Keep Them Coming Back
Bread & Butter, July 1999

Frequent-diner programs provide a way to attract repeat business and reward loyal customers. Here are some tips on how to establish a program that is sure to entice guests to return again and again.

Sign-up basics

• Train your staff to promote your frequent-diner program. Employees at Chart House restaurants are encouraged to invite all customers to join the company's ViewPoints frequent-dining program, says Marla Williams, marketing director for the Chicago-based company of more than 50 restaurants nationwide. The company is developing an incentive system to reward staffers who recruit the most customers.
• Get the vital statistics of all participants. Ask customers to complete an enrollment form in which they give their names, addresses and birth dates, says Judd Goldfeder, president of The Customer Connection, an Escondido, California, marketing company. Enter the information into a database, which you can use to track customer frequency and to generate a mailing list, he recommends.

Constant communication

• Tell customers you "wish they were here." Chart House sends a promotional postcard to any ViewPoints member who hasn't frequented the restaurant in the past three months.
• Keep customers apprised of their status. ViewPoints participants earn a frequent-diner point for every dollar they spend. With their dining receipt, they receive a statement that says how many more points they need to earn a $25 gift certificate.
• Use a frequent-diner program to promote special events. For two weeks every month, Il Fornaio restaurants—headquartered in Corte Madera, California—offer special regional Italian menus. Only customers who order from the special menus get their passaportos (frequent-diner cards) stamped. Customers who receive six stamps in six months get a commemorative plate and are entered in a contest to win a trip to Italy.

Extra incentives

• Offer extra points during slow times. Chart House awards double points on Mondays, usually a slow restaurant day.
• Give little rewards along the way. The frequent-diner program at an Arby's in Mansfield, Pennsylvania, gives customers increasingly bigger rewards. Customers receive a card that is punched each time they purchase a sandwich and a drink. After four purchases, they receive a free small drink; after eight, free fries; after 12, a free sandwich; and after 16, a free combo meal.
• Give participants special perks, such as call-ahead seating. Customers will appreciate the special recognition, says Rick Barlow, president of Frequency Marketing Inc., a marketing services company in Milford, Ohio.