If you are banking on your existing customer base to sustain and grow your restaurant or cafe business, then you need to carry out certain activities that will remind your customers to return to you often.
Find your selling points, know what attracts customers to your outlets, understand customer preference, and then create marketing campaigns around those selling points and USPs to bring customers back.
You can use your restaurant billing software to carry out such reminder or re-marketing activities. These activities cost way less than money spent on attracting new customers. A POS software can help bring cost further down.
Also, existing and repeat customers are likely to order more than new customers. Therefore, it makes sense to plan and carry out activities that help or encourage your existing customers to return to you to eat or make more purchases.
Things to be done to remind customers to return
Here are a few ways in which you can use your restaurant or cafe POS software to remind existing customers to return to your outlets.
Collect customer data
Collect customer data on a regular basis. Customer contact details and data about customer preferences should be recorded well so that suitable marketing campaigns can be created and executed to attract old and new customers.
Your POS software can help you record sales data in real time. It will also offer you analytics of sales data, so that you can understand customer preferences. This helps you edit your menu and carry out marketing activities that bring in customers.
Send discounts
You can send discount vouchers or codes to existing customers with the help of your POS software. The contact details recorded in your POS software can be used to reach out to patrons for various marketing activities.
Discount codes and coupons can be time-bound, so that you are able to increase revenue in a certain time period for your restaurant. Existing customers feel appreciated when they receive special prices or value on purchase of an item that they purchase with you frequently.
Promote events, occasions, packages
You can promote events, occasions and combo meals among your existing customers. Also create weekly promotions that will attract some customer into your restaurant on a regular basis. Use customer contact database in your POS software to connect with patrons.
Your POS software like Loyera will help you send messages to customers through emails, SMSs, etc. This makes it easy to remind customers to return to your cafe or restaurant, without spending a lot of time and money. Use this medium wisely, while building a rapport with your patrons. Don’t use it excessively.
Build community
Use your POS software to encourage your customers to follow you on social media, leave feedback and refer new patrons. This helps you to create a sense of community among your patrons. You can encourage customers to give you suggestions and promotion ideas, too.
If you’re able to build a sense of community among your patrons, then you will have a regular stream of customers walking in on a regular basis. This will help you create a strong foundation of revenue to build upon. A community can also be relied upon to spread a good word about you.
Offer loyalty rewards
You can use the Loyalty features of your POS software to give loyalty points to patrons who return to your restaurant. This helps you encourage your existing customers to return to your restaurant or cafe to make more purchases using the loyalty points they have collected.
You can also offer referral reward points to your satisfied loyal customers. Reward customers when they successfully refer new patrons to your restaurant. You can send offers and discounts to loyal customers with the help of your POS software, so that you can increase their lifetime value and purchase baskets.
Send personalized wishes/greetings
Use the data collected through your restaurant POS software to send personalized messages and wishes to your existing customers. Wish them on birthdays and festivals to create a recall value for your brand. Even a simple greeting occasionally can remind your customers to visit you from time to time.
Sales data collected through your POS can also help understand what customers like, so that you can send them offers that match their likings. This helps make your marketing efforts very effective in bringing customers back.
Create environment to assist in bringing customers back
Besides creating a marketing environment that encourages customers to return, you should ensure that the operations at your restaurant or cafe are conducive to attracting customers back.
Make your service and product high-quality and seamless to ensure that your customer find material and emotional value in returning to your restaurant.
Create packages and menu to entice
Your menu should be created in a way that it delivers value to your customers. It can have items that your target customers prefer. The items should be priced aptly. Menus should be created after thoroughly studying target customer’s preferences and eating habits.
Sometimes even packaging certain products together in value combos can prove very effective in attracting customers who like to try more than one thing in their meals.
Create seamless ordering and checkout process
The ordering process at your restaurant should be seamless. It should enable patrons to place orders easily and have them served or delivered quickly. Some restaurants and cafes allow users to place orders online before they arrive at the outlet to pick or have their order.
Often, there are ordering kiosks or mobile tablets placed in restaurants, so that customers can order efficiently as per their convenience. Such devices help patrons to make payments easily.
Offer impeccable products and service
One thing that will never change when it comes to attracting customers back to restaurants and cafes is good food, drinks and service. No matter what marketing techniques you adopt, it will all be ineffective if your products aren’t good. Ensure that you offer good taste and quality.
Once people are satisfied with the product and service, then work on pricing, and, finally, on marketing activities to attract and retain customers.
Make payment process easy
Make the payment process at your restaurant or cafe simple and convenient. Allow customers to pay through various payment modes. This helps customers complete orders more often and as per their preference.
Mobile kiosks and tablets used for ordering at tables often allow patrons to pay through debit and credit cards, net banking, mobile wallets and cash.
Once you have the above four points in order, you can go on to making marketing campaigns mentioned in the first section of this article to encourage customers to return to your restaurant. These four points help create a strong base, that gives confidence to your marketing team to build upon.
Your restaurant billing software will play a huge role in accomplishing the above activities; therefore, choose a flexible and scalable POS software like Loyera, so that you’re effectively able to carry out activities that attract back existing and new patrons.
Make your POS software efficient and effective by exploring all its features and using each feature wisely and with proper planning.