Restaurants that have not yet implemented loyalty schemes could be missing out on the prospect of doubling the likelihood of a customer purchase.

According to a study by Coniq, focusing on loyalty habits within the food and beverage sector, customers are twice as likely to buy something if they hold a loyalty card - yet many restaurants still don’t have schemes in place.

We have seen the great results that can be achieved through smart implementation of loyalty schemes, alongside the willingness of clients in this sector to be creative in their approach. However, there are still a vast amount of restaurants simply not making the most of this tactic and missing out hugely on the significant benefits to be had.

The study findings also highlighted the importance of personalisation, a key component in driving loyalty and engagement.

A major aspect of gaining long-term loyalty is through the use of relevant and personalised communications. Offering the restaurant speciality, for a new opening for example, is a great way to get started with building the customer database, which is vital in providing the foundations for personalisation. This may sound obvious, but our experience shows this is often a missed trick.

For instance, a high-end burger chain offering a free lemonade is not as likely to win long-term customers as giving them a taste of the delicacy to whet their appetite and lure them into future visits, as well as generate that all important word of mouth advertising.

The study also revealed that male diners enjoy being loyal to bars and pubs and are twice as likely to redeem drink offers than females. Whilst the most favoured method of communication for loyalty card holders was found to be email, with 74 per cent preferring this, mobile was close behind, at 73 per cent, highlighting the importance of mobile as an increasingly effective channel for loyalty.

 

 

By Ben Chesser, CEO of Coniq. 

 

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