What is the ultimate thing that keeps your business running?

What is the secret for your success?

Is it the good food? Or maybe the nice ambiance you create at your restaurant? Maybe the fast service? 

If you own a retail shop, is it the service you provide or the prices of your products? 

There is something that holds everything together at the end of the day and it is the customer relationship management. 

Whatever is the key for your success, you need to maintain a client relationship as the strong foundation for your business. 

Being in the restaurant business means that you are not strictly dealing with food. You are also and more importantly working in the hospitality industry. 

Beside offering delicious food, you have to offer a delightful and unforgettable experience for your guests. 

So when it comes to customer relationship, things don't simply end by the end of their visits or meals.

It’s actually everything that happens before, during and after this time to bring them back excitedly. 

Knowing that acquiring new customers is 5 times more expensive than retaining old ones is a main reason for which you need to strive for such a relationship.

Excelling in the relationship with your customers requires a personalized experience depending on your customers’ preferences.

It’s only through a customer relationship management system that you are able to achieve that experience. 

What is CRM?

A CRM is the process of managing all your relationships and interactions with customers using technology. 

It’s a tool that helps with contact management, sales management, agent productivity, and more.

In simpler words, you can know who visited you, what they ordered, their last visit and the timing of their visits.

The CRM holds precious information about your customers such as:

• Their email address and contact information

• Their ordering history 

• Their birthdays and or anniversaries

• Customers dietary restrictions and or allergies 

Benefits of using an integrated CRM

Securing your customers data

Your customers’ data is securely saved on one platform rather than multiple systems or a third party.

Using data encryption technology in saving customers data prevents hacking and secures that data stored is only shared with parties intended to use it.

If you use a hybrid POS, you can access customers data and information anytime even during an internet outage. 

Bonding with your customers

The client relationship management enables you to get closer to your customers.

By knowing your customers' birthdays for instance, you have the chance to send them a personalized text message inviting them to your restaurant and offering them a discount on their meal or free desserts.

Knowing your customers ordering history and preferences helps you design the best offer that suits their taste. 

You can prepare a reward program based on this information to keep their experience optimized. 

When an old customer comes in to your restaurant, the waiters should be able to see their ordering history so they can offer pairing suggestions to them.

Do you need a new meal on your menu but you’re uncertain about it? 

Check collected data of ordering history and decide on the new meal based on customers choices and needs.

Enhancing your targeted marketing 

When trying to build a relationship with your clients, it’s usually less expensive and more effective to use targeted marketing. 

An integrated CRM facilitates the process of targeted marketing.

Through the POS integrated CRM, you can access the required information about your customers to design an appropriate marketing campaign that will successfully reach your target and increase conversion rates. 

Let’s say you want to boost the sales of vegan meals. 

You can check your customers order history and send the intended ones text messages offering discounts or specials on the vegan menu.

If you are having a happy hour, you can check customers preferences especially at the times of the happy hour to identify which items to discount or how to pair different meals with different cocktails.

In this manner, customers are more likely to benefit from the offers because it’s based on their preferences and tastes.

Waiters can easily upsell or cross sell because they are familiar with customers' ordering history. 

Enhancing your loyalty program 

One of the most important key in retaining customers is offering them rewards on their business and showing them gratitude.

Reward programs have to offer clients what they actually need, like and what matters to them.

An integrated CRM reveals the customers preferences and identity so you know who to reward and what to offer them. 

Knowing the frequency of their visits and the amount of dollars spent is the key to design a personalized reward program whether it’s a point system or certain gifts after exceeding an indicated amount of money.

Retaining customers 

All the points discussed above contribute to the customer retention process. 

Sending your customers birthday messages or rewarding them for their business creates a strong connection with them and creates a delightful experience that will bring them back to you. 

Putting everything together, the CRM is your secret recipe for success and for offering your audience a differentiated experience.