Restaurant CRM software (customer relationship management) coupled with a restaurant online ordering system or restaurant ordering website to automatically collect and utilize your customer database have become a necessity to increase restaurant sales and reduce staffing costs.
– Dennis Wilson, Expert Restaurant Consultant
A simple 1000-contact restaurant customer database could increase your restaurant sales $26,650/year.
A small restaurant with just 30-person capacity can collect 1800 pieces of restaurant customer data per month. Say only 1000 of them opt in to communications. That is 3000 contacts in 3 months which could increase restaurant sales by $79,950/year.
Let us get into the details specifically on how to growth hack (rapidly increase restaurant sales) your restaurant sales with restaurant online CRM and a restaurant online ordering system to build your restaurant mailing list.
Restaurant Customer Data is Digital Gold
As a restaurant owner, do you currently have your restaurant customer list in restaurant CRM software?
Do you know why you SHOULD have your customer database?
Have you ever been curious why the third party delivery apps like UberEats and DoorDash don’t share your customer data with you? (It is too valuable to them to give you!)
The reason you need to automatically collect your restaurant mailing list and build a restaurant mailing list in a customer data platform is to eliminate sales vacancy and reduce turning customers away during busy periods.
What is Restaurant Sales Vacancy?
An empty table when you have staff to cover is sales vacancy – and sales vacancy is losing pure profit if you are at least breaking even on your current sales volume.
Turning people away when you are too busy is lost business! By collecting and utilizing your restaurant customer database, you can invite people to come earlier or later with restaurant promotions with your restaurant CRM software, so you keep ALL the sales.
Once you have this restaurant customer list collected, you can literally fill your restaurant on a slow day with the click of a few buttons! (more on that in this post!)
3 Ways Restaurant CRM Software Dramatically Increases Sales
Increase restaurant sales during slow days with a quick offer
Let’s say, you know, Monday nights are often slow, you could send an email, SMS or push notification to your list offering 2 for 1 appetizers during the slowest period to bring people in. This is a much more effective restaurant CRM marketing strategy than a sign out front, as it would be seen by all your customers, not just the ones that walk by!
You could offer drink specials or have a happy hour you announce with a mail blast, SMS or push notification.
Increase restaurant sales by signing up customers to your Special Deals Customer List
Want to really know how to get more customers in restaurant? Send out any specials you have new this week in your Special Deals, and most importantly, a few you will take off the menu AFTER this week. The funny part about this technique is it creates urgency and scarcity at the same time, making it much more likely someone will book to come and see you THIS week, vs. later or when they get around to it.
This leads to increased sales frequency which is a fantastic sales amplifier. What if you could get each customer to come back to your restaurant an extra 2 or 3 times per year? Make them come every 3 weeks vs. the natural every 4 or 5 or 6 they normally come. May that increase your profits?
Increase restaurant sales using QR Survey or QR Menu to build your Restaurant Mailing List
DeliveryBizConnect allows you to build a restaurant customer database automatically to utilize with our restaurant CRM software with a simple QR survey, or as we explain later in this article, with a few other creative and more automated restaurant CRM marketing strategies. We recommend doing all these things at once for maximum restaurant sales growth.
A QR survey can be printed and posted anywhere within your restaurant – windows, tables, laminated menu, etc. In fact, why not start taking online orders via QR menu and collect customer data as you go? Collect restaurant customer data like names, addresses, mobile number, and email address into a customer data platform.
Should you be interested in DeliveryBizConnect’s restaurant online ordering system we even include several different pieces of signage and marketing items to help you generate the customer data automatically.
You can offer a discount, free appetizer, or free side on their first order through the QR menu or mobile app.
Why Third Party Apps Want Your Restaurant Customer Database
The great thing with DeliveryBizConnect is you have access to ALL your RESTAURANT CUSTOMER DATA right from your first order (not possible with major third-party apps; they keep it from you as it is too valuable to them).
Once you have this customer data, you can do pretty much anything with your restaurant mailing list, from emails to text messaging to instant push notifications about your weekly specials, limited time offers, and so on.
Need help with restaurant Facebook or Instagram marketing? How about restaurant Email or Text message marketing? Our DBC Sales Max Ultimate package may be perfect for you.
Let’s do some simple math on what this restaurant customer database is worth to your annual sales in your restaurant.
Your Restaurant Customer Database dramatically increases sales
If you have customers coming an average of once per month, and these techniques we are describing can get them to change that to once every 3 weeks, as a result of your restaurant now being top of mind, AND they get updates from you with specials, or notifications of things going OFF the menu, or time limited specials going onto the menu, watch what happens.
Let’s say you have only 1350 people on your restaurant customer list. A restaurant as small as 25 seats should easily have this within 3 months of collecting restaurant data.
If you have 25 seats at 60% occupancy on average and say 40% are new customers vs. repeat after month one. The math goes like this.
25 seats x 30 days in a month = 750 people in 1 month in your restaurant database.
In month 2, 750 x 40% = 300 new people on your mailing list and each month thereafter.
In 3 months, you would have 1350 people on your restaurant mailing list.
Let’s say only 60% were repeat type customers that come on average 1 time per month. That gives us 810 people.
Let’s say your average bill is only $25.
Your annual restaurant sales from this would be 810 x $25 x 12 (months in year) = $243,000/year.
If you now had them come back an average of once every 3 weeks, what happens?
810 x $25 x 17.33 (52 weeks in a year divided by 3 weeks’ average visit to get how many times per year they come) = $350,932.50!!!!!
That is a 44% increase in sales, at little or no cost to you! As you know, one of your biggest expenses is getting a NEW restaurant customer!
Restaurant Data is worth its weight in gold with Restaurant CRM Software
Still not convinced on the value of having your restaurant customer data and restaurant mailing list?
If we look at the sales increase, divided by how many pieces of restaurant data you have, it will surprise you.
In one year, you would have collected 750 + (300 x 11) = 4050 pieces of data.
Your sales increase was $350,932.50 – $243,000 = $107,932.50
If you want to consider that you only have 1350 pieces of data, that means each piece of customer data was worth $79.95 to you.
If you want to consider you had the 4050 pieces of data, each piece of restaurant data was worth $26.65!
So, is it worth a bit of effort if the worst-case scenario is each piece of data you collect is worth a minimum of $26.65 in annual sales to you?
Remember, your offer was just a fraction of the total value per customer.
Say you offered a 10% discount on your customer’s first order through the QR menu and the order was $100 worth of food. It cost you only $10 for that piece of customerdata and you only have to do it once.
Creative Ways to Grow Your Restaurant Customer List
Now you’ve seen the importance of building your restaurant customer database and having a customer data platform, let’s look at additional ways you grow it to even further increase restaurant sales quickly.
Fishbowl draw
Consider in addition to the QR survey, a fishbowl draw.
Simply put a glass fishbowl at your front counter with a sign saying drop in your business card for the chance to win a $100 gift certificate each month, or a FREE LUNCH or whatever offer you feel you can afford to give to new subscribers to your restaurant customer list.
Make sure you have some survey forms beside the fishbowl for anyone who missed them at the table and wants to fill one out.
Make sure you say on your sign that they will be added to your Special Deals mailing list.
This strategy worked for a lot of restaurants, although it may take a bit of work adding these people to your restaurant mailing list than just having them scan a QR survey or menu. You can have someone from your restaurant do it for you or have it outsourced. It’s all up to you.
Tent cards and coasters
Get a tent card made for each of your tables that displays a QR code and a Short URL leading to a mailing list subscription page, or even a survey if you want to learn more about your customers. Or like we said, create a QR menu for online orders and collect customer data on their first order (this is another tool included in our DeliveryBizConnect Restaurant Online Ordering System with customer data platform)
Get Coasters printed with the information or QR code if you don’t want the cleaning maintenance of a tent card.
Simple restaurant website
Collect Special Deals subscribers from your restaurant website or restaurant online order page if you have one, and if you do not have one, get one! It does not need to be super fancy, but you do need at least a basic website!
It is simply amazing how many restaurants do not have their own restaurant website or customer data platform, but just rely on third party delivery apps and the YELPS of the world to do it for them.
This is BAD for your restaurant business. You should have your own website so these other sites can link to it. This allows you to control the narrative a bit more as your message how YOU want it to be seen is available to the public to OFFSET any negative reviews you get.
It simply allows people to decide if the negative news is justified or not.
Without your own restaurant website, they have no choice but to form all opinions from the other sites that are collecting data and comments on your restaurant.
DeliveryBizConnect can provide you a simple 3-page website if you do not have one, including our restaurant online ordering system with a one-time setup fee. It’s just one of the available integrated tools in our DBC Sales Maximization Packages.
From your current website, or the one you set up in DeliveryBizConnect you can direct people straight to your Special Deals signup page (also a tool in DeliveryBizConnect Restaurant Online Ordering System with Restaurant CRM software), amplifying your in-store efforts by building a list of those who have not yet visited you, or saving data entry time/cost of those who join your list on their own.
DeliveryBizConnect Can Make It All Happen
Now you know the value of one piece of data is $26.65, you can see that you have no excuse to not get going on this ASAP on building your restaurant customer list as the payback is fast and huge!
Depending on your type of restaurant, and if you take reservations or not, there are a lot more tools in DeliveryBizConnect that can benefit you.
Should you be a restaurant that takes reservations, imagine the power of having this data, including a phone number you take when the reservation is placed.
You can now track customer preferences on your customer data platform, like what wine they ordered last time, or what their food preferences or allergies are. Does it take a bit of work to collect this data?
Of course!
Is it worth it?
With $26.65 being the lowest return on each piece of restaurant data, it would just get better and better as you learn more and more about your customers!
Our Restaurant CRM software and restaurant mobile App branded to your restaurant is also included in DeliveryBizConnect. This includes a very powerful contact manager that you can use for collecting and utilizing this restaurant data in email marketing and text message marketing campaigns.
How to Integrate Social Media into Your Restaurant CRM Marketing Strategy
Finally, the big elephant in the room: Social Media!
One of our restaurant customers had a very cool strategy to build its Facebook followers. They offered a small appetizer that was super easy to prepare, low labor cost, and able to be done in advance. In their case, they used Japanese Edamame, or soy beans.
They made literally a micro portion, about ¼ of the size of the portion you got if you ordered it from the menu, served it in a funky container which made it seem special, and offered it free if you checked in and liked their Facebook page.
Your social media campaign is most effective if it always pushes people to join your Special Deals mailing list. We know it sounds old fashioned, but a good restaurant email list is still worth a fortune to your business.
In fact, $1 spent on social media marketing typically returns between $2 and $3 depending on which website you look at, yet $1 spent on email data collection and marketing returns $36 to $38 depending on the website you look at. Restaurant email marketing returns 10x more for your money.
Keeping up with social media can make you seem more relevant and cool, so doing both with the purpose of ultimately building your list is a very effective strategy.
Why Restaurants Choose DeliveryBizConnect over Major Third Party Delivery Apps
So, are you ready to rapidly increase your restaurant sales with the help of an online CRM?
DeliveryBizConnect is here to help.
Our DeliveryBizConnect Sales Maximization Package includes:
- Restaurant Online Ordering Platform Pre-Configured Tablet
- Online/Mobile Ordering Menu Building Service
- Online/Mobile Ordering Mobile App Branded to Your Restaurant
- Restaurant CRM
- Contact Manager for Restaurant Customer List
- Sales and Marketing Automation
- 2 x Letter Sized Laminated Signs for Window/Wall
- 4 x Half Letter Size Table Talkers
- 200 x Conversion Brochures to Automatically Get Data From 3rd Party Apps
- 2 x Restaurant Bottle Opener Pens
- 30 x Restaurant Referral Brochures
- 30 x Driver Referral Brochures
- 3 Page Website (DBC Sales Max Pro)
- Google Business Profile – Setup/Update (DBC Sales Max Pro)
- Bing Business Profile – Setup/Update (DBC Sales Max Pro)
- Facebook Page – Setup/Update (DBC Sales Max Pro)
- Custom Domain (URL like www.myrestaurantname221.com) (DBC Sales Max Pro)
- 3 Custom Restaurant Promotion Campaigns (DBC Sales Max Ultimate)
- Your restaurant website refresh Max 10 Hours (DBC Sales Max Ultimate)
- Simple Logo Design 3 Logos Samples & 2 revision rounds (DBC Sales Max Ultimate)
- Facebook Marketing Posts – 1 post/week first month (DBC Sales Max Ultimate)
- Instagram Marketing Posts – 1 post/week first month (DBC Sales Max Ultimate)
Check our DBC Sales Max Packages Pricing
Other apps take up to 30% or more of your orders yet generate BILLIONS of dollars of losses annually giving away all those freebies. They expect to make up these losses charging you 30% of your orders forever. DeliveryBizConnect offers you a “No Risk” solution (60 day money back guarantee and we subsidize onboarding costs with our “DBC Sales Max Package”
We are built upon a Restaurant CRM software which allows us to help you increase your sales 23% over 6-8 months. We give you your restaurant database in a usable CRM whereas most of our competitors keep it for their own benefit. We offer FREE pickup orders and/or a 3.33% delivery service with our own premium drivers. This saves you $1500 a month compared to the 3rd party apps.
Our Restaurant Online Ordering Platform is 60 Day Money Back Guaranteed, You Have Nothing to Lose but Staff Optimization, Sales and Efficiency to Gain.
Questions? Feel free to Call or Text us at: 1-888-852-1853