Restaurant Branded Loyalty Program
Most people are creatures of habit when it comes to their daily activities, and food habits are no exception. Rituals and Routines around food choices can make consumers very predictable, which makes it easy to see why Restaurant Loyalty Programs are so effective.
Many of us remember Pizza Fridays and Taco Tuesdays back in school, and have continued these traditions to this day. Technology makes it easy to keep track of when a particular customer likes to order so you can automate campaigns tailored to their preferences. Giving your customers a rewarding and convenient way to order from you is the key to the success of these programs.
But who has time for all that when your running a Restaurant?
One thing that most Restauranteurs can agree on is the importance of systems. Without systems, making a restaurant profitable becomes extremely difficult. While most Restaurants have figured out the best systems for their dine-in business, online has been more of a challenge due to the influence of 3rd party platforms that can influence consumer behavior.
A Reason to be Loyal.
People are Loyal to People, not technology. That's why Loyalty is more difficult online, and more important. Online is not a person to person interaction, it's just a screen, and the battle is over convenience. How does your tech stack up against the 3rd parties who are battling for your customers attention? Most Restaurants threw in the towel long ago and are in denial about the long term sustainability of this business model. Damned if you to, damned if you don't. Most Restaurants excuse these 3rd party relationships as a necessary evil that can be rationalized by marked up menu prices and "advertising expenses".
How it Works
The true purpose of a loyalty program is to encourage repeat business, not to offer immediate discounts like coupon codes. Our program rewards customers with benefits that can be redeemed on future purchases only. Our loyalty program is embedded into the branded ordering platform we create for you. Once a guest completes their first order, they automatically earn points that can be seen in their account. How many points they earn can be customized by you, but most restaurants use our standard model which we call 2-way incentives because it benefits both the customer and the restaurant.
Loyalty Point Values and Redemptions
Customers earn points in 3 ways with Loyal They earn 5 points for credit/debit card transactions. They earn 10 points when they pay using the ACH option (E-Check) at checkout. They can earn 100 points for posting a verified public review.
This standard model is $1 per point redemption value on future purchases.
So if someone spends $100 today, they get 5 points if they pay with a credit card, or 10 points if they pay with ACH. That is equivalent to $5.00 - $10.00 in point values that can be redeemed tax-free on their next order.
During onboarding, Restaurants can choose from either the standard model or a custom model for point values. By tying rewards to not only purchases but methods of payments, restaurant stand to benefit from the savings on credit card fees, and the points can only be redeemed in your restaurant on a future purchase. To learn more about our Loyalty Program, click on the ACH Savings and Gamified Rewards buttons at the top of this section.
ACH Payments for Restaurants
Most people are familiar with ACH payments, but are only accustomed to seeing them as a payment option for larger transactions like direct deposit for payroll and bank to bank transfers. So why haven't they become more popular with Restaurants and other small businesses when the fees are so much less than credit cards?
There are two primary reasons for this. The first reason is the technology wasn't there to process an ACH transaction in real time, so there was no way to confirm payment. The second reason is because banks make more money on credit cards fees than bank to bank ACH transfers, so they didn't invest in the technology to speed up the process. But this is no longer true. We have developed an instant verification process for ACH payments that gives restaurants that ability to accept ACH payments for their online orders. Payments made with ACH only costs a 1% transaction fee, rather than the standard 2.9% CC fees typically charged by online processing services.
Tying Loyalty to ACH?
Our standard loyalty program offers 2x points for customers who choose to pay with ACH rather than their credit card. This incentive creates a stronger reason for your customers to use your direct order system rather than from a 3rd party services.
This system is taking money out of the hands of the credit cards companies, and getting banked into your customers loyalty points account for future purchases with you.
Interactive User Experience
Your guests will love the interactive experience embedded into their Loyal Account. Just like the rest of their ordering experience, everything is branded to your Restaurant. The sample below display what a user will see when they select the 3 Star Rewards Icon. It guides the user into their loyalty screen that they can interact with, including points tracking and learn more ways to earn more points.
Self Service model makes it easy to maintain
Customers can manage their points and redemptions directly in their Loyal Account so there is no need to train restaurant staff or dedicate resources to the program. Any questions regarding points can be asked through a chat support team that is embedded into their account.
