From something as straightforward as the punch card to “complete” POS systems for enterprise, there is too often a divide between what servers, managers, and territories require and what they get. Compared to what is on offer from even the most popular delivery software, from where does the stench of disconnection stem?

The hospitality industry, specifically in restaurants, has one constant: it is a dynamic, changing, and massively challenging domain in which to keep up. Every single day new diets, drinks, trends, and customer expectations emerge around eating. And they rise almost as quickly as they burn out. 

But, somehow technology seems to lock itself up in technical difficulties that don’t support the journey to scale and success as a business owner simply seeking tech solutions for critical needs like restaurant intelligence. Still, restaurant owners and their staff should not give up the good fight, losing means letting food data trends and important restaurant opportunities fall to hungry, hungry competitors. 

All you need is a stable foothold. So, if you’re missing functionality from your POS software, current CRM system or loyalty program management, there’s a reason we’re here. The first on our list is us, and not solely because we’re the publisher of these resources. We contain an integrated, future-ready solution for the loyalty program options afterward.

Key Takeaway: Timeless, true restaurant loyalty is most often the custom, carefully crafted system—not just any “out-of-the-box” option. For enterprise loyalty programs, we tailor existing technology to do exactly that—brand for brand, build by build.

Revolution Ordering

We are an online ordering platform, but of the future! Always integrated, cloud-ready, and built by people who understand the needs of restaurants, their owners, and operators. We’re publishing this list of tools that can help your brand advance: we want to take your business to the next level, one customer (and client) at a time.

Among our suite of solutions, which features enhanced reporting and proprietary loyalty programs, in simple-and-sweet software—our in-house favorite is a capacity (and willingness) to customize to your needs first. It seems unfortunate when other restaurant software companies forget the meaning of hospitality.

Nevertheless, just as you treat customers, we know there’s no replacement for responsive, focused attention on the matter at hand. If we don’t have the solution for you, we will find it, build it, and release its most stable version. That’s why our long list of partners remains extensive. With that said, let’s see what’s out there for improving customer retention through restaurant software alone. 

To learn more, you can get strategies for improving loyalty through other means, such as running a sustainable restaurant and optimizing your menu design.

Kangaroo

Kangaroo, a highly specific customer loyalty program, allows restaurant to personalize the path to total loyalty. In ways that com custom—to match your brand—Kangaroo can be used to enhance the customer experience at almost all the important touchpoints.

With the aim to “turn every customer into a regular,” restaurants, hotels, and bars can find it just a little easier to improve engagement. We find it a smart little addition to the most popular restaurant POS systems because it plugs right with integrations done with a login-and-click.

While Kangaroo really isn’t limited specifically to restaurants, its focus on optimizing the ability for current customers to create new patrons is a standout. 

In the dining experience and restaurant sales situation, perhaps nothing is more potent than the personal, person-to-person recommendation. This too powerfully advertises that concept, built on the solid foundation of word-of-mouth, peer-to-peer missions. That’s why some of the essential things you’ll get from Kangaroo include referral marketing and social media referrals. 

With a referral program, customers can send friends, family, or anyone an incentivized tip to try your eatery, bar, or hotel fare. All you really need to do is define your terms with customers: what will you offer as a reward, when can they use the referral, and how do they redeem their reward when all is said and done.

Punchh

With Punchh, the sole aim seems to be to delight your diners through interactions that leverage machine learning. This is critical in online ordering platforms so dominated (and continuing to grow) in sales, especially where customer data has become very plentiful—as well as highly precious.

In short, Punchh is a tool made to manage marketing needs at the enterprise-level. For instance, it’s no slouch when it comes to designing a system that stands the stress test of security and reliability. As companies grow, they often find that the built-in features of some other platforms, like Toast or Square, for instance, just don’t meet their standards anymore. That’s when, it seems, Punchh is poised to pounce on the opportunity to partner.

Overall, reviews show that it’s a relatively simple tool to use. Though this shouldn’t be confused with the simplistic approach taken by software in similar categories, such as we discovered in a recent review of Aloha, Clover, and Heartland restaurant POS platforms. Instead, it’s a modern take on old problems, offering technology integration as a standard. 

Stamp Me

Let’s get even more digital! While Punchh may turn its attention toward “people, not data points,” Stamp Me doesn’t seem afraid to tell the whole world that it’s technology all the way down. It’s healthy encouragement for the mom-and-pop as well as growing chain with multiple restaurant locations to abandon tiresome hold of tracking loyalty with literal stamps.

Instead, they offer you the digital loyalty card, which helps customers secure points (really secure them) and give you a deep-dive into the running numbers that are truly controlling the inflows and outflows of your business. All this is done as simply as possible through their digital loyalty card app, which incidentally also features a completely contactless restaurant option for tracing purchases, orders, and staying user-friendly.

Instead of vouching for their past purchases, customers are freed from the need to collect and carry around physical, easily falsified stamp cards. Businesses can sign up, set up their program, and start working on pushing customer retention without the traditional trust and taxing “systems” once involved.

Less Annoying CRM

A brand with unbelievable shoes to fill based on its name, we know that true restaurateurs will like the promise (if not order fulfillment) of trying out the Less Annoying CRM. And yes, it was a great strategic decision to name themselves against one of the most painful experiences that owners and operators face: using their in-house CRM to do basically anything important.

Rather than all that nonsense, Less Annoying CRM handles the usual—but with a distinctly simple flavor. That means contact management, calendaring tasks, leads, pipelines, collaboration options, and seamless mobility (like on your smartphone, if you can believe that). And, we appreciate their commitment to staying open as a system, being led by a low pricing structure and unrelenting focus on the needs of even the smallest businesses.

Of course, the challenge Less Annoying CRM strives to solve which is closest to our hearts is, obviously, an eased experience of customization. Overall, restaurant labor feedback shows consistent gaps in nearly every system they try to use, ultimate, to boost customer experiences and lower turnover. That’s why we also like the approach taken by Punchh, Kangaroo, and Stamp Me. 

Frequently Asked Questions about Restaurant Marketing Tools

Learn how other restaurants are making gains with customers from word-of-mouth to menu management. Get the answers to restaurant owners and operators most common questions.

How does restaurant loyalty benefit from additional marketing tools?

When the software they choose to add is supported by consistent customer service, feature-rich, and aimed at real growth, they will aid the overall and inevitable process of digital transformation. 

Beyond that, online ordering systems like ours offer the conveniences customers already expect—even if businesses haven’t yet recognized the need to put themselves into the digital fray. The cost-savings and ease of securing more business become are the staple of true partnerships between restaurant software and the bold, flavorful brands they serve.

What features should I look for in restaurant marketing tools?

Among the best, you’ll see integrated loyalty programs and intelligent, time- and labor-saving automations. But, if you really want to look for an incredible restaurant marketing tool, ensure it comes with online ordering as well as reporting and analytics.

Try a demo with Revolution Ordering to learn why we’re trusted by so many names in a the highly competitive software space. 

Which restaurant marketing tools work for loyalty?

Many software tools exist that target the enterprise restaurant and aim for loyalty enhancement. Among them, Toast may be the most popular—even if restaurants find it ill-suited for quickly growing needs and expectations. 

It offers many of the same features as we do at Revolution Ordering, including automations with marketing and other software programs. The best option is to find a partner who will commit to your success season-to-season. That’s why we customize many of our already effective software solutions.

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