Restaurant loyalty program

If you plan to add a digital loyalty program based on a CRM system to your business, you can use this article as a short guide. It explains how to compare companies that offer loyalty programs, how to choose the right type of loyalty program, and what the implementation of the chosen system looks like.

What to look at when you choose a company to set up your loyalty program:

• What types of cards does the platform have?

• How easy is the admin portal to use? Do you have to contact a manager who will make changes at your request, or can you make them yourself at any time?

• What features does the admin portal have? When you first compare them, you will see that the main features are similar. So look at the extra features: sending guests to leave reviews on other sites depending on their rating, the design of the SMS verification page, a mobile waiter app and so on.

• The size of their projects. You may like a company, but it may have no experience with your type of business or your size. This means it won't have a clear picture of how well different loyalty systems work in your niche, and you won't get advice based on its experience.

• An anti-fraud system (a system that fights fraud). It is an extra way to prevent unusual situations with staff.

• Implementation speed. How soon does the company promise to launch your loyalty program? The best option, when the client and the company work together actively, is 15 business days. If the time is longer, it may be a sign that the company isn't professional. If it is shorter, find out how exactly the company cuts the launch time.

• Are there limits on sending push notifications and SMS?

• Do they give you training materials on how to use the platform, and in what format - written instructions or video lessons?

• Which CRM and ERP systems does it integrate with, and can you get a solution without a POS system integration?

• An important point: how does the company act on social media? Which social media accounts do they run? How do they tell partners about new features? How do they share their case studies? Are they open to people?

Once you have chosen a company, the next step is to choose the type of loyalty program. If the company you work with shows its experience clearly on different social media platforms, its managers will help you choose a loyalty system and suggest the best triggered sequences for your type of business. To get more out of your meetings with the managers, prepare in advance and learn about the possible formats of loyalty cards.

So what types of loyalty cards are there?

1. Points

This is the most popular type of loyalty card in the hospitality industry. In a points program, the card gets points equal to a set % of the purchase amount, and the guest can spend them on future purchases.

What is the secret of a points loyalty system? Psychology, an element of play and real money savings. But statistics show that half of all points will never be spent.

2. Discount

You can set up a fixed or a growing discount system for your guests, based on the amount they spend. The more a guest spends in total, the bigger their discount becomes.

This system makes guests excited to grow their discount percentage.

3. Coupon

A coupon is a ticket or document that gives a discount on a product. In the hospitality industry, a coupon is usually used as a gift: a certain item for free, with nothing extra to pay.

4. Stamp cards (CHOP cards)

Every tenth coffee is free, every fifth haircut is free, and every seventh car wash comes with a discount. All these offers show how stamp cards work. The guest comes in, shows the QR code on their loyalty card when paying, and the purchase is counted. When the guest collects the needed number of “stamps”, they get a notification that a free item is waiting for them next time.

5. Gift cards

A marketing tool that is unique in how simple and useful it is: you sell now and provide the service later. It is a way to bring in extra revenue.

Depending on your business goals, you can use different loyalty program mechanics, for example:

1. To bring in new guests, you can offer welcome points or a welcome discount as motivation.

2. You can launch a referral program, where members can share the card and get points.

3. To keep guests, you can set up different mechanics based on how guests behave (the date of their last visit, their card status, the number of transactions and more).

Our platform Loona.ai supports all the mechanics for bringing in guests and then keeping them. We make sure your LTV, ROMI or average check grows.

How can a business create its own digital loyalty cards that work through Apple Wallet and Google Pay?

To add a loyalty system to your business, contact a company that builds loyalty systems and marketing automation. Here is how the implementation works, using the company Loona.ai as an example.

A project manager will help you with every step of the implementation. The first step is the kickoff. Here you agree on the type of loyalty program and the list of personal data to collect when guests sign up. You also discuss your wishes for the design and how the cards will be handed out, so the designer can create branded cards and POS materials (promo materials with a QR code that people scan to get the card).

Next, an admin portal is created. Inside it, the manager sets up the sign-up form, the loyalty program, the card layout, automations and UTM tags based on your wishes, and digitizes your guest base.

You can change the card design at any time, as many times as you like. We suggest making a special design for events, and changing it automatically for the guest's birthday or when they move to a new loyalty tier.

The back of the card is also set up. You can put information about the loyalty program and the company there, links to social media, contacts and opening hours.

In the next step, the system is connected to your CRM system (iiko, r_keeper, 1C and so on). If you don't have a CRM system, a solution without integration is possible.

In the training, the manager will show you how to send push notifications, set up automations, send SMS campaigns and set up card designs. They will also send you extra printed materials on how to use the admin portal.

Besides the cards, you get a strong marketing tool. The admin portal has detailed analytics: you can build a picture of your typical guest, make visit reports and work with your guest database using different filters.

To sum up: in a few weeks, you get branded digital loyalty cards that are set up in your business and fully ready to use. The system is fast and simple.

Now you know what to look for when you choose a company to set up your loyalty program. We wish you better results and higher profits!