The use of discounts for all threatens your brand and profit margins. Instead, you need to look at building personalised deals and discount schemes to keep existing customers coming back for more.

Hospitality is an ancient tradition, but the ways in which hospitality is shown have naturally evolved over time. For example, while in biblical times it was customary to wash the feet of visitors, nowadays we’ll probably give them the WiFi password instead.

In other words, customs change – although not always as obviously as the above example. For instance, loyalty schemes have developed over the years to become more complex and more intelligent, leaving a number of venues lagging behind.

Too many venues still offer generic bulk discounts to anyone who downloads an electronic voucher, or clips a coupon from a magazine. These “deals” completely ignore customers as individuals – they do not accommodate tastes, habits or preferences.

In an era when customers demand personalisation, the continued use of generic advertising is a waste of time and money – and could potentially cause significant long-term problems for your business.

Covert vs Overt – the future of loyalty deals

There are two distinct models of customer loyalty programs emerging – “overt” and “covert”.

Overt schemes are – as the name implies – easily seen. These are generic, untargeted deals that are open to everyone: £5 off vouchers, BOGOF deals, 2 steaks and a bottle of wine for £20… The kind of deals that clog up your inbox every day.

Historically, overt deals have delivered a degree of success – which is why many brands continue to use them. But your customers now expect personalised services, which means tailoring offers to their preferences and interests.

There are two significant problems with the overt deal model.

1. If these “deals” are open to everyone, they don’t feel special in any way; there is no emotional connection.
2. Overt deals are taken for granted; as QSR magazine once remarked:

“As these promotions become long-term tactics, consumers go from thinking that they’re getting a deal to wondering why meals at these places cost so darn much in the first place. Short-term gains for getting more butts in the seats become long-term damage to the brand. Furthermore, this emphasises the lack of past value in consumers’ minds.”

The scattergun approach of overt deals means that they are often used by people who were going to visit your establishment anyway – which means that you are simply cannibalising your own income.

Covert deals take a different tack, using analytics and intelligence to create offers that are tailored to the specific preferences of individual customers. Each offer is personally addressed – and restricted to “known” individuals, thereby increasing their perceived value.

Your customers are used to a high degree of personalisation – indeed, most now demand it. For example, 63% of people wish brands treated them like a friend instead of a consumer. And if you can’t deliver personalisation, most will leave – 66% of consumers say they’re likely to switch brands if they feel treated like a number, not an individual.

Losing two-thirds of your customer-base would be catastrophic. On the contrary, investment in customer loyalty systems pay significant dividends. One study by econsultancy found those businesses implementing personalisation saw a 14% uplift in sales. A similar report from Monetate is even more positive, pointing to an average sales upturn of 19%.

At a time when margins are being eroded by the rising cost of food, minimum wage bills and new apprenticeship levies, an increase in sales is extremely welcome.

Not a huge technical challenge

The Tesco Clubcard scheme may still steal all the headlines when it comes to loyalty programs, but it’s perfectly possible to delight your customers without the same massive outlays. By doing little more than integrating your EPoS terminals with other backend systems, you can begin to generate similar insights to those created by Tesco’s Big Data behemoth.

A smart EPoS platform allows you to capture and analyse valuable customer data with every transaction; what they ordered, how much it cost, and how many times they’ve visited previously. These insights form the basis of a powerful, effective loyalty program – and when deployed correctly, can be operated with a limited marketing team and budget.

Collecting data allows you to build a single customer view that tells a unique story – and allows you to connect with individuals on a more meaningful level.

Conclusion

Covert deals work because they connect on a more personal level with your customer. Whether you send them vouchers, discounts or loyalty cards, the fact that you can tailor the specifics of each to their preferences “speaks” to their needs.

By using technology to understand customers, you can build a rapport with your customers and make them feel more welcome and comfortable when they visit your venues. All of which means they’re much more likely to come back – and keep spending.

Takeaways

• Overt deals are becoming less effective.
• Overt deals have the potential to damage your brand and offer little for building customer loyalty.
• Covert deals are tailored to the interests and preferences of your customers.
• Personalised deals are powerful motivators to bring customers back into your venue.
• Customer loyalty programs start with your EPoS.
• Effective customer loyalty programs do not have to be big, expensive, or heavily resourced.

In today’s competitive market where customers have so much choice, hospitality operators need to be smarter and find cost-effective ways of attracting – and retaining – customers.

With more choice than ever on the high street and online, hospitality businesses are finding it increasingly challenging to attract and retain customers. The home delivery market in particular has grown an astonishing 73% over the last decade, driven by the Netflix generation who want instant access and on-demand service, and is now worth a whopping £4.2 billion.

Advances in technology are providing new ways to address these challenges however, allowing businesses to become smarter and more cost-effective. Here are six ways that technology can help you not only solve customer-facing issues, but also establish an advantage over your less digitally-aware competitors.

1. The booking experience

Flexible working and 24×7 lifestyles means that your customers are no longer bound by the 9-to-5 workday routine. Even the out-of-hours operations of the hospitality industry are insufficient to keep up with consumer demand.

Customers like to book on the go, make a spontaneous reservation while they’re out and about. Crucially, they expect real-time availability to get the assurance of a confirmed booking.

By deploying an online booking system that shows real-time availability, your business can better meet the 24×7 expectations of customers. Any venues that can’t offer a confirmed booking will leave would-be customers disappointed.

There are a number of booking systems available to meet customers’ preferences, such as Bookings by Phone powered by IOVOX and intelligent chatbots. Billed under a flat monthly fee with no commission to pay for each booking you receive, these platforms offer exceptional value for money.

An online booking system also allows your business to begin building a GDPR-compliant customer loyalty database. This information can then be used to better understand clients, and to tailor offers and promotions to their preferences.

2. Pay and go/payment convenience

Time and convenience are powerful motivators for customers. Any business that can create easy time savings is on to a winner, particularly in relation to leisure activities.

Order & Pay gives customers greater control of their own experience. A specialised smartphone app allows customers to order food and drink, and the order is sent direct to the kitchen. The app also allows them to pay for their meal upfront.

Importantly, this entire process is completely frictionless – no more waiting at bars or trying to catch the server’s attention when they want to pay. This convenience is particularly important for busy venues and a range of different customers, such as those who are less mobile and customers with children.

By empowering the customer to take care of the “administrative” tasks, your front-of-house staff are able to devote more time and attention to making their visit more enjoyable and personable. And don’t underestimate your customers’ technical ability – 69% have already placed food orders using mobile devices.

3. Customer spend habits

Understanding client spending habits is crucial to building loyalty. Your EPoS system allows you to review and analyse a customer’s entire purchase history and build up a better understanding of them as an individual.

This profile is invaluable, giving you actionable insights that allow you to better serve each customer. Putting that information to work allows you to create specific, relevant communications and deals that speak directly to the customer’s preferences, helping to tempt them back. For example, if a customer always drinks the same red wine when she’s in your venue but hasn’t visited for over a month, an email offering a free glass of that wine when she next visits is more likely to encourage her to make a booking than a generic ‘10% discount’ email.

Do not underestimate the importance of personalisation either. Seventy-two percent of consumers say they expect companies to understand their unique needs and expectations. What happens if you don’t personalise? 66% say they’re likely to switch brands if they feel they are not being treated as an individual.

4. Giving customers a voice

Data and analytics are incredibly useful for understanding your customers – but there will still be gaps, particularly when you’re dealing with first-time visitors. The best way to capture information about their experience is simply to ask them.

Feed it Back provides a quick and easy way to find out what customers think about their experience in your establishment. Thanks to the system’s integration with EPoS, their feedback is then combined with their order data to give a complete picture of what they ordered and how much they spent.

Feedback is crucial to identifying areas of potential improvement, prioritised by the people who matter the most – your customers. The streamlined survey process takes no more than a few seconds, but it shows that your business really does care about what its customers think – another key in helping to build brand loyalty.

5. Fostering customer loyalty

We’ve touched on it several times already, but building customer loyalty should be the ultimate goal of any technology project. In-venue technology needs to be put to use, rewarding your customers for their loyalty.

Everyone loves a freebie, but those that are tailored to their individual tastes and preferences are without doubt more successful. Your EPoS data allows you to identify their preferred food and drink – so why not offer them a discount on their favourite meal next visit.

Studies show that positive emotions toward a brand have far greater influence on consumer loyalty than trust and other judgments which are based on a brand’s attributes. If you can convince clients to like you, they’re much more likely to come back again.

6. Increasing operational simplicity

Technology has always been intended to simplify routine tasks, and hospitality systems are no different. Order & Pay may help to streamline the purchasing process for your customers, but there are efficiencies for your business too. Applied correctly, technology allows you to do more with fewer resources.

That means independent venues can achieve more and operate like big brands, while multi-venue operators can dedicate more staff to improving the customer experience. In both scenarios, the quality of service provided to customers is the key end result.

It’s not just front-of-house who benefit though. Intelligent technology can sift through the data and feedback collected automatically. Segmentation of marketing campaigns can be automated, allowing your marketing and sales teams to focus on the content of future campaigns; marketing complexity with operational simplicity.

By offering a personalised experience that delights your customers at every step of their journey, you’re sure to be more successful and more profitable. And technology has a key role to play in achieving those goals.

Takeaways

• Ensure customers can make a confirmed booking with real-time availability 24x7x365
• Order & Pay functionality creates a seamless, more convenient experience for customers
• Observing spending habits helps you offer rewards and benefits that match their preferences
• Collecting feedback helps improve your offering – and shows customers you care
• Identifying and more importantly rewarding customer loyalty is crucial to bringing them back
• Streamlining in-store operations allows your team to do more with less

Christmas is fast approaching, and as you’re starting preparations for the busiest time of the year, so too are your customers. So catch them now, during their Christmas preparations and solve their present planning woes with a branded Gift Card from your venue – the perfect present idea for their friends and family!

Branded gift cards is a growing industry and has become more popular than ever. The UK gift card market has continued its strong performance, with 2016 showing an overall growth of 5.06% in gift card sales.

It’s a win-win all round, with guaranteed, up-front revenue for the business, new visitors to your venue and one less Christmas present that your customers have to think about buying.

EASY TO CREATE, EASY TO USE

With minimal operational impact to the business, seamless integration with Aztec EPoS and a low up-front cost, creating a branded gift card for your business couldn’t be easier.

KEY FEATURES

• 4-6 week lead time, including card production*
• Create an unlimited number of fixed or variable value cards
• Loaded and redeemed at the PoS
• Enable or disable card expiry
• Liability reporting and balance check available at the PoS

Revenue generated over the festive period doesn’t have to be limited to party bookings and set menus. So why not lock-in guaranteed, up front revenue this year with a branded gift card from Zonal.

*Card production is not managed by Zonal, however we can provide details of our preferred partners