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Ask a questionRestaurant owners, comparing notes
Questions about running a restaurant on Get Menu, answered by the team and kept public so the next person finds them. Also see the help centre.
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How do I turn one time customers into regulars?Two things, in this order. Switch on stamps so the second visit is worth something, on Marketing, Loyalty and stamps. Then write one earned gift card rule so the fiftieth visit is worth something bigg AnsweredShould my reward be a discount or a free item?A free item, in most restaurants. It is easier to say out loud, it feels bigger than it costs, and it brings somebody in for a specific thing rather than for money off. Use a percentage when your bask AnsweredHow do I tell my customers about a new rewards programme?Put it in front of them where they already are. The message after their first order, the one that offers them the card, does most of the work on its own. Add a line to your ordering page description, AnsweredWhat is the difference between a gift card and a coupon?A coupon is a discount you give away. A gift card is money somebody has already paid you and can spend later. A coupon costs you margin the moment it is used. A gift card was paid for up front and sit AnsweredCan I reward my best customers without discounting for everybody?Yes, and that is what tiers and earned gift cards are for. A tier or a rule only pays somebody who has already proved they come back, so the cost lands on customers you have kept. A coupon campaign pa AnsweredIs selling gift cards worth it for a small restaurant?They are one of the few offers that pay you before they cost you. The money arrives today and the food is served later, and a good share of every card is spent above its own value. There is nothing to AnsweredCan I send an offer only to people who have not ordered for a month?Yes. Open Marketing → Campaigns, press New campaign, and choose the audience Haven't ordered in a while. Write the message, pick the channel and send; it goes out inside the daytime window under your AnsweredDoes the charity round-up show as a discount on my numbers?No. A round-up is money the customer adds, not money you take off. It is itemised on its own line on the receipt, kept out of VAT because a donation is not a sale, and your revenue is reported with th AnsweredHow do I make a meal deal with a burger, fries and a drink for one price?Use a bundle. Open Marketing → Bundles, press Add bundle, give it the name the customer will see, set the bundle size to three and the price. Choose the items they may pick from, for example any burge AnsweredWhen is the best time to push gift cards?Before the times people buy presents, and before your quiet weeks. A card sold in a busy month is cash in a slow one. Put a gift card item on your ordering page so it is always there, then mention it AnsweredDo I need separate restaurant loyalty software?No. Stamps, rewards, tiers, gift cards, store credit and the card customers keep on their phone are all part of the same restaurant management software as your menu and your orders. That matters more AnsweredDo gift cards work alongside my coupons?Yes, and the order matters. The total is worked out first with any coupon, loyalty reward or member discount already in it, and the gift card then pays as much of that total as it can hold. It changes AnsweredCan I use a gift card to say sorry to a customer?You can, though store credit usually fits better. Credit is put against their phone number so only they can spend it, and the reason stays on their record where you can read it later. A gift card is a AnsweredCan somebody pay part of an order with a gift card and the rest in cash?Yes. On your ordering page the card comes off the total and the rider collects the difference at the door. At the counter your cashier takes part on the card and the rest in cash or on the card machin AnsweredHow do I stop people sharing reward codes?Use the other redemption mode. On Marketing, Loyalty and stamps, choose apply automatically at their next checkout instead of sending a single use code. The reward is then tied to the customer's own n AnsweredI want to reward the regulars who order every week without giving everybody a discount. What is the tool?Three fit, and they stack. Stamps under Marketing → Loyalty & stamps give a reward after a set number of orders, and only the people who reach it get it. An Every Nth order reward under Marketing → Of AnsweredIs a first order discount automatic, or does the customer have to type a code?Either, your choice. For a code, make a coupon such as WELCOME10 under Marketing → Coupons and put it on your page and your flyers; the customer types it at checkout. For no code, open Marketing → Off AnsweredCan I tell whether my loyalty programme is paying for itself?Yes, from the Reports tab of the card screen in Marketing. The number to watch is what card holders spend against everybody else, along with orders placed after somebody added the card. If those two a AnsweredWhy was my promotion held for approval instead of going out?Because the same customer was matched by more than one promotion at once. Rather than sending them two or three things in a row, the system holds the pile and asks you which should go. It is the one p AnsweredCan I run a loyalty programme and a coupon campaign at the same time?Yes. They are separate and they do not fight. The one rule worth knowing is that an automatic tier discount never stacks with a typed coupon: the customer gets whichever is worth more, and the coupon AnsweredWhat actually happens when my weekly message cap is reached?Further marketing for that customer is held rather than sent, and it waits for you rather than quietly disappearing. The Marketing review screen shows what is held and how old the oldest is, and nothi AnsweredCan I give a free dessert when the cart goes over a hundred?Yes. Open Marketing → Offers, press Add rule and choose the type Free or discounted item over a cart amount. Set the amount to 100, pick the dessert, set its price to zero or to a discounted price, an AnsweredCan I stop a promotion that has already started going out?Yes. Pausing your marketing takes effect immediately and applies to messages that were already approved and waiting, not just to future ones. Everything sits as pending and resumes if you switch back AnsweredDoes a gift card sale count as an order?Yes. A gift card on your ordering page is a menu item, so buying one makes an ordinary order that shows on your board and in your numbers like any other. At the counter it is an ordinary sale. What it AnsweredCan I mention a gift card in a promotion message?Yes, write it like any other offer. Do not type a code into a campaign, because a code sent to a whole list is money handed to whoever reads it first. Send people to your ordering page where the gift Answered
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