How to Increase Customer Loyalty in Restaurants and Ghost Kitchens?

Gifts are a great way to show that you love and appreciate your friends and family. And in this digital age, gifting has become easier due to the sheer number of options available. To add to that, technology has made receiving and giving gifts a seamless, holistic process. 

But, what does this have to do with restaurants and ghost kitchens? Gifts can tremendously help a ghost kitchen and a restaurant gain a lot of loyal customers. Why does a restaurant need loyal customers? Selling food has a lot of challenges and the slightest change in the menu can throw customers off. And need we say more about the COVID-19 pandemic? The restaurant industry was hit the worst as it was almost shut down completely. 

It wasn’t all bad as restaurants pivoted to digital ordering channels, but it had immense competition and high bounce rates. This overwhelmed restaurant owners to keep the customer momentum both offline and online. As restaurants are slowly opening up again, some customers are flocking to them while others are still comfortable ordering in. Maybe it’s time for them to rethink their strategies and this is where gifting can change the game. 

A New Strategy

For a long time, the push sales strategy has worked for restaurants, but now it’s time for them to adopt a pull marketing strategy or a pull promotional strategy. With the majority of restaurants going online and offering contactless dining and takeaway, it is more important than ever to pull customers in. In this regard, a digital gift or a personalized offer has worked wonders for the restaurant industry in the past year. 

The Good Ol’ Fashioned Gift Cards

A restaurant gift card makes a great online gift. If a customer receives a gift card from their favorite restaurant, it shows that the restaurant or the ghost kitchen is thoughtful and considerate of their customers. You can gift a card to your customer on your online platform that can be redeemed anytime in 12-24 months. Why would the customer then miss their meal at their favorite restaurant, especially when gifted? 

Think Gifting Food Subscriptions

What does your restaurant/ghost kitchen specialize in? Green salads? Vegan food? Why not give your customers the choice to subscribe to your services for themselves and their families and friends. If your customer is a fitness enthusiast, they would love to get such gifts. More so, such gifts have increased in number in the past few years in the fitness community. 

For example, Green Chef is a highly-recommended subscription box for those who prefer low cards in their food. Another example is Butcher Box, a great place for high-quality meats. 

Make Some Space for Booze

Since the pandemic started, restaurants and bars can sell sealed, unopened bottles of beer, wine, and spirits in 32 states as the licensing laws have been relaxed. Of these 32 states, 20 allow the selling of pre-made cocktails. This could be the right time to get your alcohol license. You can let your customers send alcohol to their loved ones with a nice packing and special message. 

Ending Note

The digitalization of the restaurant industry has led restaurants/ghost kitchens to focus on providing experiences to their customers. It has been a major revolution also because today, customers value experiences more than possessions. As the old saying goes, “It’s the thought that counts” the above-mentioned gifting ideas are thoughtful and considerate and can help you gain loyal customers. 

FAQs

• What is the key to customer loyalty?

The key to customer loyalty is to offer something that is uniquely valuable. Uniqueness is the key to customer loyalty. For instance, Purple Carrot aims on making plant-based meals mainstream. They have become a go-to option for Vegans and hence, earning their loyalty. Vegans don’t have to think twice about ordering Purple Carrot. This is their uniqueness and it has worked well for them. 

• How do gifts inspire customer loyalty?

A restaurant must create experiences for its customers to gain their loyalty. The most loyal customers are the ones who feel emotionally connected to a brand. The digitalization of the restaurant industry has led restaurants/ghost kitchens to focus on providing experiences to their customers. a digital gift or a personalized offer has worked wonders for the restaurant industry in the past year.

• What increases customer loyalty in restaurants?

Gifts can tremendously help a ghost kitchen and a restaurant gain a lot of loyal customers. A restaurant gift card makes a great online gift. If a customer receives a gift card from their favorite restaurant, it shows that the restaurant or the ghost kitchen is thoughtful and considerate of their customers. You can gift a card to your customer on your online platform that can be redeemed anytime in 12-24 months.