Restaurant loyalty programme: examples of milestones

The 4 rules of a good milestone

1. Start from how often people visit. A café sees its regulars almost every day, a pâtisserie more like once a week or less. The number of visits per milestone should match a few weeks of visits, not a year.
2. A first reward within reach. A welcome gift on the 1^st visit, or a first milestone that is close enough, gives a reason to keep the card from the start.
3. A reward people want, not a discount. A free product can be seen, tasted and talked about. A discount of a few per cent is forgotten.
4. A validity period. A reward valid for a few months encourages people to come back and claim it, and spares you rewards pending for years.

Milestones or points?

Points reward the amount spent, visits reward the visit. For a restaurant, counting visits is simpler to explain (“your 5^th visit, a free meal”) and fairer for small bills that come back often. This is the model used in all the examples below.

Working out what a reward costs you

Before you set a milestone, do this simple calculation with your own prices:

Cost per visit = cost price of the reward ÷ number of visits in the milestone. Compare this amount with the average spend per visit: if it is a small share of it, your milestone is sustainable.

Two remarks so you do not get it wrong:

• Count the cost price (ingredients), not the selling price: a dessert sold on the menu costs you much less than its listed price.
• Not every reward is used: some customers stop before the milestone or let the end date pass. Your real cost is lower than the calculation, but do not count on it when setting your milestones.

Example 1: a burger restaurant

To adapt: if your customers come mostly at lunchtime on weekdays, a milestone every 5 visits lands roughly once a month for a weekly regular.

Example 2: a chicken restaurant

To adapt: if a large share of your sales goes out for delivery, remember that the card is validated at the counter. Promote the reward for orders eaten in or taken away.

Example 3: a café or coffee shop

To adapt: with at most one visit per day and per customer, a daily customer reaches the 20^th visit in about a month. Lengthen or shorten depending on what you observe.

Example 4: a pâtisserie

To adapt: pâtisseries have peaks (weekends, holidays). A quick milestone on weekdays, with a one-off offer on quiet days, spreads footfall better than a more generous milestone.

Example 5: a chain with several locations

To adapt: choose rewards that are on the menu at every location and explain the rules the same way everywhere. A shared poster at the counter saves questions.

Milestones and one-off offers: what each is for

Milestones reward those who come back. One-off offers do something else: bring someone in for the first time, or fill a quiet slot.

Keep a single offer active at a time to begin with: several offers at once blur the message at the counter.

Launch, measure, adjust

After four weeks, three figures are enough to know whether your milestones are well set:

• Cards with at least two visits: they show that the card brings people back.
• Rewards unlocked, then used: if they are unlocked but not used, the reward is not appealing enough or nobody mentions it at the counter.
• The first milestone reached: if almost nobody gets there, bring it closer.

Change one thing at a time and give it a few weeks. For setting up at the counter and choosing a tool, read the guide Digital loyalty card for restaurants.

With YumSpot. All these examples are set up in the business area: 1 to 5 milestones, from 1 to 30 visits each, one reward per milestone, a validity of 1, 3, 6 or 12 months, and a shared programme for all your locations. The stats show active cards, visits, rewards and customers who came through YumSpot. Discover the YumSpot loyalty card.