those of your establishment!
The digital cashback solution allows you to credit your customers' accounts with each purchase made at your place: you choose the conditions of attribution and the duration of validity of the piggy-bank.
With a credit to spend at your place, your customers will not forget to visit you!
4/ The prepaid card: ideal for giving the desire to spend
The prepaid card is a great way to keep a customer coming back.
How does this new customer loyalty tool work?
Again, no need to carry an extra card in the wallet. The prepaid card can be completely digitized: it then takes the form of a QR Code that the customer keeps in the wallet of his smartphone. At the time of payment, they simply present their QR Code to be scanned: the amount of the bill is directly deducted from the amount of the prepaid card.
As a merchant or restaurant owner, you also benefit from a cash advance that secures your cash flow.
5/ Marketing automation: it does the work for you
A mysterious word... always hides another one!
Behind the marketing automationthere is what is called theIA or Artificial Intelligence.
What does all this have to do with your business?
Marketing automation brings a real revolution in customer loyalty.
Thanks to the information stored in your customer database, you can set up marketing automations.
It is the automatic triggering of a marketing action such as sending an email or an SMS, following the occurrence of an event.
And you decide which scenarios trigger events.
For example:
Your customer has not returned for more than 1 month?
Thanks to the marketing automationIf you are a member of a club, he or she will automatically receive a message from you to come and visit you.
And the scenario possibilities are endless!
6/ Email campaigns: a safe way to keep in touch
With the explosion of social networks, we often tend to neglect it.
However, email is an ultra powerful customer loyalty tool. It is even the preferred communication channel for marketing managers.
But be careful: don't write to your customers if you have nothing to tell them!
The important thing is to have something interesting to tell.
To encourage your customers to come back, you can for example communicate on :
- What's new on your card
- Special menus for certain events such as Valentine's Day or Halloween.
- Special offers like Happy Hours
- Occasional animations (concerts, tastings, ...)
Be creative!
7/ SMS: easy and quick to send
SMS remains an excellent way to remind your customers.
On the condition that it is not abused.
And sending SMS to your customers is much easier than it seems. Some CRM platforms integrate SMS sending solutions to save you time like the CRM proposed by Obypay.
Rule of thumb: if you want your SMS to be displayed in full, it should not exceed 160 characters.
Messages should be concise and direct. Do not hesitate to use abbreviations to shorten the text.
So that you don't lose an opportunity to build customer loyalty, ask our experts for advice. It is our job to accompany you and design the customer loyalty solution best suited to your needs.
