How important are effective comms in building customer relationships?

One of the key factors in building customer advocacy, driving visit frequency, and improving the effectiveness of your loyalty offering, is getting your comms right.

Nearly three-quarters of consumers (73%) are happy to be contacted by their favourite restaurants, pubs, and bars, which is great news for operators looking to engage and build a relationship with their customers. But what do they want to hear about and how do they want to be contacted?

Perhaps predictably, saving money is the most popular reason for a customer to want to be contacted but there is other information that floats their boat too, including new menu items and events.

What do you want to hear about from your favourite pubs, bars and restaurants?

1. Deals and rewards (54%)
2. New menu items (44%)
3. Price changes (39%)
4. Events in the venue (34%)
5. Changes to opening and closing times (25%)

In terms of reaching customers, email remains the most popular channel, with 47% of people indicating they want hospitality brands to contact them this way, followed by social media and text (17% for both), WhatsApp (15%) and apps (14%).

Whichever channel – or channels – operators are using, it’s important to get the frequency right if it is to stand a chance of engaging customers rather than turning them off. Our research shows that 36% of people expressed a preference to be contacted monthly, for example, compared to just 30% who said they want to hear from their favourite venues at least once a week.

A database of consumers offers operators opportunities beyond promoting a meal deal or an event, however. By engaging in this way, customers are allowing you access to their data, which if used properly, can unlock sales growth, improve customers experiences, drive footfall and boost loyalty.

Taking the time to analyse data will help operators make more informed decisions and reduce friction points as it will shine a light on emerging consumer trends and customer preferences. If used properly, the insight contained in customer data can also help deliver more personalised offers and experiences – as flagged previously, this is something our research shows consumers increasingly want from hospitality brands.

How to get your comms right

Understand what it is you want to achieve with your communications and tailor your messaging accordingly. Are you looking to build loyalty? Or increase visit frequency? We’ve established that consumers want to hear from their favourite hospitality businesses on a number of topics – and it’s not just simple discounts. Keeping your customers updated with variety of comms that showcase what makes your venue special, whether it’s new additions to your menu or an exciting new event, are great ways of keeping your customers engaged with your brand and enticing them back in beyond their usual visits.

Use the right channels at the right frequency. Consumers receive high volumes of communications, making it vital for you to match what, when, and how you’re sending your marketing to their preferences to cut through the noise. Email remains the top preference for the way consumers want to be contacted, and monthly comms – followed closely by a weekly update – rank highest in terms of frequency. Keep your comms regular, but avoid overloading.

Personalisation is key. It’s not surprising that value-driven communications are the most popular, with 54% of guests wanting to hear from hospitality businesses about deals and rewards. However to achieve the highest potential of these deals and offers resulting in a visit, they should be personalised. Ensuring you’re taking the time to analyse your customer data to understand who your customers are, and what aspects of your offering they’re most engaged with, will help you deliver more effective marketing campaigns that result in more visits.