Creating Value by Listening to Customer Feedback

Value. Value. Value. It’s the new Marcia Brady – all anyone’s talking about these days. Guests are demanding it, and restaurants are trying to respond. 

But how do you deliver value? If you’re set up to listen to your guests, they’re telling you how to be successful. This takes an active approach to gathering customer feedback, then a commitment to responding and adjusting your operation based on what’s said. 

We’re taking a look at three different strategies to create value based on customer feedback, and dive into who’s doing it right and what’s helping them thrive. 

Value Menus

Value menus seem to be all the rage these days, and for good reason. They show customers you’re listening to them by providing quality food at a reasonable price. 

Dennys is the latest to bring back its extremely popular value menu – their $2, $4, $6, $8 menu will return in the next few weeks with the addition of a $10 category. This is what their customers wanted: initial tests revealed an uptick in traffic and improved customer perception of value.

McDonalds also made headlines by bringing back it’s $5 value menu. Initially set to last 4 weeks, the chain is now extending its hugely-popular deal. 

Limited Time Offers

Only available for a short amount of time, Limited Time Offers (LTOs) drive curiosity and FOMO for customers. They’re a great vehicle for bringing back guest favorites or experimenting with a new menu item or deal. 

As we wrote about before, Chili’s Bar & Grill recently had a huge hit with their “3 for Me” deal – an appetizer, entrée and dessert all for $10.99. This was created based on customer input about affordable dining options.

Loyalty Programs 

Rewarding customers for coming back again and again is a great way to create both intrinsic and actual value. Restaurant loyalty programs give customers something back for the dollars they spend, building loyalty and incentivizing repeat purchases. In fact, 51% of consumers are using a rewards program. 

With 40 million members on its loyalty program, Chipotle is creating loyal guests, especially through orders on their mobile app. It’s showing up in their bottom line: a 7% jump in comp sales during Q1 was fueled by marketing. 

They’re taking this a step further by diving into customer feedback to personalize their program, offering targeted incentives to loyalty members. 

Value Starts with Capturing Guest Feedback

All this rests on having a robust guest feedback collection and implementation system in place. Without knowing the value your guests are seeking, you’re throwing darts in the dark, hoping to hit on something that they’ll respond to without any information to know where to aim.

This is where a customer experience technology, like Ziosk, is so valuable. Our table tablets seamlessly integrate customer feedback surveys into the payment process, making it simple to collect their thoughts while the experience is fresh on their minds. AI technology brings insights to the forefront so they’re simple to see and implement.  

Plus, value menus, LTOs and restaurant reward programs can be promoted on-screen before and during meals, leading to increased trial, awareness and check totals. 

Delivering value could be as easy as listening to your customers. See what they have to say and change your business for the better.