3 strategies chefs and restaurateurs can use to increase guest value. Blog by Oystein Mojord from Chef & Yöung

Oystein Mojord from Chef & Yöung shares his top 3 strategies and tactics chefs and restaurateurs can use to help boost customer value.

• How can loyalty schemes increase your restaurant profits?
• How can smartphones create huge opportunities for the hospitality industry?

There are many ways to improve your guest’s lifetime value and it is important to remind yourselves of the true value behind customer retention and brand loyalty. You need to find a mix of strategies and tactics that work for your business and below there are 3 key strategies which you can consider. 

Boost sales for loyal guests

To increase the guest’s lifetime value you can sell more to your loyal guests and there are several sales tactics, which can be used. Common tactics within the restaurant industry has been focused on upselling where restaurants offer additions such as wine or higher value items to the meal. This might provide the guests with a better experience and additional sales if it’s done right. When it’s not done based on a guest’s best interest and too frequently to your loyal guests, they can experience it as “pushy” and uncomfortable and will most likely not return. 

An approach to safe proof the sell technique is to approach every guest with questions, not a “sales pitch”. Start with closed-ended questions to put the guests at ease and make them comfortable, then gradually introduce open-ended questions to help them reveal what they are really interested in. This way your guests feel they are being listened to and your relationships and sales will be stronger. 

Another option than up-selling is to develop loyalty cards and offers to promote repetitive purchases. Read more about how you might do this here.

Keep guests returning for longer

Another way to increase your guest’s lifetime value is by keeping them returning for longer. It is crucial to keep your loyal guests returning as they bring continuous sales and a good reputation to your restaurant. It also costs significantly more to get in a new guest than keeping your loyal ones. 

Implement a reward and loyalty programme to show your guests that you are willing to invest in them and to give them more incentives to return. The longer they have been coming, the better their rewards. Perhaps organise a special event with a cocktail class or a musician to show your gratitude? 

Lower costs

The guests value can be increased if you sell more to each guest, keep them for longer and then there are reducing your costs per guest. With every restaurant, costs are a big concern and needs strong controls.  

Firstly, find out what your variable costs are that changes with the volume of guests. Secondly, explore ways of reducing these costs without reducing the service to your guests. E.g. are there new technologies that you can implement? For example, instant messaging is a much more cost effective channel than phones, as it is much quicker for your staff to deal with multiple messages at the same time. More and more people also prefer this way of communicating. Read more here.

Lastly, where possible and if it works with your concept, try to offer guests self-service options which can improve your staff’s efficiencies and reduce overhead costs. 

Oystein Mojord

Chef & Yöung is a Scandinavian brand working to grow the talent and passion of yöung chefs and foodies, promoting cooking as a lifestyle. Everything started when the Norwegian chef, Oystein, travelled around the world and noticed that there was a high demand for quality chefs in the kitchens; meanwhile his colleagues were constantly switching jobs. He decided something had to be done and Chef & Yöung was born to bring in a new attitude among yöung chefs and promote cooking as a lifestyle. Oystein co-owns Chef & Yöung with Mattias Nordlander who focuses on the sales, marketing and finance side of the business.

Twitter: @chefandyoung