Does your customer loyalty program work?
As someone who is just starting out using customer loyalty programs for my restaurant, I’m just curious to learn if owners here on Reddit are actually seeing increasing repeat visits.
I don’t know if it’s maybe a demographic problem, but I basically run a small pizza shop in a suburban community.
We’ve had a basic loyalty program running for a while, I’d say a few weeks at this point. it's nothing really fancy. One of our deals is buy any cheese or veggie slice X times, get a free can of pop or dip the next purchase, pretty standard stuff.
However, lately I’ve been wondering whether it’s actually changing customer behavior or if we’re just giving free things to the same regulars who would’ve come back regardless.
What I've noticed is the people who join are usually are our true regulars. Casual guests don’t seem to care. And during busy shifts, staff don’t always mention it because it slows things down.
I've been trying to find some tools that work, but so far whatever I've come across requires downloading an app or filling out info which really just kills momentum fast, especially for some of our older customers. Even my staff just explaining how our program works feels like friction when there’s a line forming. One of my employees had mentioned why bother with a rewards deal for just slices, people normally grab them and go.
What i’m starting to think is that the real issue isn’t the reward, but instead it’s how much effort it takes to join and use it.
Im curious if anyone else has felt like their loyalty program sounds better in theory than it performs in reality, or if anyone has any tips or tricks for customer loyalty programs they currently have, would really appreciate it if you could share.
thanks!