7 Powerful Ways to Drive Repeat Sales in Your Restaurant

1. Repeat sales are the biggest contributor to the restaurant’s income. In fact, many restaurants report50%ormoreoftheirrevenuecomesfromexistingcustomers. Besides, repeatcustomersarealsooneofyourbestreferrals.Theytendtotalk positivelyabout your restaurant to their friends and on social media, thereby helping bring in morecustomers. Therefore, it makes sense to satisfy your customers and give them reasons to come backfor more. Here are seven powerful ways to dothat. 1. Take Advantage of CustomerData To get people to revisit your restaurant, you need to know who they are. A robust sales optimized restaurant food ordering website like Eatance helps you capture customer data (emailaddress,phonenumber,etc.)whentheyorderfrom you. Youcan thenuse thedatatosendpersonalized emailstocustomerstoencouragethemtoorder again from you. However, follow the best practices to generate the bestresults: Don’t send too many emails. Two-three emails a week is more thanenough. Send discounts and coupon codes that are valid for a limited time to highlighturgency. Mention the benefits of dishes they’ve ordered previously (e.g., high protein, low carb, etc.) to show that they have made the right decision and can order itagain. Analyze the results and optimize your email campaignsaccordingly. o o o o

2. You can even consider running SMS campaigns to reach customers and encourage themto revisit your restaurant. 2. Provide Home DeliveryOptions There aretimes whencustomerswanttoeatfromyourrestaurantbutcannotvisitthelocation. Byprovidingahomedeliveryoption,youcanattractthosecustomers. Besides, online ordering has garnered a lot of popularity in recent years, owing to the convenience it offers. Also, many restaurants have already started offering homedelivery. Byallowingcustomerstoorderfoodonline,you caneasilyencourage themtoordermore frequently from you and stay neck-to-neck with yourcompetitors. If you don’t have a website or mobile app, you can leverage Eatance restaurant solutions to get one.Youwillalsogetarestaurantmanagementsystemthatallowsyouto manageonlineorders, deliveries, and customerinformation. However, don’t forget to let your customers know that you’re offering home delivery. You can dothatbysending emails,creatingsocialmediaposts,andrunningadvertisements. 3. Leverage RemarketingCampaigns Remarketing campaigns refer to running advertisements that target people who have visited your website orrestaurant.

3. Remarketingcampaigns generatebetterresultsastheadsareonlyshown topeoplewhohave previously shown interest in your business. You can use tools like AdRoll, Google Ads, or Facebook Ads to run retargetingcampaigns. Whenrunning remarketingcampaigns,followthesebestpracticestogetthe bestresults: o Use popular search words in your ads to increase your chances of appearing for relevant searches. Optimize your ad campaigns for relevancy. For instance, if someone searches at lunchtime, show them ads for your lunch menu andpromotions. Use mouth-watering pictures to entice users into ordering rightaway. Leverage search retargeting to reach potential diners based on their previous websearches. Add a call-to-action button in every remarketing campaign so interested users can order food instantly. o o o o 4. Create a LoyaltyProgram Loyalty programs have always proven beneficial for restaurants in driving repeat sales. Take Starbucks, for example. It has more than 16 million active members, and 40% of its total sales come from the rewardsprogram. Offering customers reward points based on their spending at your restaurant can make them come back for more. However, itis worth mentioning that unless your customers are redeeming your points, your loyalty program is likely tofail. Therefore, itisessentialtofollowthe rightstrategieswhencreatingarestaurantloyaltyprogram: Use the right restaurant ordering system to manage your loyalty program. Make your loyalty program as simple aspossible. Give something extra to encourage repeat visits. For instance, apart from the general rewards, grant them a 10% extra discount on the 5th visit or a complimentary drink in every alternateorder. Remind customers how much discount they can get based on their current points by sending them emails. This will encourage them to order moreoften. Collect customer feedback to understand what users feel about your loyalty program and make changesaccordingly. o o o o o

4. 5. Utilize Social Media to Interact WithCustomers When it comes to driving repeat sales, social media can be a gamechanger. Useyour social platforms to showcase your dishes, atmosphere, and customerexperiences. Additionally, look for people who have mentioned your restaurant on their social handles (stories, posts, or tweets). Respond to their posts or reshare them from your social handles. This will make them feel valued, and their posts will also act as social proof, thereby attracting potentialcustomers. Besides, customers who like your services are more likely to follow you on social media. By recognizing and interacting with them regularly, you can convert them into loyal customers and drive repeatsales. 6. Train Your Employees to DelightCustomers Itiseasytooverlook theeffectsyouremployeeshaveondriving repeatsales.However, theyare the face of your restaurant and probably know the customers more than youdo. Therefore, you need to train them to handle different situations and customers. This will help ensure that the customer leaves your restaurant happy and satisfied, increasing the chances of them visitingagain. Additionally, use these strategies to get the best results from yourefforts.

5. Coach your employees to stay calm and empathetic. Encourage them to smile when talking withcustomers. Give them the freedom to make certain decisions like replacing the dish if the customer doesn’t like it (too spicy, salty, sweet,etc.). Tell your employees to ask the customers to leave a review online. This is more of a psychology trick as when writing the review, they will remember their experience withyou. o o o o 7. Improve Your Services Based on CustomerFeedback Last but not least, you need to improve your services based on customer feedback. The more you listen to your customers, the more they will feel valued and likely revisit yourrestaurant. However, this doesn’t mean making changes to every customer feedback. Instead, itmeans enhancing your services based on what most customers aresaying. For instance, you can use Eatance to manage customer reviews on your website and app. This way, you can easily determine the common concerns of your customers and make changes accordingly. Also, look at Google, social media, and Yelp reviews. Respond to each review and letcustomers knowwhatstepsyou’re taking aspertheirfeedback.Youcanalso followsome bestpracticesto respond to negative restaurant reviewsAnd once you’ve implemented the changes, let customers know about it and encourage them to visit your restaurantagain. Conclusion Restaurants with loyal customers who visit or order from them frequently become more successful in the long run. By implementing the steps mentioned above, you can convertfirst- time customers toregulars. Also, don’t forget to take advantage of the Eatance restaurant ordering system to streamline your orders and manage customer data. Eatance also allows you to manage email campaigns related to orders, discounts, and promotions from a single dashboard, supporting your repeat salesefforts.