An unmotivated accountant, a respected psychiatrist and a know-it-all mailman wander into a small basement bar in Boston. Over and over again, day after day. But why do they meet in this inconspicuous restaurant, where the owner is a womanizer and one waitress doesn’t mince her words while the other thinks she’s better than the rest? In the case of the American hit series “Cheers”, it’s because “everyone knows your name”. But what does this look like in real life, which doesn’t follow a script? Is it enough to address the guests personally? What role does social media play? And why is it so important for restaurateurs to build up a regular customer base?
Dominik Süss, professional chef, influencer and social media coach, provides tips and answers. Thanks to his efforts, more than 100,000 people follow him and his family business on Instagram. However, he not only shares his knowledge with amateur chefs on social media, but also with other restaurants. In an interview with KTCHNrebel, the young Austrian reveals what really matters when it comes to customer loyalty.
Image: Gasthof Suess
Why regular guests are better guests
“The question of how to turn guests into regular customers and later fans is one of the most important in the gastronomy industry,” says the 24-year-old, who has already gained experience in a number of renowned restaurants. These include the Paznauerstube in Ischgl, headed by star chef Martin Sieberer, the pop-up “TIAN am Berg” by star chef Paul Ivić in Zürs am Arlberg or the restaurant “Marv&Ben” in Copenhagen, known for its creative cuisine. The interview with KTCHNrebel is conducted by the young professional chef from Vancouver, where he worked in The Mackenzie Room until recently, before returning to his parents’ business in Austria.
Numerous studies and statistics support the fact that a large number of regular customers is the key to success. On average, it costs five to seven times more to acquire new customers than to nurture the loyalty of those you already have. This is primarily because regular customers are already familiar with the product and service and therefore do not need to be won over as much. In other words, you need to invest less in marketing and advertising. What’s more, regular customers often recommend their favorite restaurant to others, take friends and family with them and, in doing so, help draw new guests to the restaurant. According to a study by the American company Bain & Company, anyone who manages to increase the customer loyalty rate by just five percent can even increase profits by 25 to 95 percent.
For more loyal customers – Do your homework
That probably settles the “why?”. So let’s move on to the next question, “How can I attract and retain regular guests?” The most important basic requirement for any restaurateur who wants to build up a regular customer base is that they do their homework, says Dominik Süss. “This includes food that tastes good, reservations that work, a nice interior and a pleasant atmosphere, and that the service staff are friendly.” Those who are content that guests leave the restaurant satisfied can now sit back and relax. However, if you want them to come back, you have to invest in one thing above all: time.
Building a personal relationship to your guests
Time to build a relationship with the restaurant guests. This applies to the waiters as well as the chefs or the chef themselves, emphasizes the young gastronomic expert. “At home at Gasthof Süss, my parents are in the restaurant every day, come to every table, chat briefly with the guests and give them attention.” A few minutes of time, a personal greeting, a few friendly words and genuine interest can help create a regular customer base. Just like a good memory. For example, when the service staff notices that one guest always likes to drink a cappuccino with dessert, while the other orders an Aperol Spritz before dinner. “The fact that you remember things like this is something our visitors appreciate because they feel they are more than just a number.” You build a relationship with your guests.
Image: Gasthof Suess
Cultivate exchange
This includes collecting feedback from guests. Whether it’s praise, suggestions or criticism. This is the only way you can respond more closely to requests in the future, enhance the experience or adapt the menu and portion sizes accordingly.
The fact that hospitality and, if necessary, lodging guests is true relationship work can also be seen in the fact that not every restaurant visitor is the same. You first have to develop a sense of who wants to speak more and who wants to speak less. “There are guests who don’t want to talk as much. For them, it is enough to notice that we offer more than the average service. Others, on the other hand, are happy when you chat a little with them, go into more detail about dishes, drinks or the team, or tell them what’s new at the restaurant. Especially for regular guests, this becomes all the more interesting the more often they visit our restaurant.”
Social media for customer loyalty (also in gastronomy)
Social media has more than just good sides, that fact can’t be glossed over. As a user, you have to be careful not to get lost or even slip into the wrong algorithm. Although Dominik Süss agrees, he also enthusiastically says, “From a business point of view, social media is a dream. You can present your product, in other words, the restaurant and your team, free of charge and stay in everyone’s minds that way.”
Build up reach and use it to attract new customers
Unlike traditional advertisements, social media knows no limits. This is particularly beneficial for smaller businesses that, like Gasthof Süss, are not located in a large city, but in the middle of the countryside – in this case, a municipality called Oberkappel on the border with Germany.
As a comparison, the young professional chef mentions the good old district newspaper with a circulation of around 10,000, which was previously used as for advertising. “You paid around 600 or 700 euros for a quarter page and only reached a few people, because some people don’t read the newspaper at all, others only skim it briefly and a few miss out because they live too far away.”
Today, things are different. Oberkappel is home to just under 800 inhabitants so you can’t rely on walk-in customers like you do in big cities. The family business has almost 10,000 followers on Instagram alone, who are always kept up to date.
Stay in the guests’ minds
Whether a new guest or regular customer, active communication on social channels is one of the reasons why the brand or restaurant is always fresh in the minds of guests. Many decide to come back and even make longer trips, for example to stop off at Gasthof Süss.
Instagram, TikTok and the like are interesting for all gastronomy businesses, says the social media expert. When done right, social media is suitable for restaurants and other gastronomy businesses both to attract new guests and to communicate with regular guests. Whether it’s a huge fast food company or a very small sausage stand or kebab joint – the principle and the potential for success is the same. “There are kebab places in Vienna or other large cities that do this really well. Every day, huge crowds of people line up there. These are usually young people who have found out about the place through food bloggers or influencers and drag the whole family there at the weekend because they really want to try the kebab.”
Be authentic
But how should you present yourself? And what do regular guests want to see? “That has changed a little,” says the influencer, who has more than 120,000 followers on his own Instagram channel. “Two or three years ago, everything was even more beautiful, and a lot of emphasis was placed on aesthetics in the photos. Today, it can be more honest. More authentic. Just quickly pick up the camera and ask Ulli, for example, who is preparing the fresh herb baguettes or tapping beer, ‘Hey Ulli, what are you doing right now?” This allows guests to find out what’s going on in the background, learn more about the dishes and products, and end up in the VIP area, so to speak. At the same time, however, the team is also brought into the spotlight. Or even better, it takes over the marketing itself. “We have two young women who love social media and I told them that they have the freedom to create content during their working hours.” The result: three funny videos, two of which have already reached more than 50,000 people. “That’s crazy cool for the employees. And for us, of course, it’s also nice to see that they identify with the company.”
Social media and customer loyalty take time
“So you can never invest too much time in your online presence,” admits Dominik Süss. But once the basic framework is in place, in other words once you have a proper social media presence and up-to-date, professional photos of the restaurant, the team and the dishes, the work is manageable. However, the effort involved should not be underestimated, since the most important factors here are regularity and consistency. “It’s important to post regularly, which means at least two posts per week. You need about an hour for this.” If you have more time, you can also use your mobile phone to record short videos.
Image: Gasthof Suess
Building loyal guests via loyalty incentives
The professional chef also advises not underestimating the value of newsletters. In fact, the opposite is true. Especially for restaurants, they represent a huge opportunity because online reservations automatically collect the contact details (such as email addresses or mobile phone numbers) of many guests. This way, you can ask if you want to be included in the newsletter mailing list. By doing so, you can reach exactly the guests you want to address.
“There are now different forms of newsletters. For example, we also have our own WhatsApp channel for several thousand VIP fans. In this way, they receive invitations to special events, for example, which always sell out quickly. And because they are our most loyal regular customers, they are the first to receive this information.”
Customer loyalty through a focus on sustainability or supporting charitable projects?
The fact that sustainability, regionality, support for charitable projects, etc. are topics of interest to guests is undisputed. But is this enough to win over regular customers? Doubtful. The family business fuels its wood chip heating system with wood from its own forest, produces its electricity with photovoltaics and uses the energy from the cold storage rooms twice through heat recovery. The Süss family also regularly supports charity projects at home and abroad. Especially if you don’t make a big deal about it. “But for me, it’s simply part of doing good,” says Dominik Süss. “And then you get good things in return.”
