We have all heard of loyalty programs that numerous restaurants in Lebanon have to offer. With that being said, they aren’t usually clearly defined by the waiter who tries to shove it down our throats, and the customer usually ends up either agreeing to a certain program just to shut the waiter up, or politely declines before the waiter wastes any more of his/her time. Nonetheless, it would be false to underestimate the power of loyalty programs in the food and beverage industry, as it gives the people who actually use them initiative to come back time and time again to that certain restaurant in order to acquire provided rewards

What to consider when evaluating a restaurant loyalty program

Go paperless

The paper punch card is history. And plastic loyalty cards are on their last leg. Now is the time to go digital. That’s why these 10 restaurant loyalty programs include “paperless” options. The programs run on mobile apps, SMS (text message), emails, and simple identifiers like the guest’s phone number.

POS Integration

Nobody feels like entering data or filling forms to earn points for their lunch or dinner. POS integration is essential to offer a seamless loyalty journey from earning to redemption. POS integration also makes analytics faster and more reliable. You can measure the program’s performance against sales data in a few clicks

Simplicity

Complexity creates confusion, confusion creates unhappy customers. This is a universal truth in the digital age. A golden rule for the success of a loyalty program is simplicity. The process of earning, redeeming and interacting with the program should be brainless.

Restaurant Loyalty Programs Ranked

1. Crepaway

Pros: The program is generous and the rewards are worth it, and unlike Roadster, you don’t have to level up to be offered better rewards.

Cons: They could do a better job of making customers aware that there is in fact a loyalty program, and maybe have a digital footprint where customers can track their progress

2. Roadster

Pros: The enrollment process is simple enough and done through the app once you download it. And the fact that they have a mobile app dedicated to their loyalty program signifies that they really care about their customers and are willing to dedicate a chunk of their time to keep them stimulated through the app.

Cons: The mobile app isn’t as straightforward as it should be, and it is somewhat complicated in some aspects. For example, the rewards and value of these rewards are not well defined, and leveling up from tier to tier, thus increasing the value of your rewards is a very arduous process.

3. Zaatar w Zeit

Pros: The process of earning points and monitoring your progress is simple enough, as you can get a card at any of the zwz branches in Lebanon and start immediately.

Cons: Living in a digitized world, it’s pretty odd that you can’t enroll online, and that the loyalty program is not available on their app. Like you already have an app Zaatar w Zeit, why cant you integrate the loyalty program with it? The rules and the rewards are also not very well defined, and the enrollment process is a bit long and annoying, because the last thing you want to do after a large meal is fill out a form with your information on it.