It costs more to attract new customers than it does to keep old ones. Almost every business owner has heard this phrase at some point. But keeping those customers can be challenging and time-consuming. One tool that restaurants can use to their advantage is loyalty programs. These are one of the best ways to make a regular customer keep coming back for more.

Having repeat customers is a very important task for restaurants to achieve. While it is something that can take a lot of work, the benefits are quite astounding. Laura Lake said in her online article "Customer Relationships Are Key to Your Marketing Strategy" that repeat customers tend to purchase 33% more than new customers and they have a 107% referral rate. A restaurant will be happy knowing that its competitors will not be getting its repeat customers' business. Restaurants also save money when they try and keep their existing customers instead of attempting to attract new ones. According to Lake, it will cost them about six times more to sell a product to a new customer than a repeat one. This can be a waste and if a restaurant does not have repeat customers it can be even harder to have the means to get new ones.

Loyalty programs are a great way to make a repeat customer a loyal one. By adding a loyalty program, a restaurant will be rewarding its most valuable customers and will make them feel as though they are being recognized personally. In a study of 1000 companies interviewed by Incentive Marketing, 43% said that they saw an increase in loyalty member spending. These customers bring their friends with them and are great for word of mouth marketing. Rewarding them only encourages them to do this more as they will continue to be satisfied with their choice. The overall goal of a loyalty program is to increase customer frequency and spending. With this type of program, a customer will be more likely to spend because they know they will receive a reward for that spending. As the customer gets closer to the reward they will buy more often so they can get it quicker. It also helps increase relationships with customers because they know that their business is appreciated by the restaurant.

Restaurants know that keeping their customers is the best way to hurt competitors and keep sales. By adding a loyalty program they can help boost repeat customers satisfaction and increase their spending. By giving back just a little, restaurants will be telling their customers how much they value their business.