16 Sep
In Singapore, more and more restaurants and cafes are utilizing membership programs as part of their customer retention strategy. Rewarding membership programs encourage customers to visit your store more, which leads to an increase in sales, and in turn, improved revenue!
That’s not all; membership programs also help business to pamper their customers with rewards, free gifts, discounts, premium treatments, etc. As a result, your members will feel more appreciated, which will increase the chances of them staying loyal to your brand.
Read more about the benefits of membership and loyalty programs here.
If you are a restaurant or cafe owner and you would like to know how to set up a membership program that has a proven formula that works, then read on!
1. Define the objective of your membership program.
Understanding the objective right from the start will set your bearings right and help you to evaluate the performance of your program more effectively. There is no one-size-fits-all format. Why?
Every business has its respective end goals, and, the structure of your membership program should be designed to achieve your goals.
For some businesses, the goal may be to stand out from the competition, so they may want to design a program that acts as a differentiator. For others, the goal may be to increase customer visits and revenue, so they might want go for rewards such as loyalty points and membership tiers that encourage revisits.
2. Have a solid enrollment strategy.
Membership programs will work only when your customers enroll in the program. Enrolling a customer means that you are actually able to get them to sign up for the program by collecting their personal information like their name, email, phone number, etc. To make the enrollment more fun for the customers, you can also incentivize it, such as giving them a free appetizer or a discount on a meal, etc.
One thing to note is that the enrollment should be quick and seamless for the customers. Having a long and tedious signup process can be offputting for many, especially if they are rushing for time. Having customers enroll by scanning QR codes is one of the fastest ways to enroll them quickly and without hassle.
Tim Ho Wan’s membership program is the perfect example of an incentivized membership signup that is quick and easy. The customers can redeem a FREE Osmanthus Jelly Dessert upon signing up simply by scanning the below QR code. It only takes seconds to sign up and they can also get something in return!
Please scan the above QR code to get your FREE Osmanthus Jelly Dessert!
3.Right engagement strategy that brings customers back.
Enrolling the customers is winning half the battle. Once they are in the system, it is very important to keep them engaged and excited. The more they spend, the more rewards they should earn. These rewards can be in the form of free dishes, discounts, loyalty points, cashbacks, etc. When you want to design a membership program, keep this in mind;
The best engagement strategies are the ones where there are multiple opportunities for you to engage your members at regular intervals.
To better understand a successful engagement strategy, let’s take Singapore’s most loved chocolate brand: Awfully Chocolate. Their membership program is like a dream come true for all chocolate lovers. Their exclusive membership allows the customers to join as a member and get the most amazing rewards like:
- Welcome Gift for 1 for 1 Weekend Brunch as well as a Gold Straw Kit
- Prioritised booking for exclusive membership events
- A S$120 worth of voucher pack
- 5% Cashback
- And a birthday treat of Free 6 Pieces of truffles!
(Don’t forget to scan the QR code to sign up as a member and enjoy these amazing perks!)
Such programs allow brands to not only make their customers happy with amazing value, but also enable them to treat and engage the customers frequently.
4. Spreading the word
No matter how amazing your membership program is, it will not work if no one knows about it. Creating awareness for your membership program is essential for it to perform as it should. Firstly, educate your staff to actively promote the program to customers, especially during checkout when they are about to pay. This is the best time to introduce the membership program as your staff can also engage them personally and create conversation.
We also recommend that you print out signages such as posters and flyers, especially around your bestselling products to increase visibility of your membership programs. Insert them into the takeaway bags along with the items they bought so that your customers will have a copy with them when they leave your store.
The main takeaway is to make your membership a prominent feature of your business and have multiple ways to spread it around so that it is constantly on the top of your customers’ minds.
Having partnered with over 400+ brands and empowering over 800+ outlets across Singapore, membership is one of Advocado’s most popular solutions and we amassed amazing success in helping businesses across Singapore multiply their revenue, increase customer retention and revisits, and most importantly, create instant cashflow to sustain their day-to-day operations. Check out Advocado’s e-loyalty features here. Our friendly Loyalty Experts would love to assist you!
