Posted on

How To Get The Most Out Of Your Restaurant Customer Surveys

In the modern age, efficient surveys are the key to success for many industries, and the restaurant business is no exception. In order to build customer loyalty and improve retention, it’s critical that you understand what your customers want and expect from your restaurant.

Luckily, surveys make it easy for you to gather this information in a concise and effective manner. But with so many survey tools and platforms available, it can be difficult to know which is the best option for your restaurant.

In this article, we’ll provide an overview of the most effective ways to build customer surveys and how to get the most out of them.

1. Decide What You Want To Know

Before building your survey, it’s important to take a step back and decide what you want to learn from your customers. Is there a particular dish or item that you’re struggling with? Are your customers generally happy with the food and service, or are there areas that need improvement?

This stage, though simple, is critical. Without knowing what you’re trying to learn, your survey will be unfocused and likely produce inaccurate results.

Some effective things to ask yourself include:

  • What are the biggest strengths and weaknesses of our restaurant?
  • What dishes are our customers most and least satisfied with?
  • How does our customer service compare to that of our competitors?

2. Draft questions that will help you answer your question

The questions you ask your customers will help determine the effectiveness of your surveys. Asking the right questions can help you improve customer retention and encourage customer loyalty.

Though your specific questions will depend on your restaurant and what you’re hoping to achieve, there are a few general questions that you can mix/match with most surveys:

  • How often do you visit our restaurant?
  • What made you choose our establishment?
  • What do you like most about our restaurant?
  • What would you like to see us improve?
  • What do you think of our food/service?
  • Would you recommend us to your friends?

Generally, questions should get to the bottom of why customers like or dislike your restaurant, what things you could improve, and whether they’d champion your business to their friends or family.

Avoid negative phrases (what didn’t you like about our restaurant) and focus on the positives. This information can help you make the necessary changes to improve customer retention and encourage repeat visits.

3. Utilize technology to improve survey creation & collection

Thanks to the ubiquity of smartphones and tablets, collecting survey data is easier than ever. And with powerful platforms like Retention360, you can create surveys that are both sophisticated and user-friendly.

Our customer surveys are designed to help you understand your customers’ needs and preferences. Our builder is efficient, allowing you to whip up surveys quickly and easily. Plus, our platform makes it easy to collect feedback from your customers through innovative approaches like QR codes and follow up on them directly & instantly.

Lastly, with our prioritized dashboard, you can quickly see the responses to your questions and take action accordingly. This will help you improve your customer retention rates in no time.

4. Analyze Your Restaurant Customer Feedback

Once you’ve collected your restaurant customer feedback, the next step is to analyse it. This process can be broken down into four simple steps:

1. Separate the feedback into positive and negative categories.

2. Identify common themes among the negative feedback.

3. Address the common complaints and try to find solutions.

4. Celebrate and share your success stories from the positive feedback.

This can naturally take a fair amount of time. Platforms like Retention360 can help make this process easier by automatically sorting and analysing your customer feedback data with AI. We use advanced customer sentiment analysis to help you understand what your customers are saying about your restaurant without all of the manual effort.

In closing

In summary, getting the most out of your restaurant customer surveys involves understanding what you want to achieve with them, designing them in an effective way, and sending them to the right audience.

Additionally, it’s important to follow up on the feedback you receive in order to improve your restaurant’s operations and customer retention rates. Customer success tools like Retention360 can help you to understand how your restaurant is performing and where you can make improvements.

Retention360 is a reputable, powerful customer retention software platform that helps you iterate, automate, and improve your business. Request a demo today!

Posted on

3 Ways to Build Customer Loyalty at Your Restaurant

With customer attention more divided than ever before, establishing customer loyalty has become a challenging task for restaurant owners.

Ensuring that your customer comes back is incredibly cost-efficient, but with society tending towards instant gratification, developing a sense of loyalty takes more than just good food.

In this article, we’ll discuss three ways to build customer loyalty at your restaurant. You’ll learn how to create an unforgettable dining experience, foster a sense of community, and make customer service a top priority.

1. Create an Unforgettable Dining Experience

Creating an unforgettable dining experience is crucial for establishing customer loyalty. Your restaurant should be a place where guests can escape the everyday grind and enjoy an evening of culinary excellence.

There are several ways to achieve this goal: innovative menus, stunning décor, and top-tier service.

Innovative menu

In order to stand out from the competition, your restaurant should offer an innovative menu that features unique dishes. Guests will appreciate having a variety of options to choose from, and they’ll be more likely to return if they’re able to try something new every time they visit.

Don’t just focus on the food itself; make sure the presentation is just as impressive. Use creative plating techniques and delicious sauces to elevate your dishes to a level that guests will remember.

Stunning décor

Your restaurant’s décor is another important factor that can influence guests’ overall experience. It should be elegant yet comfortable, and it should also reflect your culinary style.

If you’re going for a modern look, use sleek furniture and angular lines. If you prefer a more rustic aesthetic, choose warm colors and earthy textures. No matter what style you choose, make sure the décor matches the level of sophistication you’re aiming for.

Top-tier service

Finally, don’t forget about the importance of service. Your waitstaff should be professional and courteous, and they should be able to cater to guests’ needs quickly and efficiently.

Guests will appreciate the attention to detail, and they’ll be more likely to return if they feel like they’re being treated like royalty. Make sure your waitstaff is adequately trained and well-versed in your menu so they can provide top-notch service every time.

2. Foster a Sense of Community

Community means different things to different people. But, in general, it refers to a group of individuals who share common values and experiences.

When it comes to restaurants, community can be fostered in a few ways:

1. Host events that bring people together.

2. Create a sense of ownership among customers.

3. Offer unique dining experiences that can’t be found elsewhere.

Hosting events is a great way to bring people together and create a sense of community. You could host wine tastings, beer tastings, or food pairing events. You could also host themed dinners, like a Mexican night or an Italian night.

Creating a sense of ownership among customers is another way to foster community. When customers feel like they’re part of the restaurant, they’ll be more likely to return. You can create a sense of ownership by giving customers a voice. Let them choose the menu items or vote on the wine and beer selections. You can also let them choose the décor or help plan special events.

A strong, but often undervalued way to improve customer ownership is by consistently requesting their feedback on your experience. At Retention360, we know how important customer feedback is to elevating the dining experience. Our in-depth customer data collection and analysis tools let you quickly whip up surveys that are accessible via QR code and send them to your customers, letting you iterate and improve your business model faster.

Offering unique dining experiences is another way to foster community. When customers can’t find the same type of experience at another restaurant, they’ll be more likely to return. You could offer a unique menu, a unique setting, or a unique service.

3. Make customer service a top priority

Customer service is key to building customer loyalty. When you make customer service a top priority, you show your customers that you care about them and their satisfaction.

Some ways to make customer service a top priority include:

  • Training your staff on the importance of customer service and how to provide exceptional service
  • Ensuring that your staff is responsive to customers’ needs and inquiries
  • Offering a variety of dining options to meet the needs of your customers
  • Responding to feedback and addressing any issues that customers may have. If you’re using Retention360 (which we recommend), this is as easy as opening the app & viewing your prioritized list of feedback and customer actions.
  • Thanking customers for their business and using an automated platform like Retention360 to send them follow-up responses after their visit

Making customer service a top priority is one of the best ways to build customer loyalty at your restaurant, and it will help you create a positive reputation that will bring customers back time and time again.

Retention360 is a reputable, powerful customer retention software platform that helps you iterate, automate, and improve your business. Request a demo today!