There is no question that restaurant owners need to focus on increasing their customer retention. After all, it’s a great way of increasing profit margins and building brand loyalty. Yet, it can be difficult for some restaurants to do this and oftentimes they don’t realize why they are losing customers.
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Focus On the Food
Whether you’re a pizza shop, bar and grill or fine dining establishment, the most important thing is to focus on the food. Offer a loyalty program that rewards customers for their repeat visits. Make sure you know your customers by name so they feel like part of your family!
The key to customer retention is having a clear advantage over other restaurants in your area. If everyone has similar menus and prices, then it’s going to be hard for people who are looking for something new or different from other places around town (or state!). You need an edge–and one way we’ve seen this done successfully is through online food ordering software for restaurants (such as ours!).
Additionally, make sure you’re responding quickly and effectively when there are complaints about anything at all: food quality issues; slow service times; incorrect orders being delivered…whatever it may be!
Offer a Loyalty Program
A loyalty program is a best way to keep customers coming back and spending more money in your restaurant. It also allows you to create an incentive for repeat business, which can be very beneficial for your bottom line.
A loyalty program can be as simple as offering discounts on food or drink items, or it could be something as elaborate as creating points that can be redeemed for rewards such as free meals, gift cards and merchandise. You’ll want to make sure there are enough options available so that customers feel like they’re getting their money’s worth when participating in the program–and that means having enough staff members on hand at all times so things don’t get backed up during busy periods (or worse yet…no food!).
In order to make sure everything runs smoothly with any kind of promotion like this one though firstly consider whether people even want these kinds of promotions before putting them into place; otherwise it might seem like a waste since no one will participate anyway since there aren’t many incentives offered beyond maybe saving some money off their bill total each time they visit us again.”
Know Your Customers
Your customers are the lifeblood of your restaurant. Without them, you’d be out of business in no time. The initial step to increasing customer retention is knowing exactly who they are. Start by looking at demographic information like age, gender and income level; then dig deeper into what they like and don’t like about your establishment.
For example: Are most of your customers male or female? Do they have kids with them? How old are those kids? Do they order takeout often (or ever)? Do they live close by or drive an hour just to eat at your place every weekend? By understanding these things about each person who walks through your doors–and keeping track of that information in one central location–you’ll be able to better serve their needs as well as reach out when necessary.
Please see the helpful resource below for more information on the importance of tracking analytics in your restaurant to increase customer retention.
Provided by Chowly – streamlining operations with their restaurant digital ordering system integration.
Don’t Focus On New Customers Alone
When you’re a restaurant owner, it can be tempting to focus all of your attention on new customers. After all, when you open a new location or expand into a new market, there are plenty of people who have never heard of your brand before. But if this is the only way that you look at customer acquisition–as something separate from retention–it won’t help grow your business in any meaningful way.
The truth is that most restaurants fail because they don’t invest enough time and effort into keeping their current customers happy and coming back again and again. If someone walks out feeling disappointed by their experience, then there’s no reason for them to come back again: They’ll just go somewhere else next time around! So instead of focusing exclusively on bringing in more business from outside sources like social media ads or online advertising campaigns (which may not even work), focus instead on making sure that every single person who walks through the door leaves with an incredible experience worth talking about (and sharing).
Have a Clear Advantage Over Other Restaurants In Your Area
If you want to increase the customer retention in your restaurant, it’s important that you have a clear advantage over other restaurants in your area.
I know this can be tough to do when there are so many options available to customers. But if you want to stand out from the crowd and keep them coming back for more, here are three things you need:
- A unique selling proposition (USP) that makes people want to eat at your place instead of someone else’s
- The ability for customers who leave happy with the service they received so much that they tell friends about their experience (word-of-mouth marketing)
Use Online Food Ordering Software for Restaurants
Online ordering software is a great way to increase customer retention and boost sales. It can help you cut down on labor costs, increase your customer base by reaching out to new customers and manage your inventory.
Online ordering software for restaurants like app2food.com can help you increase sales, improve your customer service and manage inventory. It’s a great way to manage your business from the front-end to back-end.
Make Sure That You Are Responding to Customer Complaints Quickly and Effectively
As a restaurant owner, you need to make sure that you are responding to customer complaints quickly and effectively. The great way to do this is by making it easy for customers to contact you.
Here are some tips:
- Respond on social media – It’s important that people know there is an actual person behind the business and that they can reach out if they have any issues with their experience at your restaurant. A best way of doing this is by creating an account on Facebook or Twitter and responding directly from there when someone posts something negative about their visit with you (if possible). This shows them that their comments matter and also gives them an opportunity for dialogue if they want it!
- Respond via email – If someone emails in a complaint then send back an automated reply saying something along these lines: “We would love nothing more than help resolve this issue so please give us a call at XXX-XXX-XXXX so we can talk further.” This will not only show the customer how serious it is but also allows them time to think about what happened before speaking with someone face-to-face which often makes things worse rather than better!
Conclusion
There’s no doubt that a restaurant owner’s job is challenging. You work hard to provide customers with a great dining experience, but it’s not always easy to keep them coming back. The fine news is that there are several things you can do to increase customer retention at your establishment!
