Despite the ‘foodstagramming’ phenomenon, new research has found that UK restaurant owners see a better return on investment (ROI) from Facebook (63 percent) than Instagram (35 percent).
Givex, the cloud-based customer engagement solution that helps to streamline business operations from end to end, spoke to restaurant owners in the UK to understand their business priorities. When asked what their restaurant business will invest in next year, a third (33 percent) said sales and marketing activities, and a further third (33 percent) said developing loyalty programmes.
The research also asked what incentives restaurant owners use to keep customers coming back. The study found that the most popular way to reward customers is with discounts (48 percent), followed by a free drink or meal (40 percent), and invitations to exclusive events (21 percent). Surprisingly, over a quarter (26 percent) said they don’t track customer loyalty.
Jurgen Ketel, Managing Director at Givex, said “There is a huge untapped opportunity for restaurants to use social media to reward their customers, and increase loyalty. The best reward programs are the ones that understand customer behaviour. With so many customers on social media, it’s the perfect platform to tap into. If you’re looking for inspiration of restaurants that do social media well, take a look at Pret A Manger (on facebook and Instagram) and Wildwood (facebook and Instagram). Both companies have an engaged, loyal audience and use social platforms to reward their customers and let them know about special offers.”
Ketel concludes: “If your restaurant is measuring engagement on social media, it should also be rewarding it to increase loyalty. Any customer that interacts with your brand, by sharing a post on social media, referring new customers or writing a review, should be rewarded. It’s cost-effective, and it can encourage customers to choose you instead of your competitors, over and above pricing.”