After deciding that it's time to offer a loyalty program for your business, the next step is to maximize your ROI. 

At Wisely, we've analyzed loyalty programs within restaurants and across industries to collect best practices. Here are our top 5.

1.) Highlight what makes you different

There are plenty "off-the-rack" loyalty programs that exist, but, as with most things, you get what you pay for. Every business, especially restaurants, is unique and the best programs highlight these differentiators. That doesn't mean program design has to be time-consuming. In fact, we've created our own Formula to Creating Engaging, Profitable Loyalty Rewards to help.

2.) Lower the Bar

We don't mean your standards....we mean the requirements to joining your program. Top loyalty programs maximize impact by minimizing the up-front investment from members. Remove up-front fees, long forms, and the dreaded extra plastic card in a guest's wallet. 

3.) Don't be Shy (but Be Respectful!)

Give guests as many channels (in-store, web, mobile, text, etc) and incentives to join your program as possible. This doesn't mean be overly aggressive signing guests up. If you've created the right incentives for guests, and made signing up easy, sign-ups will come. To learn what tactics work (and what doesn't), check out our series on how to market your loyalty program.

4.) Keep things Fresh

Just like a Twitter or Instagram account collecting dust, a dormant loyalty program doesn't help anyone. In fact, it can hurt. We recommend updating rewards at least once a year. To make this easy, Wisely provides every partner access to our Program Specialists at no additional cost.

5.) Use your new Super Power: Customer Data

So, you've got a growing and engaging loyalty program at your business. Now what? Well, use the super power that is customer data. In addition to marketing, top restaurants utilize data collected via their loyalty program to improve hiring, training, menu development, and even finance. Why require a new manager months of on-the-floor experience to learn top guest's names when they can learn them in one afternoon? At Wisely, our perspective is that Your Loyalty Program Should Create an Institutional Memory.

So, if you've followed along, you know you need a customized, easy to join, well marketed, fresh loyalty program that your entire organization can take advantage of. We took these insights and more into the design of Wisely. Let us help.

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Wisely empowers restaurant groups to grow and sustain profitability by acquiring valuable new guests, converting them into regulars, and keeping them happy for life. Our software is easy-to-use and enhances productivity, so staff can focus on what really matters. For more information or media inquiries, please contact us at hello@getwisely.com.