When it comes to determining the ebb and flow of your business, customer experience is right up there with the quality of your food. Customers will endure a long wait for a meal they’re really craving, but one bad experience (or a consistently disappointing one) can lose you a customer who might otherwise have been a forever patron. So don’t force your customers to choose: use these tips below to ensure your customers are enjoying their experience with you as much as they love your menu!
1. Make giving feedback easy, accessible, and rewarding.
Customer feedback is one of the most valuable ways you can check the pulse of your business and guide your menus, special offers, and marketing all toward a better customer experience.
Make customers want to give feedback by providing them with easy ways to do so—cute comment cards, online surveys, Google forms—and, just as importantly, by giving patrons incentive to take time out of their day to do so. A raffle is the absolute easiest way to do this, and possible with any of the suggestions above since drawings can be performed manually or using randomized online generators. Gift certificates (such as these options from MustHaveMenus) are the perfect reward for this kind of customer engagement because they allow customers to essentially pick their prize while also allowing you to limit your expenses.
If you want to reward customers on a more individual basis, consider offering a coupon or special offer to everyone who participates. This may mean you’ll have to accept a small loss from people who are just writing in for free stuff and less concerned about giving helpful responses, but it’s worth it just for the amount of feedback you’ll get—and, as a bonus, customers will associate engagement with rewards.
2. Stay on top of your social media—or, better yet, hire or designate a social media manager for your accounts.
Relatable posts, entertaining memes that customers can participate in creating, and an active—and, more importantly, responsive—social media presence all make your customers feel personally connected to your business. Consider the Twitter popularity of businesses like Wendy’s, Denny’s, and Domino’s, all of which are known for posting funny memes, silly commentary, and the occasionally pointed QRT. It’s excellent branding, and customers enjoy getting friendly responses from their favorite businesses.
If funny’s not your thing, there are lots of other ways to engage customers online! Coffee shops might use Instagram reels to share tutorials on how to make their most popular brews. Bars could do the same with tips on making classic cocktails. Some tea shops host guided meditations customers can breathe and sip along with. Ask customers questions about their own habits or hobbies, and then follow up in the comment section so that they feel seen and heard!
3. Encourage staff to engage with customers when possible.
Some customers prefer to be left alone; sometimes, you’re simply too busy to pause for a lot of small talk. But in more intimate and casual spaces, in particular—diners, family restaurants, and local watering holes—customers often enjoy being recognized as regulars! Encourage your staff to engage with customers at whatever level they feel comfortable, and put your best people-person employees in customer-facing positions, whether they’re cashing people out at the register, seating them, or taking orders. Create a friendly atmosphere appropriate to your business.
Also, make it safe for your staff to engage with customers and each other by making your expectations and their limits clear. Decide what you want to do about patrons who are rude or unruly, and let your staff know in advance so that no one’s caught off guard. This applies to everything from more explicit threats and harassment to snide or inappropriate comments. Appropriate responses will vary depending on your business and customer base, but employees and customers alike will appreciate a space where everyone can be comfortable.
4. Reward repeat business.
Another way to create a customer base full of regulars is to reward them for coming back! The easiest way to do this is with literal reward systems, whether it’s through a digital loyalty program or old-fashioned stamp cards.
You can jazz this up with short-term events and special promotions—maybe customers who visit you ten times in one month get an extra discount, or you can create an advent calendar with stackable or varied rewards. (That advent calendar doesn’t have to be restricted to winter, either—you can rebrand the idea to fit any event, holiday, or length of time. And, of course, many people love celebrating Christmas in July!)
Whatever reward system you choose, try to make it consistent and as with everything else, appropriate to the mood and model of your business. Cute stamp cards, for example, are more at home in a cozy coffee shop than in a bouncing nightclub, where digital rewards that can be easily tracked via credit card may be the more expedient choice.
5. Share house favorites or staff recommendations.
This option can add another personal touch to your menu and help indecisive or newbie customers choose their orders—or even encourage them to try something new or unusual! House favorites can be listed in a special place on your menu, but arguably the most fun way to incorporate this advice is to mimic the index cards popular for sharing staff recommendations in indie bookstores! Let your employees wax poetic about their favorite drinks or meals on the menu, with little blurbs full of personality.
You can do the same with items featured on your social media, where captions are easy to add, and handwriting’s never an issue. Added bonus if any of your staff feel comfortable sharing selfies with their favorite treats—and an alternative is to share recs from trusted and enthusiastic customers, who might enjoy this added feeling of community, and are often happy to gush about favorites they want everyone to try.
Another variation on this, one that will appeal to the most indecisive (or picky) of individuals, is a buying guide or tasting notes! Tell customers that if they loved X, they’ll die for Y, or make good pairing suggestions with other items on your menu. These can be themed, silly, or serious, but especially useful if your menu contains specialty items that not everyone will be familiar with.
Remember that there’s always room for improvement!
Whether you implement all of these ideas at once or simply use them as a jumping-off point for brainstorming your own, keep those wheels turning in the back of your mind—and pause at regular intervals to reflect on what seems to be working and what you might replace, especially as the needs for your business evolve. And remember to pace yourself—too many changes at once will overwhelm you and possibly confuse your customers.
