The restaurant business is a very competitive industry. Right from keeping up with the interior, food quality, managing the staff to deciding restaurant management software, the restaurant business owner or the manager needs to be abreast about the whole industry. They also need to be creative enough having the skill-sets for attracting more and more guests who keep coming and would recommend others to visit your restaurant.
Everyone needs a little appreciation for the efforts they do hence we are here with a list of top 20 customer appreciation ideas for your restaurant.
1. Free Food
Restaurants can be generous and host a free food day for their loyal customers, this will inevitably incur some investment, but the return may overweigh the amount spent on it. Alternatively, else give a starter or drinks complimentary on a customer appreciation day.
2. Reward Program
Loyalty Programs work best when you want customers to come again and again. You can give your regular or new customers a reward card where they can earn points and earn a meal for free. You can also plan a loyalty program where customers get cash back; even a small amount sounds rewarding.
3. Freebies
Customers’ loves giveaways and freebies even the smallest of the item makes them feel like being rewarded. You can print your brand logo and give things such as bags, bottles, mugs, magnets, fidget, t-shirts, caps, etc. The freebies will make them remember your brand whenever they look at it.
4. Knowing Your Customer
Customers feel appreciated when you remember their name, recall their favorite dishes and drinks at your restaurant. Getting a little personal and interacting with them will go a long way in retaining a loyal customer.
5. Seek Feedback
Be proactive and ask for their feedback through the website, via phone, on food websites, social media and respond to them to make sure they know you are listening to them.
6. Remember your customers
There are a few customers who visit your restaurant every day and order the same food, make sure you remember their dishes and how they like it being served. Keep their records in the file and make sure they get them satisfying service on every visit.
7. Eating Contest
No matter what cuisine your restaurant serves, Eating Contest always excites the existing customer and the new ones. This is an excellent way of attracting new customers to your restaurant.
8. Announcements for Discounts and Offers
Ask your followers to sign up for the newsletters and send out discounts and offers through email exclusively to your existing customers.
9. Appreciate on Social Media
Appreciate those regular faces; those contest winners on social media. Take permission and post pictures of families who come to your restaurant for celebrating birthdays, anniversaries and special days.
10. A customer of the Month Announcement
Reward your loyal customer by announcing them as a customer of the month through various channels this can be decided on multiple criteria’s; maybe your restaurant software will have some feature to help you with this.
11. Include Customer Feedback
Customers feel more appreciated when their feedback is taken seriously and incorporated. It can be an addition in the menu, change of process or anything else.
12. Remember their Special Day
Send your customers a discount coupon valid on their birthday which they can use to treat their friends and family, they will remember you for a longer time.
13. Gift during Holidays
Appreciation received during the time holidays such as Christmas and New Year’s adds to the spirit of celebration.
14. Tie-Up with nearby events
Give away discount coupons to that nearby event when customers dine-in at your restaurant. You can auto-generate the discount coupons through your restaurant system software.
15. Be Proactive
Offer various modes of ordering food from your restaurant this can order food online, through Kiosk and eliminate the long ques.
16. Reward Loyalty Program Members
Pick random members from the loyal customer's list and reward them with a free meal. This will be so unexpected, and your customers will be surprised and delighted both.
17. Unexpected Discount
Pick a random customer and give approx. 20% discount on their total bill. They will surely share their excitement among their friends and relatives who will want to try your restaurant soon.
18. Call Immediately after Delivery
It is a great idea to call your customer after their food is delivered to ask for their feedback regarding the ease of ordering, the delivery service, packaging, food quality, and services. You can ask them to drop a positive review as well as a testimonial on social media as in the current service industry these words means a lot making life easy for online marketing professionals if engaged with the restaurants.
19. Free Meal for kids
Families coming over with kids will appreciate this. You can allow kids up to a certain age limit enjoy a free meal at your restaurant. More than the kids their parents will be delighted.
20. Thank You
Finally, a simple thank you means you appreciate them being at your restaurant. Make sure your employees say thanks to every guest who dines in at your restaurant as it is a very kind gesture to see them again.
Key Takeaways
There are thousands out there similar like yours and in the restaurant business; so there is no other option but need to be creative enough so that your customers do not forget you easily or switch to your competitor. These customer appreciation ideas are worth trying and will bring your business success. Let us know in the comment section if there is something not mentioned here that can be done to appreciate customers and their loyalty.
You can even ask some of your customary guests and explain that you would like to start screening customer appreciation more enthusiastically and begin with their recommendations on how they would like to be made known as an appreciation which will make them cheerful.
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