Most everyone now looks to the internet to give suggestions on any number of questions we might be asking, from where to go and what to see on our next vacation, to the nearest location of a quality gym, to something as basic as where to eat for dinner. 

Join Us Thursday, July 18th at 2pm Eastern for a free Webinar!

WEBINAR: Saving At-Risk Customers With Bloom Intelligence

We all know that retaining current customers is much less expensive than acquiring new ones, and with the current competitive environment in the restaurant industry, it becomes that much more important. But how can you identify those customers who are at-risk of not returning? How can you engage them properly and convince them to return?

It’s common knowledge among business owners and marketers that keeping your current customers coming back through the door is much more efficient and less costly than acquiring new customers. In today’s competitive environment, consumers have more options than they can choose from. This is why restaurateurs and retail store owners should be concerned with not only attracting new customers, but keeping the ones that they already have.

Customer attrition is a natural occurrence in any business. No matter what you do, some customers will simply not return to your place of business. Whether this is a fault of your own or not, it is important to establish and execute an ongoing, measurable strategy to reduce customer attrition.  

In last week’s blog post, we discussed the importance of responding properly to negative online ratings and reviews using TACT. As important as this is, it is also important to respond to the positive ratings and reviews your business is receiving online.

You work hard to keep your restaurant business alive and growing. Part of that effort includes monitoring and improving your restaurant’s online ratings and reviews. All of this energy and determination makes it so much more upsetting when you visit one of the popular online ratings websites to see a scathing, negative review.

Your first inclination will most likely be to fire back with a defensive message. But doing so could have long-lasting damaging effects on the way the public views you and your business. Instead of quickly defending yourself and risking the appearance of not caring about your customers, take a deep breath, relax, and respond with TACT.

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Reddit...there is certainly no shortage of online channels to help you keep in close contact with your customers. But sometimes, having that many platforms can make it tough to keep track of things. To keep your customers coming back, you don't necessarily need to be an expert in all the latest social channels, you just have to find out where your customers congregate online, choose the biggest ones and keep current.

A robust and reliable analytics platform is central to the success of your business. Analytics will help you generate more customers, increase sales, gain insights into customer behavior and preferences, create detailed customer profiles, measure return on investment (ROI) and maximize those valuable marketing dollars.

Like it or not, restaurant ratings websites play a critical role in getting customers through your door. Great ratings can keep your seats full, while negative ratings can send potential customers elsewhere. If you're not actively taking steps to improve your online ratings, consider the following.

The wonderful thing about the internet is that it gives every customer an opportunity to review a business, it’s product and its services.

But, wait. That could be a bad thing about the internet, right?

The 2019 National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show in Chicago is quickly approaching. This is the place to learn all there is to know about what is happening in the restaurant industry. From technology, to equipment & supplies, to tips and trends, exhibitors are ready and excited to educate you on the absolute latest innovations in the industry.

With over 190 sessions and events directly related to the restaurant industry, along with hundreds of industry-leading speakers, there will certainly be no down time at the annual 3-day show. It's going to be difficult to decide which sessions to attend, so we've compiled a list of a few technology and data-related sessions we think might be quite interesting.