This article is contributed by James Wilson, a content writer.
The food business is notoriously fickle. You can have all the right ingredients, but if your customer retention game is off, you’ll have a hard time staying in business. No matter if you’re a small catering business or a large restaurant, improving customer retention is key to long-term success. Here are the seven best ways to do just that!
1. Bank on a Personal Touch
The most important thing to remember about your customers is that they are people, not numbers. Having a personal relationship with your customers is essential for customer retention. Make an effort to get to know them, ask questions about their preferences, and find out what made them come back in the first place.
For the vast majority of your customers, eating out is a treat. While the food is important, the customer experience matters just as much. Show them that you care about their satisfaction by delivering stellar customer service and going the extra mile for them.
2. Listen to Feedback
Getting feedback from your customers is essential to improve customer retention. Get feedback through surveys or focus groups, or by simply asking customers what they think of your food and service.
Listening to feedback will allow you to identify areas of improvement, as well as what your customers enjoy the most about your business. Having this information will help you refine your menu and service offerings.
You must rely on hard data and customer surveys to make decisions. You can’t just go on what your gut tells you. Sure, having your favorite dish on the menu is great, but if your customers don’t like it, it’s not going to help with customer retention.
3. Keep It Fresh
Your customers want to be sure that you’re offering something new every time they come to your restaurant. Offering regular menu items and specials is a great way to keep things fresh. Keep up with food trends, adjust prices, and switch up the atmosphere on occasion. You can also add seasonal ingredients or offer dishes made from locally sourced ingredients.
Customers love variety, so make sure you’re offering both savory and sweet options. Cater to different dietary restrictions or offer dishes with interesting flavor combinations. The key is to keep things interesting for your customers without sacrificing quality.
4. Offer Quality Food Delivery Options
With the COVID-19 pandemic, more people than ever are turning to food delivery services. As a restaurant owner, you need to make sure that you’re offering quality delivery options for your customers.
Some delivery-specific improvements you can make are:
- Investing in high-quality packaging that will keep the food fresh and delicious
- Having a system to check and double-check orders before they go out
- Offering discounts or loyalty points for delivery customers
While in-person dining will eventually make a comeback, food delivery isn’t going anywhere. Being flexible and adapting to changing times is essential for customer retention in this industry.
5. Introduce Loyalty Programs
Loyalty programs are an excellent way to incentivize customers to come back again and again. Offer discounts for repeat visits or special offers for new customers, and make sure that your loyalty program is communicated to your customers.
You can also use loyalty programs as a way to collect valuable data about your customers’ preferences. This information can be used to tailor upcoming promotions and ensure customer satisfaction at your restaurant.
6. Make it Easy to Connect
Omni-channel marketing allows you to touch base with customers through multiple platforms. This includes email, social media, text messages, and more. You can use these channels to communicate upcoming promotions or events, as well as engage with your customers directly.
While social media will likely be the cornerstone of your customer engagement strategy, it’s best to consider other channels as well, depending on your customer base. For example, if you have older customers, email may be a better option to get their attention.
7. Analyze Performance
Knowing how to analyze performance is key when it comes to customer retention. Use analytics tools and metrics to measure the effectiveness of different strategies, such as loyalty programs or online ordering options.
It may be tempting to just rely on sales figures, but tracking more specific metrics such as average order value and customer satisfaction scores can give you a better sense of how well your strategies are working.
Doing so avoids the tendency to focus on the short term and helps you establish a more long-term view of customer retention.
Customer retention is the name of the game for many small- to medium-sized food businesses. Take out the guesswork and use these seven tips to ensure that your customers keep coming back for more. From providing quality food delivery options to introducing loyalty programs and analyzing performance, there are plenty of ways to make sure your customers return time and time again—so you can focus on what you do best: serving delicious food!
