Restaurant owners face many challenges. Ninety-two percent say rising food costs are the biggest challenge, but a growing number, 47%, are worried about the increase in competition, according to the National Restaurant Association. Restaurant owners must offer innovative menu options, encourage diners to visit their establishments and retain loyal customers, all of which is a tall order when the day-to-day operations require so much attention.
One of the best ways to compete in this market is to tap into your customer base. With a customer advocacy platform, you can collect feedback, ask customers to promote your restaurant, and reward loyal diners.
Restaurant customer engagement benefits
With Zuberance, restaurants engage customers. More specifically, Zuberance can help restaurants:
Drive more traffic during off-peak times
Restaurants are busiest on the weekends. During the week, it’s not easy for people to get away. Between after-school activities, late nights at the office, and general exhaustion from work and school, going to a restaurant on a weeknight is a feat for many.
A pizza restaurant can turn to Zuberance to help with this very problem. Through the platform, the restaurant can launch Midweek Pizza Delights, a program that offers customers special deals and rates on dine-in orders during slower weeknights.
To incentivize customers, Midweek Pizza Delight customers earn points for each purchase, which could be redeemed for discounts on future orders.
Generate social media content
Does your restaurant share pictures on social media? Restaurants commonly rely on Facebook and Instagram to reach customers, but if you’re looking to boost engagement, ask customers to share content on your behalf.
Through Zuberance, you can set up a UGC (user-generated content) campaign, which tasks customers to share content with their followers and tag your business.
Through the platform, you can create a content challenge. A sushi restaurant could ask customers to share snaps of their favorite rolls, for example. In exchange for the Instagram post, customers could earn a free appetizer or a 20% off coupon for their next visit.
With Zuberance, you can create the challenge, invite customers to participate, and give participants redeemable points for their efforts — all from one platform.
Add new menu items based on customer feedback
To compete, restaurants need innovative menu items. However, making random changes to the menu is a costly endeavor. How do you know if customers will like it? What if you put something new on the menu, invest in new ingredients, and no one orders it?
To make smart menu updates, you should ask your customer base for support. While you can invite a handful of regulars in for a tasting, you can also let technology aid in your efforts. With Zuberance, you can ask customers what they want to see on the menu.
A burger chain could use Zuberance to gather feedback it needs to freshen up its menu from customers.
Customers can be asked about orders they placed and additions they’d enjoy. Through the opinions of real customers, a restaurant can refine its menu and identify a demand for hot sauce as a condiment offering, for example.
Garner more positive reviews
Restaurant reviews are increasingly important. Research shows that 77% of diners check reviews before they eat out, so every diner, cafe, and eatery needs a solid stream of reviews from happy customers. How do you go about getting more reviews?
You can have your wait staff encourage diners to leave reviews as they deliver the bill, or you can post signage at the checkout or on your main entrance. Both ideas can net you a few extra reviews, but if you’re looking for noticeable differences, Zuberance can help.
By tapping into your current customer base, you can use the platform to incentivize diners to leave reviews, which can be published on third-party sites like Google or Yelp.
Customers who leave a review can be given points that they could redeem for discounts on future orders.
Restaurant owners and staff are busy. It’s not easy to connect with customers, collect feedback, and launch marketing campaigns, which is why more restaurants are turning to Zuberance for support. Through one platform, restaurants can transform their loyal customers into advocates who can aid in everything from brainstorming new dishes to sharing promotional photos on social. Ready to learn more? See how Zuberance can impact your restaurant.
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Businesses leverage Zuberance to fuel their advocacy programs, integrating them into their overall marketing programs. The outcome? Lowered marketing expenses, enhanced customer engagement, improved retention rates, and most importantly, positive ROI.
