The Complete Guide on Restaurant CRM

Estimated Reading Time: 10 minutes

You want to keep your loyalty program top-of-mind, but you have no idea where to begin. You may be sending out mass texts and e-marketing prompts but that doesn’t cut it. 

If customer visits don’t increase, your entire sales performance could be at risk… so where should you start? 

The key to this is by understanding your customer’s behaviour and tracking their activities—that’s where a restaurant CRM (Customer Relationship Management) becomes useful. Not only does a restaurant CRM help you fish for more profits, it also spots the gaps in your strategy. 

We bet you’re wondering… how else can this benefit restaurant owners? Not to worry, we’ve got your back! In this article, we’ll guide you through the know-how of restaurant CRMs for your restaurant to run smoothly.

Understanding Restaurant CRM

What is a Restaurant CRM?

A restaurant CRM (Customer Relationship Management), AKA the customer connection tool, is used to manage and engage with customers’ data from a central platform—from their purchase history down to their personal preferences.

Think of it as your digital manager—someone who remembers every customers’ name, their favorite orders, and reason for returning. 

Rather than the endless spreadsheets, lists or even Point-of-Sale (POS) Systems, a restaurant CRM includes features made for everyday customer interactions.

How is It Different from a POS (Point-Of-Sale) System?

Restaurant POS systems handle the day-to-day operations—payments, orders, sales—while a restaurant CRM builds real customer loyalty. 

Instead of tracking transactions, a restaurant CRM uses customer data (preferences and visit history) to send personalized offers, rewards, and re-engagement campaigns.

Imagine a customer walks in and the waiter already knows their last order offering a special discount on their go-to dessert. That’s the CRM magic—turning diners into regulars.

The Impact of Restaurant CRM for a Profitable Change

Why Restaurants Need a CRM

Did you know that 60% of revenue comes from repeat customer visits? 

That’s where a restaurant CRM steps in! 

By personalizing experiences like suggesting menu items based on past orders, a CRM can simply uncover profitable opportunities for upselling and gaining customer loyalty. 

What a Restaurant CRM Offers

Knows Your Customers

Personalizing your customers’ dining habits, favorite dishes, and even allergies, a restaurant CRM helps you stand a greater chance of matching your customers’ needs while offering worthwhile incentives. 

Imagine the look on their faces when you recommend their favorite dishes without them having to mention them—they will only want to come back for more! 

Loyalty Programs and Repeat Visits

Just a 5% increase in repeat customer visits can boost profits by 25% to 95%. 

With a CRM system in place, tracking data is made easy by determining which marketing messages caught the attention of your customers. 

A restaurant CRM allows  you to track your customers’ spendings per visit, points and rewards, and redemptions all in one place.

Boosting Marketing Effectiveness

Special promotions, discounts, and birthday messages… who doesn’t love them? 

The key to an effective restaurant CRM is by understanding your target audience. Tailor offers and discounts based on your customer database.

Before you hit that “send” button about a promotional seafood restaurant, first identify if they have a shellfish allergy!

Improve Your Strategy with Customer Input

Weak links can be difficult to spot, there may be a reason why your customers never return. 

Lucky for you, the CRM system helps analyze your restaurant’s performances by gaining access to valuable data that goes beyond customer details—the busiest days of the week, top-selling menu items, peak and off-peak dining hours, and the number of repeat customers.

The good news? There’s always a chance to boost your profits with the right marketing engagement and the perfect restaurant CRM system.

Effective Strategies of a Successful Restaurant CRM

It’s no secret that a restaurant CRM plays a key role in growing your business. Customers are more likely to re-visit when you keep them engaged and satisfied—and repeat customers are the backbone of long-term success. 

So, how to use a restaurant CRM to promote your business? 

Here are four strategies to get you started: 

Re-engage Lost Customers with Targeted Campaign

Having a restaurant CRM is as simple as checking which customers haven’t returned. 60-70% of sales are acquired from existing customers compared to 5-20% of new customers. 

Reaching out to your customers with personalized offers is a step closer to building that loyalty in a customer, here’s how:

• Birthday Rewards: Lighten up the room with candles and celebrate your customers’ special day at your restaurant with personalized birthday offers!

• VIP Loyalty Tiers: Reward your most loyal customers with exclusive perks like special discounts, or priority seating to make them feel valued and irreplaceable.  

Use Restaurant Data to Improve ROI

Streamline your restaurant’s operations by keeping track of these key indicators:

• Marketing Campaign ROI: To track the engagement rate and sales, restaurant CRMs show how many people opened, clicked a link and—most importantly—how many customers returned for another visit. 

• Customer Satisfaction Scores: Every quick survey or star ratings matter, integrating these tools into your restaurant CRM can help determine your customers’ loyalty and repeat visits potential. 

• Average Order Value: Your customers’ spending habits and transaction amounts can be tracked through your CRM’s POS integration. If they’re only buying a burger, maybe suggest fries and a drink too—opportunities for upselling or creating special promotions!

Stay in Touch

Give a reason to put a smile on your customers’ faces! Post-dining thank-you messages, or automated reminder emails reduces no-shows and allows consistent communication with them.

Result shows that 24% of sales come from loyal customers who spend 30% more. 

Treating every customer like a regular and having their experiences personalized increases the chances of a 40% open rate.

Capture your Customers’ Behaviours 

You can now easily access your customers’ order history in real-time by integrating the restaurant CRM with POS systems.

Better yet, to make your job a whole lot easier, any changes to point redemptions, rewards or orders are immediately reflected in the platform. 
With this convenience, customer loyalty increases by  over 24% annually, with an additional 17% boost in repeat visits.

Can Restaurant CRMs Fail? (How to Avoid Common Pitfalls)

Ignoring Staff Training

Restaurant CRMs can be super useful, but only if used right. Without proper training, the system becomes neglected.

Almost every one of your staff is responsible to maximize the ROI, so, invest a little in staff CRM training to avoid any potential flops.

Overcomplicating the Loyalty Program

Giving out benefits to customers should be stress-free, but sometimes that’s not the case. If things don’t add up and earning or redeeming points and rewards feel confusing, customers simply won’t bother. 

Instead, keep the rewards simple and valuable—like discounts on your customers’ favorite meal. 

Bombarding Customers with Too Many Messages

Wait, blasting messages isn’t entirely incorrect but, it’s who you’re sending it to. Having the right target group comes first before sending out constant emails or SMS campaigns. 

Those can actually drive your customers away instead of reeling them in. 

The good news? Restaurant CRMs are able to segment restaurant customers based on their number of visits or spending habits.

Picking the wrong restaurant CRM

With many to choose from, your restaurant CRMs need to be mobile-friendly. What happens if that’s not the case? 

The majority of restaurant waitstaffs rarely access desktop terminals. And if you ever notice, only phones or tablets are seen on the counters.

With this obstacle to face, you may be losing out on entering your customers’ details, or their points and rewards can’t be tracked in real-time during the rush hour of every restaurant on busy days.

60% of daily motivated usage rate is evident and enjoyed more when the restaurant CRM system is mobile-friendly.

Best CRM Systems for Restaurants

SimpleLoyalty

SimpleLoyalty stands out for its user-friendly, built in CRM features—no coding required for restaurants like yours. 

Unlike traditional CRMs, SimpleLoyalty helps restaurants and cafes boost engagement and drive more revenue. 

Without the hassle of forms, punch cards, or apps, only by using customers’ phone numbers is enough to collect points, tracking visits, preferences and loyalty behaviour effortlessly.

Toast

Toast is a restaurant POS system with built-in CRM features that track customers’ data from orders, reservations, and email sign-ups. This allows for targeted promotions personalized for each customer. 

While Toast offers a loyalty add-on, it’s not included by default—the platform does provide a free Starter Kit for small restaurants, but advanced tools like loyalty, marketing, and online ordering require paid plans starting at $69/month. 

SevenRooms

SevenRooms is a restaurant CRM built for restaurants and cafes like yours to create a seamless customer experience with built-in CRM and reservation system. 

SevenRooms centralizes customers’ data from bookings, visits, and their preferences, so customers can receive personalized visits and enjoy the benefits.

Unlike other CRMs that mainly focus on marketing, SevenRooms combines customer management, AI-powered table optimization, and automated marketing to boost both efficiency and revenue—all in one platform.

Square

Square is yet another user-friendly and provides free CRM for restaurants, integrated directly into its Point of Sale (POS) system as the Customer Directory. It helps restaurants manage customer information, track purchase history, and analyze customer behavior—all from a single, easy-to-use platform.

When Does a Restaurant Need a CRM?

Customer base is expanding

You may get a bit overwhelmed as your restaurant gains popularity. With customers rushing through your doors, there is manual tracking of reservations, visits and even customer preferences. But a restaurant CRM might help with that burden. 

Restaurant CRMs are designed to store all your customers data in one place, this makes it a lot easier for you and your staff to manage. Your CRM training will go by like a breeze.

24/7 marketing automation

You want to send out marketing and promotional SMS and email campaigns—when’s the right time? and who should you send it to?

Before you blast multiple messages, you might need the help of a restaurant CRM to run targeted SMS and email campaigns, loyalty programs, and promotions for the right customers at the right time. 

You won’t have to risk missing any opportunities engaging with your customers.

You need more familiar faces

Did you know that it’s more expensive to acquire new customers than to keep an old one? 

Building long-term customer loyalty is what a restaurant CRM is good for…besides keeping in touch and personalizing your customers’ offers.

Conclusion

A restaurant CRM is a great way to kickstart your restaurant business to drive sales and customer loyalty. But as good as it sounds, not all CRMs are easily accessible. 

With SimpleLoyalty, you won’t miss a day of repeat visits from your own customers! 

It’s easy-to-use, simple and ready for you in minutes to get started. 

Sign up here for free, and set the stage for long-term success!