You (customers) and I (marketer), all are living in an era of choices with enormous power in our hands by virtue of digitization.
The marketers were amazed at the digital capabilities, they successfully started integrating offline with online with a view to connect and retain their customers at multiple touchpoints. Leading restaurants, QSRs such as KFC, Pizza Hut, Keventers, Moti Mahal, Ping Balluchi and various other regional players in Food & Beverage services went beyond dine-in and takeaway in providing a seamless experience to their customers. They transitioned from offline formats to online deliveries with the help of web and mobile app booking. They further extended their services through several food aggregators such as Swiggy, Zomato, Uber Eats etc.
You ordered food from your favourite restaurant last month and it was yummy. You again need to order food for tonight while browsing for the same you found an attractive discount coupon on a new restaurant on Zomato. Here you are placing an order with this new place.
Thus, access through several contact points has also enabled customers to compare food and beverage options at their fingertip to find the best possible portion sizes, prices and deals. This empowerment has made the concept of customer loyalty rather a fleeting one especially in this sector.
What should an F&B marketer do in this situation? Should they undercut their margins with excessive discounts? How can they engage and stay connected with their existing customers?
The restaurant and QSR marketers have no option but to have their presence on food aggregator apps. These apps provide them visibility. However, if they create their own user-friendly mobile and web ecosystem and reward their customers for downloading and using their apps for ordering food they can initiate a relationship with them than a mere transaction. They can offer a combination of monetary and non-Monetary rewards. The monetary rewards could include special day discounts, combo offer deals, rebates on the next purchase, monthly packages, and free add-ons etc. Restaurants and QSRs can create value even without reducing the margins. Just like the bank KYC (know your customer) system they should also use apps and website to collect relevant data about consumer tastes, preferences and lifestyle. This data can be used to customize their offerings to suit their taste buds and food allergies. Sometimes a simple gesture of sending a personalized note with creative packaging on their special occasion can do wonders. An understanding of their lifestyle information can be used to send customize offers for their Weekdays Vs. Weekends.
They can also convert their existing consumers into their advocates by continuous engagement. Their app and website should have a section to feature customer experiences beyond reviews. They can create a YouTube experience channel or a platform where consumers should share their live food experiences. They should be rewarded for their videos in the form of recognitions like ‘Valued Customer of the Week’ or sweet rewards such as treating them surprisingly with desserts. An interactive recipe and dressing game can also be developed to get them hooked.
Lastly, the newness in menu, content and in means of engagement are the ingredients for a successful and tasty recipe of loyalty in this sector. Surprise them to empower them to turn them into loyal customers.
liked the idea of created a youtube channel for sharing experience of customer. this can be used as promotion tool as well.