Electronic loyalty cards for restaurants on EfirCards

Restaurant business owners have to build long-term relationships with guests in the face of short-term interaction and fierce competition. Visitors have become more demanding, they quickly switch places, do not remember establishments and rarely return just like that. It happens that the cost of one attracted customer is comparable to the margin of an entire check, but attracting a guest is only half the battle. It is much more difficult to keep him, to make him return, bring friends, become a regular customer.

The AVADA MEDIA team has developed a flexible platform where you can quickly launch a loyalty program in the restaurant business, without developing from scratch, manufacturing plastic cards and additional costs. Electronic loyalty cards for restaurants EfirCards allow you to attract, retain and analyze customers from the first visit, as they are built into the customer's daily habits: browser, Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, Telegram.

EfirCards is a digital platform for launching and managing loyalty programs in the restaurant business and beyond. It allows you to create virtual discount cards for restaurant guests, set rules for accruing discounts, bonuses or stamps, automate the program and see its effectiveness in numbers. No paperwork, staff errors or manual calculations - all the accrual logic works automatically and can be integrated with your cash register system.

For the restaurant business, EfirCards are:

• a platform for launching a clear, flexible and effective loyalty system that influences guest return;
• a tool for personalized communication via Telegram, email, SMS and push notifications;
• an analytical module that shows what works and what needs to be adjusted;
• a way to quickly launch a restaurant discount program without developing from scratch and without the help of specialists.

With EfirCards virtual loyalty cards for restaurants, you build a lasting relationship with your guest: from the first visit to regular visits, recommendations and an increase in the average check. A restaurant discount card is, first of all, a way to thank you for the visit, which stays with the guest on his phone and reminds him of you even when he is not in the establishment.

How a restaurant discount card works

EfirCards digital loyalty cards work through Apple/Google Wallet and Telegram. This means that a guest can add a card to a restaurant in a few seconds using a QR code, without installing additional applications. And you get access to tools that allow you to:

• offer discounts, bonuses or gifts for repeat visits;
• track the activity of each guest and understand who really returns to you;
• automatically launch mailings based on events (birthday, card expiration, stamp accumulation);
• manage the loyalty program based on analytics, not intuitively;
• automate the entire process from registration to points redemption, as EfirCards supports integration with cash register systems via API.

For a restaurant, this is a way to work not only on attracting customers, but also on retaining them. And in a highly competitive environment, it is repeat visits that form the bulk of the profit. A well-designed loyalty program reduces advertising costs, reduces customer churn, and brings your brand closer to the guest.

Thus, the main task of implementing restaurant loyalty cards is to retain and turn a new visitor into a regular guest who returns and recommends you to friends, shares on social networks, and perceives your establishment as part of their lifestyle.

In the restaurant business, it is recommended to apply different loyalty mechanisms to occasional visitors and regular guests who come in several times a week and choose you for events. The EfirCards platform offers four main types of cards that are easily adaptable to the tasks of your establishment.

1. Discount card

A classic restaurant loyalty program card that guarantees a guest a fixed discount on all or certain menu items. Simple and clear mechanics that work well in high-traffic establishments and motivate visitors to make repeat orders.

2. Restaurant cumulative discount card

The discount increases based on the amount the guest has already spent at your restaurant. This format is great for establishments with high average check, encouraging customers to come back and spend more to get a bigger benefit.

3. Cashback cards

Cashback cards return a portion of the purchase amount back to the customer's account in the form of bonuses or real money. This is a versatile tool that helps retain the guest by allowing them to spend the accumulated bonuses on subsequent orders

4. Stamp cards

A guest receives a stamp for each visit or order, and after accumulating a certain number of stamps, he is entitled to a bonus - for example, a free meal or a discount. This mechanism is as close as possible to traditional paper cards with stamps, but at the same time works completely in digital format. Stamp cards are most relevant for fast food, bistros and other establishments with a rapid turnover of visitors.

The choice of mechanics depends on the format and strategy of your institution:

• for restaurants with a high average check and a loyal audience, accumulation and cashback cards are suitable - they motivate to spend more and come back more often;
• for establishments with high traffic, it is better to create stamp cards - simple, understandable and emotionally engaging;
• Classic restaurant discount cards are universal – they are easy to understand and effective both for starting a loyalty program and for quickly attracting new guests.

An important advantage of virtual cards for restaurants EfirCards is the ability to quickly and independently change the settings, design, and expiration dates of cards, test new mechanisms, and adapt them for seasonal promotions or special events.

The visual design of a restaurant's electronic loyalty card builds trust, emphasizes the atmosphere of the establishment and willingness to invest in details, and affects the value of the card for the guest.

In EfirCards, you can fully customize the appearance of the card to match the corporate identity of the institution:

• upload the logo and set the corporate colors;
• choose a background image (for example, a photo of a dish, a hall or a chef);
• place a QR code, barcode, Google Wallet and Apple Wallet icons;
• add active links to the website, social networks, online menu or reservations.

An advanced visual editor is available for stamp cards, which allows you to set the background color, select a stamp icon (for example, a coffee cup, dessert, glass), and customize the color of the active and inactive stamp.

You can also customize the registration form. The form for obtaining a restaurant discount card will be visually consistent with the card: the editor specifies the background, logo display, and other elements that emphasize the visual integrity of the brand.

Before you start designing your cards, it's important to remember that visual design isn't just about aesthetics. It makes the card memorable, which increases the likelihood that the guest will use it.

The modern guest does not want unnecessary steps. For any visitor, it is important that everything is simple, fast and convenient, without unnecessary actions. This is exactly how the EfirCards work scenario is arranged - from the first contact to the first bonus.

1. The guest scans the QR code and is taken to the registration form – the code can be placed in the cashier area, on the table, on the menu, in the waiters' checklists, or on the website.
2. Fills in a few simple fields that you can customize yourself: name, phone, email, etc.
3. Receives a restaurant discount card, which is immediately automatically added to his smartphone - in Google Pay, Apple Wallet or Telegram.
4. On the next visit, the customer presents the card, and the system applies a discount, accrues a bonus, debits cashback, or stamps the loyalty card - depending on the chosen mechanism.

Thanks to API integration, the waiter or cashier does not need to manually check discounts or mark visits. This is convenient for guests, minimizes errors and speeds up service. And gives management transparency and control: who used the card, when and how.

Electronic discount cards for restaurants help build subtle, unobtrusive and relevant communication. For this, EfirCards has implemented a trigger newsletter module. You can configure messages that are sent to guests automatically in response to certain scenarios - in email and Telegram, in SMS and push notifications (via Apple Wallet and Google Wallet).

The following events can be used as triggers:

1. Program registration – send the guest a welcome message with thanks and a description of the benefits.
2. Accumulation of bonuses or stamps – to inform that there is only one visit left until the gift.
3. Birthday – offer a festive compliment from the boss or a personal discount.
4. Card expiration – remind the guest to continue participating in the program.
5. Last transaction – 7 days after the visit, you can send a message inviting you to return.
6. Level Up – Congratulations on reaching a new threshold in the accumulation program.
7. Geo-push – send a message with an invitation to dine and a greeting if the client is near the restaurant.

Triggered mailings increase guest loyalty and trust. Setting up mass messages via electronic loyalty cards for customers is quick and easy, thanks to the program's intuitive interface.

The EfirCards system provides the restaurant with deep analytics tools that allow you to see not only the overall picture, but also the specific impact of each format of the restaurant's loyalty cards. You can track:

• number of cards issued over a certain period, broken down by type;
• usage dynamics, i.e. how many customers activated the card and returned to you again;
• the number of transactions for each card type and the total amount of revenue they generated;
• frequency of visits to understand how client behavior has changed after receiving the card;
• response to mailings, which shows how many customers open messages, click on links, and return to the restaurant after reminders.

The information is available in the form of graphs and tables. You can filter it by periods, segments, or individual bonus cards.

Electronic loyalty cards for HoReCa businesses help managers make informed decisions, namely:

• understand which mechanisms work and which do not;
• optimize the promotion budget: by estimating how much it costs to have one returning guest;
• test hypotheses: for example, what works better – a 10% discount or every fifth cocktail for free;
• increase the customer's LTV (his long-term value to the business).

Analytics in EfirCards is not a complex BI system, but a convenient dashboard available to the institution administrator or marketer directly in the service interface.