In today's digital world, personalized marketing is one of the major marketing trends. And the foodservice sector is no exception! This marketing strategy involves setting up one-to-one communication with each of your customers, so that they feel unique and valued. The benefits are numerous, for both customers and restaurateurs.
What is personalized marketing? How can you implement it in your restaurant? And what are the benefits? Discover the challenges of personalized marketing in the restaurant sector.Â
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What is personalized restaurant marketing?
Unlike mass marketing, which addresses everyone, personalized marketing addresses each customer individually. This 1to1 communication strategy is based on the data you collect on your customers. This can include food preferences, order history, purchasing habits and so on. All this information enables you to better understand your customers, so you can perfectly target your offer to their expectations. In other words, personalized marketing gives each customer the impression that you're addressing them personally, rather than your customer base as a whole.
Stand out from the competition with personalized communication
Personalized marketing aims to establish an individual, ongoing and personalized relationship with each and every customer. It's an ongoing process whose main aim is to establish a lasting relationship with your customers, as a kind of permanent "dialogue" between restaurant and customer.
Personalized marketing is inextricably linked to the new technologies that enable its implementation, in particular databases and digital tools. In fact, personalized marketing can only be implemented by collecting (directly or indirectly), storing and processing customer information.Â
This marketing strategy is built up through a variety of channels and communication media: website, social networks, newsletter, and, where appropriate, through schemes to reward customer loyalty: loyalty card, promotional offers, invitations, etc.
Here are some examples of trends in personalized restaurant marketing:Â
- Personalized and nominative newsletters: e-mails with personalized and nominative subject lines are more likely to be opened.Â
For example, include your customer's first and last name in the subject line. Another example: if you have customers who are gluten intolerant, you can send them an e-mail to introduce them to a new gluten-free dish. This way, you send the right message to the right people at the right time!Â
- Home page personalization: When a customer logs in to their account via your website or mobile app, you can modify the home page to suit their preferences.
- Product recommendation: Based on the customer's previous order history, the words "You might also like" with a suggestion of a dish they like.
- Personalized offer: When customers book a table via your online reservation system, they enter their e-mail address. When you send them a booking confirmation email, you can include an offer for their next reservation.
- Special offer on the customer's birthday.
One of the strengths of personalized marketing? There are an infinite number of customizable strategies you can exploit, based on your customers' profiles, their consumption habits and your own creativity.
Better understand customers' consumption habits
The more information you gather about your customers, the more precisely you can meet their expectations. That's what personalized marketing is all about. By analyzing consumption habits, personalized marketing strategies give restaurateurs the opportunity to build strong links with their customers. The data recorded can help you adapt your menu and propose offers according to your customers' preferences. In this way, you can take advantage of data collection to better understand your customers and build loyalty.
Example n°1: When taking an order, a customer mentions an intolerance to a certain type of food. On his next visit, you can highlight dishes that do not contain this type of food.Â
Example 2: A customer calls to reserve a table. When his number appears, you can instantly access his information and see his preferences: does he prefer the table next to the window? You can offer him the same table before he even asks!
Example n°3: While analyzing your data, you notice that one of your desserts is a great success. You can then offer a limited-time promotion on this dessert.
Improving the customer experience
Everyone likes to be pampered! When you offer your customers a personalized experience, you make them feel unique and privileged. When they visit you, your customers feel recognized and understood, and their expectations are taken into account.Â
The aim is to make a lasting impression on the consumer from the outset, and especially on their first order. The personalized customer journey transforms the purchasing process into a genuine relationship between you and the customer. Over time, customers understand that they can trust you. All these little touches leave a lasting impression on customers, making them want to come back again and again.Â
For example, What The Foc has created a photo wall of its customers eating their favorite dishes! 👇
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👉 To find out more: How What The Foc?! scaled up its business thanks to digital technology
Adopting one-to-one marketing: 3 benefits for the restaurateur
The benefits of implementing a personalized communication strategy are numerous. Both for customers, who enjoy a pleasant restaurant experience tailored to their preferences and eating habits, and for restaurateurs, who reap the benefits. Here's a closer look at 3 advantages of implementing personalized marketing in your restaurant.Â
Advantage no. 1: boost your sales
By improving the customer experience, you increase your chances of gaining a loyal customer base, and therefore automatically increase sales, with recurring revenues. Your figures and statistics enable you to better target expectations and optimize your sales through the generation of personalized offers. Thanks to this virtuous circle, you're sure to boost your business by making the right decisions.
Personalized marketing can also focus its communication efforts on the restaurant's "best" customers, i.e. those who contribute most to the restaurant's sales. The idea is based on Pareto's Principle, or the 80-20 law, which states that 20% of customers (= the most loyal customers) contribute to 80% of sales. In fact, a personalized marketing strategy can be based on customers who have already been with you, rather than on potential customers, who represent a more uncertain, and therefore less reliable, market. In fact, according to Skeat: "it is estimated that a regular customer spends on average 67% more than a new customer".
👉 To find out more: How to increase restaurant sales?
Benefit no. 2: Improved brand image
Customers are no longer looking for simple products; they prefer to choose a brand with a message and values that match their own. By understanding customers' individual needs, personalized marketing creates a closer relationship with them. Customers feel valued when they receive offers and recommendations that match their interests, strengthening their attachment to the brand.
In your restaurant, personalized actions go a long way towards improving the customer experience, and therefore theimage perceived by customers. With personalized messages, you show that you attach importance to human relations, that you are caring and attentive, and so on. This can take the form of a small message slipped into the order, an extra product in the order above a certain amount, a discount... In this way, you convey a better image of your brand.Â
With tricks like a personalized menu or customized fast food packaging, you help customers remember your restaurant, and increase communication about your brand identity. This will help you stand out from the competition, forge a lasting bond with your customers and boost your sales... In short, you're developing your branding!
Benefit no. 3: Long-term customer loyalty
Personalized marketing is highly effective, especially when used to build lasting relationships with customers. This personal relationship establishes a bond of attachment that motivates the customer to return. Because you're able to offer them exactly what they need, they'll want to buy from you.
Personalized marketing makes it possible to deliver more personalized and tailored experiences. Whether through menu recommendations based on previous purchases, promotions on their favorite dish or special offers, customers feel understood and taken into account, which improves their satisfaction and loyalty.
👉 To go further: customer loyalty: 6 ideas for your restaurant
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Do you want to offer your customers a personalized experience? Innovorder helps restaurants achieve just that, thanks to digital technology. Contact an expert for personalized advice.
