Successfully Setting Up Your Restaurant’s Online Loyalty Programme

Although running a restaurant requires a unique business model, it still shares the same basic need as other sectors; to attract new customers, of course, but also to retain some of them and encourage them to return regularly.

In this article, we take a look at how an online loyalty programme could really make the difference to your restaurant.

Why Create an Online Loyalty Programme for Your Restaurant?

Well done, setting up an online loyalty programme is a powerful lever in the marketing toolkit of any restaurant:

• Creates and maintains a personalised relationship with customers
• Increases the size and impact of your customer database
• Allows rewarding repeated consumption and, depending on its nature, recommendation and word of mouth
• It gives additional reasons for customers to return to an establishment or to place an online order again
• Reinforces the power of the brand and its reputation
• It gives a significant competitive advantage and through all of its elements, it increases turnover

Why consider an online loyalty programme, via an app or online account, rather than the traditional card to stamp? The answer addresses some changes in consumer behaviour:

• An increasingly mobile user path
• The repeated use of Internet browsing throughout the day

An online programme also avoids inconveniences for both you and the customer. For example customers leaving the card at home, or any problems with counterfeit cards, stamps or stickers. The advantages of a digital programme are undeniable: you collect more data on your customers and can easily re-market to them when you want (via your newsletter, social networks, etc.)

5 Examples of Truly Successful Loyalty Programmes

To help you set up or improve your online loyalty programme, you can use the following examples to draw inspiration from.

BJ’s Restaurants

The BJ’s restaurant chain has developed a very attractive loyalty program. It goes much further than awarding 1 point for every pound spent. Customers earn points when they offer a BJ’s gift (branded in restaurant colours) to a relative. Plus, additional points if they accept and automatically post to Foursquare and Twitter when they arrive at the facility (“social points”). Finally, as with airlines, it’s possible to offer points to other people!

Starbucks

In the US, Starbucks offers an original loyalty programme called “My Starbucks Reward,” in partnership with the New York Times. Its principle? Starbucks offers customers who drink their coffee free access to the New York Times. The brand rewards its customers’ loyalty through free access to quality content, and the New York Times is attracting new readers to its online content. A win-win partnership.

Jamba Insider Rewards (Jamba Juice)

Jamba Juice also offers an original and effective programme. All the customer needs to do is type his telephone number before each purchase to access his points and use freely. Other positive points include a free drink on the day of the customer ‘s birthday, personalised offers and an exclusive discount on the first purchase after registration (which allows you to “activate” the consumption).

The List by The Counter

The originality of the online loyalty programme offered by The Counter, a chain dedicated to burgers, is to go beyond the reward with each purchase. Simply registering earns 200 points, and pushing other friends to register earns 300! As can be seen in this case, word of mouth is the number one priority of the programme.
Of course, there are also the “traditional” elements of rewards of loyalty: points earnings, drinks every birthday, surprise rewards throughout the year, fries offered for online registration, etc.
Discover the programme on the official website.

Tips to Increase the Impact of Your Restaurant’s Online Loyalty Programme

Want to get started? Here are some tips and best practices to follow to make sure your digital loyalty programme is successful.

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• Create an incentive for the full registration and the first order or visit. You will avoid accumulating entries without any follow-up.
• Use easy-to-use criteria for the member: recognition by phone number or name, connection to your app or mobile site.
• Train your team so that customers have no problem getting recognised in your establishment when they want to take advantage of their benefits.
• Offer something for the anniversary of your loyal customers.
• Send offers and earn additional points around custom menus.
• Make sure that your rewards are true rewards: the attractiveness and competitiveness of your online loyalty programme are also based on having real benefits at home, without waiting 10 years of repeated visits.
• Use “gamification”, that is, gaming and sharing systems to drive your loyal consumer community.
• Reward those who positively contribute to your reputation: recommending relatives, recommendations on social networks, check-in, customer reviews …
• Regularly refresh your programme to arouse the curiosity and interest of your contact base.
• Finally, measure the profitability of your programme to avoid unpleasant surprises!

What do you think of this new type of loyalty programme? Do some ideas inspire you more than others? Share your review below by leaving us a comment!