Keeping in Touch

Maintaining communication with frequent guests when they're not in your restaurant will help you hang on to those valued customers.

Cohen Restaurant Marketing Group's Joel Cohen says direct mail with frequent diners is most effective if it is correctly targeted and if it has a great offer. Same

Another caution when it comes to e-mail: Use it sparingly, and, as with direct mail, be sure your offer is a good one, or at the very least, a newsworthy promotion. And don't bombard guests' in-boxes. The right frequency is once every 25 to 30 days.

LEYE uses its Frequent Diner program database to tailor its direct mail initiatives. In addition to quarterly statements, newsletters and reward certificates, members also receive periodic promotional offers through which they can earn double points for visiting during their birth month or at other select times.

Tracking guests through its frequent diner program also allows LEYE to execute targeted promos. If a guest has visited, say, two of its Oakbrook concepts but none of the others, LEYE will send materials and incentives to lure the guest to the other restaurants.

And don't forget to take care of guests once you get them back to your restaurant. "Take the time to introduce yourself," says Cohen. "People want to feel special and do business with someone they know."