Rahul ordered from your restaurant on a Saturday night. The biryani was excellent. The packaging was clean and neat. Delivery was done on time. He even left a 5-star rating but still never ordered again.
Surprised! This is not because the food wasn’t good. This is because the next time Rahul opened Swiggy, another restaurant similar to yours caught his eye first and you didn’t give him reason to come back to you specifically.
This is the crisis most restaurant owners are facing. Acquisition is visible however retention is invisible.
On aggregator platforms, one scroll is all it takes to lose a customer. Strategy is the only thing that makes them choose you!
1. The first order is the touchpoint
Never treat a completed order as the finish line, it’s your starting line. Real work starts here. The moment a customer places their first order, you should begin working on retention strategy.
Start with basics: Make sure the experience is flawless end to end.
1. Hot and well-packaged
2. Delivered on time
3. A complimentary dessert or sider
Put a personalised note if possible, transform the transaction into a memory. And these memories will drive repeat orders far more reliably than discounts.
2. Use platform tools to stay in radar
Out of sight is out of mind.
Both Zomato and Swiggy offer tools that help to drive repeat orders like loyalty offers, re-engagement campaigns, targeted promotions for customers who haven’t ordered in a long time. Most restaurant owners make this mistake of either ignoring these tools or using them without strategy.
Stay visible, stay chosen.
3. Packaging is a retention tool in disguise
A thoughtfully designed box with good quality cutlery and a small loyalty incentive put inside, signals something very priceless. And this feeling creates experience beyond transaction.
4. Build your brand outside the platform
The only way to build genuine loyalty on Zomato and Swiggy is to bring customers into spaces which are in your control like the Instagram, WhatsApp broadcast and the Google Business Profile.
When a customer follows you on Instagram after getting a great experience – that’s where real loyalty begins. The goal isn’t just to repeat orders but to build relationships that exist beyond it.
5. Consistency is the only loyalty programme
Consistency definitely helps in retaining genuine loyal customer bases on aggregator platforms in today’s date.
Consistent food quality, packaging, consistent communication and response to reviews, this loyalty programme will help you to maintain everything.
How Winkk Media can help here!
We are engineered in building customer loyalty on aggregator platforms. We help restaurants and cafes to do smart aggregator management and reputation building using strategies that turn one-time customers into regulars.