Customer Loyalty: Rewarding Your Customers

Larry O’Connor, GRS Development Manager

The choices we make about our food spending are changing rapidly...

• Restaurants in the western world began on post roads in medieval Europe

• In the old days, you built your restaurant, served good food, and waited for customers to come.

• McDonald’s changed the model forever• We live a time when consumers “cocoon” - couch potatoes

are staying home. When a customer does come to your location, it has to be EASY and REWARDING to do business.

• More businesses are competing for prepared food dollars all the time

Fast Food restaurantsTable service restaurantsSupermarket grazing bars

Convenience storesBook StoresVideo stores

Who Are YOUR Customers?

• Business People On the Go• Families looking for a meal cooked to order• Singles with a microwave• In-house diners Who See Your Place as Theirs• “Friends” Groups looking for a place to gather• Party organizers with friends

in town

What Are YOU Doing To Bring Them Back?

• Buy 10, get 1 free• Buy 9, get 1 free• Buy 12, get 1 free

• See any pattern?Is your “Loyalty” program creating loyalty or just keeping you

even with the competition?10% senior discount is EXPECTED in foodservice today

Isn’t buy X get one free just a standard procedure?

How can you keep your customers YOUR customers?

Why Do Customers STOP Coming?

• Bad Service Experience• Bad Quality (usually more than once)• Economic Concerns

• BOREDOM!Customers are NOT IMAGINATIVEHave you noticed that MOST of your customers have a “Standard Order”?That’s good for FAST business, but bad over time for repeat business

How can you keep your customers YOUR customers?

It’s All About Building Repeat Business• Dine-A-Mate booklets• “Meal Deals”• Sub Clubs

• The modern restaurateur is looking for a way to get the customer in the door twice a month instead of once a month

• Ways to encourage you to order a side item or a dessert• Ways to get customers to “share ownership” in their restaurants

Increasingly, you compete against food operators of many stripes for limited discretionary dollars.

Introducing…

The Intelligent Restaurant

• Not all of your customers fit the same profile.• Everyone expects a reward for every X pizzas purchased or $ spent• Not everyone that stops by is thinking about your:

• Appetizers• Sandwiches• Soups & Salads• Wine Lists• Store paraphernalia

An automated system can do much more than keep track of card punches for you

Customer Loyalty• Identify a customer by card, phone number or NAME• Summary of each person’s purchasing history• Detail history of prior orders• The ability to reward your customers based on WHY they come to

you• Business People – encourage them to buy salads, not sandwiches for lunch• Students – encourage them to ADD ON to the small purchases• Families – encourage kids’ choices to get parents to bring the family

• Loyalty - Generate rewards for your loyal customers• Based on total dollars spent• Based on orders of specific item groups

• Award Loyalty by suggesting NEW item purchases• Discount Sandwiches if you order pizza• Discount Salads if you order sandwiches

• Find Reasons for your Customers to Return • Web based tools to get lost customers back• Web based tools for “thanks” e-mails to stars

Customer Loyalty• What they always get:

Customer Loyalty• What can we offer:

• The “Try Something Different” Award

Customer Loyalty• What can we offer:

• The “Instant Gratification” Award

Customer Loyalty• What can we offer:

• The “Tell Others About Us” Award

Customer Loyalty• What can we offer:

• The “You Spend Too Much Money” Award

How Else Do We Create Repeat BusinessSmart Phone Ordering for “Get It Quick” Ordering

Communicate with the Loyalists,Redeem the Lost

Gift Cards• Mag or Bar Code Card based• Loyalty - encourage repeat customers to “tell a friend”

with instant award for Gift Card purchase• Make it EASY to ALWAYS put the change from a cash

payment BACK on the card

•Gift Cards/Certificates are a powerful way to talk about your store (and get others to do the same)

• On-line, real time issue and redemption for multi-store operations

Corporate Loyalty/Gift Management• For multi-unit operations• Each store can be on line

• Centralized data for multi-unit operations

• Software will consolidate activity from units• Customer adds• Customer new activity• Gift Card Activity

• Generate batch mails/e-mails based on master criteria, usage history, lack of orders

• In store and above store can be identical OR complementary plans