Automate Email Marketing For Easy Restaurant Loyalty Program

Last Updated on July 10, 2023
We updated and simplified the loyalty program with 88 Restaurants clients. Historically we offered a gamification system to earn points and badges that helped customers land on a VIP list that encouraged them to come back more often. Customers emailed us asking about details regarding when they would get enough points to earn perks. So we simplified the program to reward customers with a loyalty perks if they dine at participating restaurants more than once a month.  This program is unique in that the reward is given by the restaurant directly to the customers so no middle man exists (or profits) from the program. This helps establish a direct beneficial relationship with the restaurant and their customers that keeps customers coming back often.

Steps To Enable The Loyalty Program
The program is very simple to configure in Tools > Loyalty. Below are the steps and a screenshot. 

  1. Visit Tools > Loyalty to configure the program.
  2. Add a check to the Enable Loyalty Perk checkbox. 
  3. Select from a variety of perks that offer percentage discounts like 10 - 20% off the check or complimentary items like appetizer per 2 entrees, chef's choice appetizer, 50% off bottles of wine, or complimentary dessert.
  4. Add some fine print.  We recommend saying it cannot be used with any other offers and limit the perk if necessary. For example, if you choose complementary appetizer and offer an appetizer like a seafood tower, we recommend using the fine print to say the seafood tower is excluded. Or if you have a wide variety of wines mention the bottle price cannot exceed $50. 

The Loyalty Perks Configuration Screen


Once Enabled, Simply Deliver the Perks!
After enabling the program, all you have to do is deliver perks to customers that earn them. 88 Restaurants will track reservation history and add the perk to customers that book more than once per month. When loyalty perks are earned, there will be a gift icon in the reservations screen by the customer's reservation.  Customers will also have that information included in their reservation confirmation email and the reservation details screen sent to their SMS so they can show your staff they earned the loyalty perk. We recommend encouraging the host staff to notify the server so customers do not have to pull out their phones to redeem perks. It's a nice touch that lets you say "Thanks for dining with us again so soon, we really appreciate your business!"  Below we show the reservations screen with a perk icon and contents highlighted.

Reservations Screen Showing Perk


Tracking Results Using Your Reporting
Proactive restaurants can change their perk each month to see what nets the most repeat customers. Simply visiting Reporting > Loyalty and you'll be able to view how many reservations had perks each month. 

Visit Reporting > Loyalty to Measure Results