Apr 6, 2023
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3 min read
4 Steps To Master Customer Retention and Loyalty With Data-Driven Marketing
Retaining a customer is up to 25x cheaper than gaining a new one.
Make sure to keep your existing customers happy, it’s worth the effort.
Customer retention, loyalty and advocacy are three very popular and successful ways of growing your business.
However, for those concepts to work in your favour they all need to be powered by one thing: customer data.
We came up with a simple 4-step approach to help you turn one-time visitors into loyal ones using data.
Step 1: Grow your database
It’s important that you collect customers’ data as early in the customer journey as possible.
You can then gather all your data sources, e.g. Guest WiFi, Table Booking System, Order & Pay App, into one centralised database like a CRM.
This allows you to easily segment your data to create targeted marketing campaigns and retain customers.
Real-World Scenario:
Phil and his wife Laura are local to your venue and just had dinner at your restaurant for the first time.
Whilst at your venue, Laura has signed up for your WiFi and you captured her contact details, including her date of birth.
Step 2: Make customers come back
Now it’s up to you to retain them and your key lies in the gathered data.
Set up an automated post-visit email to thank them and inform them about the midweek offer you run at the moment.
Real-World Scenario:
Phil and Laura are planning their weekly date night and remembered the offer. As they had a really good time, they decide to pay you a second visit and also to pre-book a table.
Phil wants to surprise his wife and asks you to prepare Laura’s favourite drink for their aperitif.
Step 3: Foster lasting customer loyalty
The next step is to make customers come back on a regular basis and build long-term relationships.
Again, data is your guiding light here. But this time, you want to dig deeper to make your marketing more personalised.
Real-World Scenario:
You noticed that Laura’s birthday is coming up soon and you want to invite her to mark this day at your restaurant. Her favourite drink will of course go on the house.
Laura is delighted by your personalised email and decides to celebrate her special occasion with her family and friends at your restaurant.
Step 4: Boost customer advocacy
Fact is, loyal customers not only tend to spend more at your venue, but they also happily recommend you.
Real-World Scenario:
The day after the big party, Phil tells his workmates all about your restaurant as you did a great job for Laura’s birthday. They will soon pay you a visit.
Extra tip: You can further encourage customer advocacy by sending out an email to your most loyal customers. Offer them a voucher or discount if they refer you.
By the way, steps 3 & 4 come with a great opportunity to further build and strengthen your database with new contacts. Starting the customer loyalty loop all over again for more revenue.
Make sure to stay tuned. We will provide you with more time-saving and effective marketing tips on customer retention, loyalty and advocacy over the following weeks.