Restaurant loyalty programs: how to engage your customers with TheFork Manager

Transforming a casual visitor into a loyal customer is a complex process. Every dish, smile, and interaction matters when building long-lasting connections with your clientele.

TheFork Manager helps you turn passing customers into steadfast regulars. It’s an essential tool that enables improved business management and helps to offer guests a memorable experience on every visit.

What is customer loyalty?

In the restaurant industry, loyalty comes from building a trust-based relationship with customers to encourage them to visit your restaurant regularly. Achieving this loyalty goes beyond delivering excellent quality food and service and is also about providing a consistent and remarkable dining experience.

Benefits of implementing loyalty programs for your restaurant

Fostering customer loyalty is a strategic investment that pays off on multiple levels, investing in your restaurant's reputation while also creating a community-focused brand image.

By putting loyalty at the top of your agenda, your establishment has the opportunity to maximise the lifetime value of each customer passing through your doors.

Gaucho, a restaurant chain operating in 20 locations across the UK, rewards its guests for each visit when they also subscribe to TheFork’s Yums loyalty program. Customers benefit twice over through this system: first, they are rewarded by Gaucho for returning, and second, they earn ‘Yums’ points  through TheFork that can be spent at hundreds of other restaurants.

Every additional visit from a returning client not only guarantees a sale but also increases the chance that they will spend more. Loyal customers are often more open to exploring the menu, including the chef’s signature dishes, personal suggestions, and special items.

By strengthening clients’ loyalty, you will build a solid foundation for your restaurant, ensuring a stable and growing source of income while accruing new ambassadors who will recommend you far and wide.

How word-of-mouth can increase your restaurant’s reputation

Your reputation is one of your greatest assets. Through word-of-mouth recommendations, customers share their positive experiences, attracting new visitors keen to know more about you. Loyal customers are often the best testimonials to promote the quality of your offerings. This type of free marketing is invaluable: personal recommendations have a much stronger impact than traditional advertisements because they are perceived as more sincere and reliable. 

With the rise of digital marketing, word-of-mouth is no longer limited to a small circle of friends and family. For many, sharing social media snaps of great food is part of the restaurant experience. By encouraging this, you could tuern loyal customers into prolific micro-influencers that can widen your customer base. 

By prioritising loyalty, you encourage your guests to return, and act as ambassadors for your brand, reinforcing your reach and reputation.

Winning strategies to enhance customer loyalty in restaurants

So, what can you do to maximise your chances of turning one-off customers into repeat guests? Here are five tried and tested methods.

Offer rewards with TheFork’s Yums loyalty program

A well-designed loyalty program rewards your guests and helps to build a valuable relationship with them.

With TheFork's Yums loyalty program, restaurants can take advantage of a ready-made offering. When you join TheFork and customers reserve a table in your restaurant through the app, they automatically earn 100 points — or ‘Yums’. Once they reach 1,000 Yums, these points can be redeemed and turned into discounts on future visits. This is a simple yet effective system that adds value to every visit, transforming casual guests into regulars.

Customers who book restaurants via TheFork are also encouraged to share their opinions. An increase in bookings through the Yums loyalty program can lead to more reviews, improving your restaurant's online reputation.

The Yums scheme is a true loyalty-generating machine, making each reservation more valuable. Customers will feel rewarded and appreciated, strengthening their bond with your restaurant. 

By joining TheFork Manager, you offer your customers the opportunity to be part of a foodies' community where each meal offers future benefits.

Special offers: the personal touch that makes a difference

Offering special deals is a winning strategy for building loyalty in your customer base. TheFork Manager allows you to set up special offers during your preferred time slots to acquire and retain new customers.

A customer benefiting from special offers ranging from 20% to 50% off is often a happy diner who will return to your restaurant, even when the promotion has ended. These offers have two advantages: they boost visibility on TheFork platform, attracting a wider audience and increase customer satisfaction, encouraging them to return.

One example of the success of this strategy is The Real Greek, who offer a diverse range of small plates inspired by Greek cuisine. During TheFork Festival, an event celebrating restaurant culture, this chain experienced a significant uplift in bookings. While the festiva was on, customers could book one of the platform’s best restaurants with up to 50% off food and other exclusive offers.

The Real Greek’s surge in bookings highlighted the festival’s success in attracting new diners. Backed up by high-quality food and service, many of those customers went on to become regular guests.

Ensure the customer experience is central to your restaurant

As The Real Greek shows, customer loyalty relies on an exceptional experience from booking to billing.

TheFork Manager's database functionality gives restaurant managers all the tools they need to turn casual diners into regulars. By taking the admin off their hands, they are free to offer customers the best experience possible.

When a customer reserves online at your restaurant, our all-in-one software automatically creates a customer profile with their name, surname, email address, and phone number. A profile is created regardless of the digital channel they used (e.g. TheFork, TripAdvisor, Google, the Michelin Guide, your website, various social networks). You can also easily create a profile on TheFork Manager for telephone reservations or walk-in customers on the database, which is entirely private.

When a customer profile is created in TheFork Manager, you can modify it and add any information you wish to share. For example: 

• The customer's birthday
• Allergies to certain products
• Specific dietary habits 

Having extra information to hand allows restaurants to anticipate customers’ needs and address them personally when they order.

In practical terms, this could also allow servers to offer a guest their favourite wine, adjust the cooking of their dish according to their previous tastes, or even offer allergen-free menus without having to be asked. This personalised management enhances customer loyalty, transforming each visit into a unique and memorable dining experience where they will know they’re in safe hands.

Make communications count with SMS and email campaigns

After a customer's visit to your restaurant, use the collected email address to send them targeted campaigns via email or SMS.

Whether it's post-visit satisfaction surveys, a monthly email marketing communication, unique offers, or announcements of your special events, each message is an opportunity to remind your customer base of their importance to you and encourage them to return. 

These targeted and relevant actions strengthen customers' sense of belonging to your community and increase the likelihood of repeated visits.

Elevate your restaurant’s social media presence

Just as restaurants can leverage their returning customers’ social media platforms, they can also use their own to build authentic relationships with customers.

Share captivating stories, images of the most appealing dishes, and showcase the unique aspects of your restaurant to create an emotional connection with your followers.

With TheFork Manager, you can integrate reservation buttons for free on your social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, simplifying the booking process for your customers and consolidating all your reservations in TheFork Manager. 

This is an effective strategy to foster and expand your community. By regularly interacting with your customer base on these platforms, responding to their comments, and sharing their content, you will build a relationship of trust and engagement. This will encourage them to visit your restaurant again and recommend you to their networks.

Common mistakes to avoid in loyalty programs

Are you thinking about implementing a restaurant loyalty program for your business? Be aware of some common pitfalls that can undermine the effectiveness of this initiative.

1. Go simple or go home. Your customer base is naturally attracted by accessible content and systems. Opt for a clear program that makes earning and redeeming points easy. 
2. Reward customers’ actions. The Yums loyalty program gives 100 Yums for every booking via the app, increasing customer engagement through an integrated system that helps you build a cohesive experience. 
3. Promotion is key. To make people aware of your loyalty program, you should establish a connection with them and use the power of marketing. Send email marketing communications, post it across your social media channels and increase your customer base participation. 
4. Show your worth. Customers must know how valuable your rewards are. Offer treats, such as free food or gift cards, to encourage new clients to visit your restaurant again and enjoy another impeccable dining experience. 

Read more about how TheFork Manager is helping restaurants across the UK.