Growing venue revenue

Even a few well-chosen steps can make a big difference to a venue's income. The main ways to grow revenue are more visitors and a higher average check. You can improve both numbers with a loyalty program. Let's see how it works.

Attracting new guests and bringing back regulars

To start attracting more visitors to your restaurant, you should set up a loyalty system. It lets you not only track how many new guests come in, but also see what share of them come back. This analysis works if guests use loyalty cards and the venue's staff ask for them at checkout.

With the system, you can see in a few minutes how many people come for the first time, who comes back, and who becomes a regular guest. A handy way to do this is the return funnel - a clear tool that shows at which stage you lose visitors.

If a large share of guests don't come a second time, you need to focus on these guests. Let's say 45% don't come back - then you should make a personalized offer for this group.

The system lets you easily find guests with just one purchase and send them a personal message as a push notification. When guests get the notification, they can open it and use the offer on their next visit.

When the platform is being implemented, there are training sessions that explain in detail how to use the features on your own. If you get stuck, you can always get fast help with any request.

Good to know: messages you send to your own guest database are not advertising and don't need ad labeling.

To make these messages work better, don't flood guests with frequent notifications. The best way is to prepare unique offers for specific audience segments. This approach doesn't annoy people, and it also shows that you care about your guests.

After the campaign, record the result: did the number of repeat visits change? If needed, you can offer extra points, but pay special attention to the quality of service - it is what most often decides whether a guest comes back.

Raising the average check

Regular guests are usually more loyal and ready to spend more. After a good first visit, they want to try something else and order more expensive items. The loyalty system records all of this, so you can analyze how the average check grows.

You can also run special promotions that motivate guests to place bigger orders. For example, a free dessert for an order over a certain amount, or a discount for groups.

A good example is the PRIMEBEEF restaurant. After it launched loyalty cards, the average check grew by 40.6% (from ₽1,587 to ₽2,231). It gave out 4,776 cards, which grew revenue by ₽3,075,744 in 5 months.

In another case, the GIPSY bar raised its average check by 16.5% - from ₽2,000 to ₽2,330. But the total number of cards given out was 14,602, which grew revenue by ₽4,818,660 in six months.

Even a small rise in the average check can bring real profit if you have enough regular guests.

Keep in mind that big changes don't happen right away. On average, the first solid results show up 5–6 months after launch. Still, for the venues that used the program, the effect was very real - the investment paid off, and profit grew.

How well a loyalty program pays off

A license for one restaurant starts at ₽1,990 a month. This is much less than the revenue growth that real case studies show. Even a small restaurant with a limited guest database needs only a ₽2 rise in the average check with 1,000 guests for the program to pay off in the very first month.

These numbers are quite reachable. What's more, statistics show that after the system is implemented, the average check grows by 36% on average.

If you want to start tracking and growing your restaurant's revenue right now, there's a great solution - the Loona.ai loyalty program. You only need to spend a few hours once to learn the platform, and you get a powerful tool for working with your audience.

You get full training at launch. The specialists won't just tell you about the features - they will help you set up the exact tools that fit your venue's goals. If needed, you can always get advice and tips on extra features, based on the experience of other users.

After the training, you get all the documents you need and step-by-step guides. With automations and manual campaigns, staying in touch with guests will take no more than 1–2 hours a week. You can spend the rest of the time watching the results and the growth of your business.