Loyal customers are the lifeblood of any business, and QSRs are working hard to build customer loyalty. The reason is clear: according to QSR Magazine, loyal customers spend 67% more than new customers. Plus, loyal guests make up a reliable core audience.
On the flip side, we have the one-and-done diners: guests who make a single trip to your restaurant and never come back (or at least, they don’t come back within a year). Of course, some of these experiences are unavoidable; if a customer is traveling and they stop at a restaurant that’s not available in their home region, not a lot can be done about that. The same goes for customers who have dietary restrictions; they’re not going to visit a place where there’s very little they can eat.
By their very nature, quick service and fast casual restaurants encourage swifter turnover than their traditional counterparts. What’s behind one-and-done dining? And how can restaurants that focus on speedy service encourage customers to join them for the long haul?
Why some customers don’t come back
As we mentioned earlier, there are some solid reasons why certain customers are infrequent visitors. But the majority of the fast casual and quick service restaurant audience don’t face those restrictions. So what stops these guests from coming back?
You might simply think it’s the competition. In any large town or small city, people usually have a choice of QSR chains; some of them will even offer the same type of menu. Is your competition eroding your customers’ loyalty?
Not as much as you might think. In an article published in Total Food Service, restaurant coach David Scott Peters shares the following statistics behind one-and-done customer decisions:
Only 9% have left you for the competition.
14% decline to return based on the restaurant experience (cleanliness, food quality, portion size, etc.).
68% don’t come back because of poor employee behavior (rudeness, unhelpfulness, etc.)
Mr. Peters points out that 82% of one-and-done experiences boil down to a lack of staff training; he advocates for better training programs. That’s very important, but it doesn’t address a related problem: thanks to the ongoing restaurant labor shortage, staff are often stretched too thin to give customers the experience they deserve. That’s why we recommend using technology to fill the customer service gaps. This will create a better experience and cause more guests to become loyal customers.
3 ways restaurants can reduce one-and-done guests
Use tech to improve the customer ordering experience
Long wait times and a slow order-taking process can turn away many prospective customers. So can mistakes made in order fulfillment. To combat both of these problems, many restaurants are turning to self-ordering kiosks. These can make the ordering process faster, easier, and less prone to error. They can also alleviate some of the demand on restaurant staff. In fact, self-ordering options have become so popular that 65% of customers prefer restaurants with kiosks. Our earlier research showed that once the line for a cashier reaches four people, customers prefer to order from a kiosk.
Of course, there are other ways tech can improve an ordering experience, such as ordering from mobile apps or tabletop devices and using digital menu boards to keep guests engaged and reduce ordering times. All of these provide a level of perceived customer attention that makes waits less stressful.
Encourage and apply customer feedback
In our recent article on designing a user-friendly kiosk interface, we talked about the importance of gathering feedback from real customers on kiosk design. Why is customer feedback so important? Because it lets you know how your customers actually feel about your products, service levels, etc. Without this information, you can only guess if you’re really meeting their expectations. And because you are not your customer, you might not realize all the factors that play into their decisions and behaviors.
In short, customer feedback will reveal what you’re doing well and where you need to improve. You can use this information to address gaps in the customer experience and identify new ways to delight your customers. Remember, most of the reasons guests don’t come back have to do with a poor experience; this is an excellent way to remedy those problems.
Most fast casual and quick service restaurants already have feedback channels in place: online survey forms, in-store comment cards, and the like. To these, we’d also add getting feedback from social media, either directly (by asking followers or encouraging them to complete a survey) or indirectly via social listening.
Create a meaningful loyalty program
Restaurant loyalty programs don’t need an introduction or explanation; we’re already familiar with them. However, the keyword here is meaningful. It’s important to create loyalty programs that have reachable yet motivating rewards. Likewise, store personnel need to promote loyalty programs and give new guests a reason to sign up. We’ve covered this in more detail in our recent article on creating a better loyalty program, so feel free to check it out.
It’s also worth mentioning that personalization can play a major role in how valued and appreciated guests feel. Our article on how to do personalization like Netflix can help you start or refine your personalization efforts.
Guests can turn into loyal customers
One-and-done guests represent a lost opportunity for quick service and fast casual restaurants. Research has shown that the reasons most guests never return have to do with their experience with the brand. So, it’s up to restaurant operations to ensure that all guests are given a seamless, enjoyable, and positive experience. You can do this by thinking ahead to minimize long wait times, but you’ll also need to use actual customers’ feedback to find and fix problem areas. If you make the effort, you’re sure to see a lift in the number of one-and-done guests that convert to loyal customers. And this will result in higher customer lifetime values and profits, making it well worth your time.
