​3-minute read ---
As a restaurant owner, you are always looking for ways to attract new customers and keep your regulars coming back for more. One way to accomplish this is through the implementation of a loyalty program with one or several campaigns. A loyalty program rewards customers for their repeat business, which leads to increased customer retention, increased customer satisfaction, and ultimately, increased revenue. In this post, we will review 5 steps to successfully implementing a restaurant loyalty program and how you can make more money with restaurant loyalty programs.​

Step 1: Identify Your Goals and Objectives

Before implementing a loyalty program, it's important to identify your goals and objectives. What do you hope to achieve by implementing a loyalty program? Are you looking to increase customer retention, boost customer spending, or both? Once you have a clear idea of your objectives, you can begin designing your program.

3-minute read ---
​
As a restaurant owner, you know that the point of sale (POS) system is the backbone of your business. It handles everything from taking orders and payments to inventory management, and from customer data collection to financial reporting. That’s why it’s so important to choose a POS system that is proven, efficient, and effective.

Aldelo Express is one such POS system that has gained popularity among restaurant owners due to its comprehensive features and user-friendly interface. Plus, unlike its competition, Aldelo Express includes POS features, modules, and access to valuable third-party integrations at zero additional cost.

​Here are some of the reasons why Aldelo Express is a superior POS solution for restaurants:

​3-minute read ---

​There are many reasons why restaurants should purchase a point of sale system (POS). One is that a reliable point of sale solution will actually help a restaurant increase their sales and bottom line profits by effectively controlling the three “P’s” of a business: People, Payments, and Products. Systems like Aldelo Express POS help restaurant owners increase sales by stopping theft, enforcing proper pricing for each menu item, and encouraging customers to return to the business with integrated Masa+ Gift Card and Loyalty programs.

​Here are the top 5 ways Aldelo Express POS can increase sales for your restaurant:

3-minute read ---

In the modern market, restaurants that offer digital loyalty and rewards programs see increased sales. Digital loyalty and rewards offer restaurants a competitive advantage in gaining and retaining customer allegiance in their local market. Restaurants that use Masa+ Loyalty and Rewards create multiple custom loyalty and rewards campaigns that cater to both existing and new customers. Operators can launch campaigns that specifically target a day of the week or meal period that are traditionally slow to increase traffic and sales.

Merchants that choose Aldelo Pay and approved Aldelo Partner merchant services receive the Masa+ multi-store digital Loyalty and Rewards Program available on the Aldelo Marketplace at ZERO additional cost. Any restaurant can utilize the flexible loyalty and rewards solution for one or more stores that allows operators to directly cater to the needs of their business and influence customer behaviors.

5. Easy to Set Up and Manage

​Merchants activate Masa+ with a single click, taking only a few minutes to activate the highly flexible Masa+ Loyalty and Rewards program, all managed through a cloud back-office environment.

4-minute read ---
​
​The end of the year brings increased business and excitement as restaurant owners and staff work hard to serve an influx of customers and prepare for the coming year. For business owners, reflecting on the past year and writing down specific and measurable goals for their business makes them more likely to succeed in the coming year.

Aldelo is committed to helping merchants succeed. Unlike some point-of-sale software vendors whose direct contact ends after the system is installed, Aldelo supports restaurant owners throughout their initial year of use and beyond. Aldelo does this to ensure that merchants utilize the Aldelo Express native POS solutions, modules, and features that help their business thrive and grow. Plus, Aldelo merchants receive unlimited software updates and feature releases year-round, ensuring they are always operating with the latest-version POS software.

​Here are 5 considerations for restaurant owners as they prepare for the coming year:

3-minute read ---
​
The month of October is famous for Fall Harvest Festivals, pumpkin patch trips, the Major League Baseball Post-Season Playoffs, and Halloween. Each one of these October activities provides restaurant owners an opportunity to encourage new and existing customers to visit their restaurant by incentivizing menu purchases via gift card, loyalty, and rewards-based promotions.

Here are a few ways restaurants can engage their customers this October:

3-minute read ---
​
​Largely ignored in the US for years, QR codes are proving daily how much of a productive and trusted asset they are to business owners in today’s unpredictable market climate. As restaurant owners continually adjust to the contactless and digital market, utilizing QR code-based access to native and third-party online ordering and digital payment integrations help staff and customers increase operational efficiency, reduce order errors, and improve overall customer service levels and satisfaction.
​
With eight out of ten people carrying a smartphone camera in their pockets, unique QR codes enable restaurants to put ordering and payment capabilities into the hands of their customers, including:

• Paperless menus
• Place online orders
• Scan-and-pay at the POS
• Web-based digital payments
• Leave cashless tips
• Receive paperless receipts
• Gain loyalty points
• Trigger curbside pick-up
• Digital restaurant storefronts
• And more!

3-minute read ---
​
The school year is back in swing, which means restaurants are engaging schools, students, and school groups in their local communities. For many customers, their daily schedules are prioritized around their childrens’ school, extracurricular activities, and their local social network. By supporting students’ success while encouraging new and existing customers to return the favor through support of their business, restaurants successfully increase customer traffic this fall and throughout the school year with back-to-school themed campaigns.

Here are three ways to engage your local customer base with back-to-school themed campaigns and events:

Homecoming Catering and Promotions

Homecoming is an exciting time of year for students, families, and their communities. With homecoming float-building, dances, and football games occurring throughout the fall season, restaurants have a unique opportunity to support local schools with homecoming-themed catering and promotions. Examples include:

3-minute read ---
​
Aldelo has always been, first and foremost, a restaurant point-of-sale software developer. Whether it’s responding to merchant feedback to enhance existing POS applications, or introducing new native solutions such as the Aldelo Express Inventory Module, Aldelo’s full-time team of software developers is committed to providing restaurant owners and referral partners with “complete access to leading restaurant technologies.”

To best serve new and existing restaurant owners looking for affordable full-featured point-of-sale solutions, Aldelo Express POS supports “freedom of choice” processing. This includes a monthly POS SaaS option that enables merchants to purchase the Aldelo Express restaurant technology platform separately from their restaurant’s merchant payment processing services. The result is allowing more restaurant owners to benefit from Aldelo Express’s full-featured cloud POS solutions while using credit card processing services that best suit the needs of their business.

​Selecting the ​Aldelo Express POS technology platform means implementing a complete merchant- and customer-facing POS ecosystem using non-proprietary hardware and a single cloud back-office environment. Aldelo Express POS hardware options are seamlessly interoperable and synchronize data so that information is readily available on any device, allowing merchants the freedom to select hardware they feel is best for their operation. Whether utilizing iPads, Android Tablets, or Android-based Mobile Handheld devices, every Aldelo Express terminal is capable of supporting a complete restaurant operation. 

2-minute read ---
​
Because coffee is the most popular drink in America, nearly every restaurant offers hot or cold coffee beverages on their menu. This September 29th, on National Coffee Day, restaurant owners across the country are taking advantage of the opportunity to promote their restaurant’s digital menus with coffee-themed loyalty campaigns. By incentivizing digital online ordering purchases with coffee-based giveaways and discounts, businesses see increased purchases of food and drinks placed both in-store on QR code-based digital menus, and online.

For new and existing restaurant owners, offering a full-featured digital menu means enabling customers to customize their own coffee-based drinks using simple, complex, and priced menu item modifiers. Using a single cloud-based login, owners/operators monitor and manage digital menus and menu item modifiers anytime, anywhere through the Aldelo Express POS cloud back-office. When used alongside self-service Kiosks and QR code-based signage placed throughout the indoor and outdoor restaurant environment, restaurants utilizing Aldelo Express and Masa+ eliminate long lines and reduce wait times through on-demand customer-facing digital ordering and secure payment services.

4-minute read ---

One of the best strategies a restaurant can make at the end of a busy summer season is leveraging customer contact information gathered over the previous several months and establishing new loyalty campaigns. Promoting reward incentives that cater to busy schedules keep customers engaged despite a transition into school-year routines. When successful, these restaurants not only retain summer customers, but can present their restaurant as a “grab and go” option or as an ideal “hotspot” for parent meetings, local fundraisers, or a fun time out.

​Here are 3 creative ways to target customers this September with themed campaigns:

5-minute read ---
​
For millions of Americans, September marks the end of summer. By the end of August, summer tourists, campers, and out-of-towners are going back to their school year routines, making September a challenging period for many restaurant owners who are at risk of losing new summer customers. As a result, one of the best things a restaurant can do is target their customers with integrated loyalty and rewards incentives so they will be reminded of their favorite “summer stop” throughout the school year. When successful, these restaurants not only maintain a growing customer base, but present their restaurant as an ideal vendor for fundraisers, sports team gatherings, homecoming catering, and more.

One of the best ways restaurants can strategically compete in the growing loyalty market is to reward customer purchases and influence return visits with unique customer promotions. These help restaurants increase customer traffic and earn additional revenue that is often essential for sustaining the business during slower periods.

2-minute read ---
​
Red wine is one of the most popular alcoholic beverages among U.S. consumers. This means that National Red Wine Day (August 28) offers restaurants and bars a unique opportunity to promote new and existing partnerships with local wineries, tasting rooms, and restaurants through cross-pollination advertising and collaborative campaigns.
​
For example, a restaurant and tasting room partnership can use National Red Wine Day to encourage customers to purchase their favorite food and drinks in a tasting room environment, or purchase locally-made wines with their meal on a restaurant’s premises. Partners can offer their menu items in promotional bundles or through limited-time discounts. In both scenarios, business owners and operators make customers aware of existing collaborations, influence guests to place orders for additional items, and can generate future visits with limited-time gift card, loyalty, and rewards offers.

3-minute read ---
​
Masa+ digital online storefronts are an essential tool for restaurants using the Aldelo Express POS system. With a Masa+ online storefront, restaurants support enhanced self-driven experiences for their customers in-store and online, allowing access to digital food and drink menus, selecting and customizing orders, easily re-ordering their favorite food and drinks, and settling transactions with minimal engagement by restaurant staff.

The recent release of Masa+ V2 features an updated user-friendly interface with consistent color schemes, styles, and workflows that provides a smoother, more enjoyable experience for customers as they view digital menus and place orders from personal smartphones. With so many third-party online ordering integrations available on the market today, Masa+ offers restaurants a sleek yet full-featured solution that seamlessly operates with Aldelo Express and is available at ZERO additional cost.

4-minute read ---
​
In 2022, more customers are digitally ordering and paying for food and drinks than ever before. Nearly every restaurant has a digital online storefront and/or access to their menu through native and third-party ordering and payment platforms. With immediacy and convenience driving nearly every transaction, restaurants must provide a secure way of protecting credit cards, gift cards, loyalty credits, and other digital tenders to confidently provide customers with these modern services.

For restaurant owners using Aldelo Express cloud POS to run their restaurant, bar, or food truck, integrating Masa+ secure digital wallets is a no-brainer. The native integration is browser-based, enabling customers to access their secure digital wallet from any device through a single login. Each Masa+ digital payment tender works seamlessly with the Aldelo Express cloud POS software and back office reports, allowing owners and operators to monitor and track Masa+ sales and determine the most lucrative digital payment programs for their business. Regardless of whether an order was placed off-premises or in-store, Masa+ digital wallets enable streamlined POS operations in any environment, and improve experiences for both customers and restaurant staff.

5-minute read ---
​
Ice cream is one of the most popular desserts in the United States, especially during the notoriously hot month of July. For small business owners using Aldelo Express and Masa+, promoting loyalty programs with ice cream and ice cream-based frozen desserts helps draw customers into their store during the hot summer season. With Aldelo Express and Masa+, owners of single and multi-store restaurants launch campaigns that influence customers’ dining choices, generate repeat visits, and motivate guests to purchase additional items.

Aldelo Express and Masa+ users customize their restaurant’s unique loyalty program using digital and physical loyalty credits, or a combination of each. Customers can earn loyalty credits by purchasing specific menu items, ordering food and drinks using specific delivery methods (such as dine in, takeout, curbside pickup, and off-premises delivery), or by placing orders within specified time frames. Each one of these loyalty program strategies helps restaurant owners leverage sales of particular menu items to avoid wasted inventory, increase business during slower periods, promote new products and services, or increase overall business revenue.

3-minute read ---
​
The summer season often brings groups of young customers to diners, smoothie shops, and other local restaurants. These types of customers are looking to get out of their house and go to a fun environment where they can eat and spend time with their friends – and get away from the summer heat. Restaurants are making the most of the summer season by incorporating loyalty promotions and creative events that attract hungry customers with great deals, great food, and family-friendly fun.

4-minute read ---
​
As customers step into the summer season through weekend getaways, family vacations, and exotic adventures, resort and hotel managers can offer enhanced VIP-level guest experiences using flexible, innovative and customer-centric cloud point of sale solutions. With Aldelo Express Cloud POS device interoperability, remote device management, and full-feature usage via Wi-Fi or Cellular Data, owners and operators integrate new poolside and mobile POS services alongside traditional orders and payments.

Here are five ways Aldelo Express Cloud POS benefits poolside and resort point of sale operations.

5-minute read ---

​This year, Father’s Day is on June 19th. Each year, businesses compete to be the go-to restaurant for a Father’s Day meal or dessert. For new or independent businesses, this often makes it difficult for their promotions to stand out from the crowd. But with extended or week-long Father’s Day campaigns, local restaurants improve customer traffic and earn additional revenue while increasing brand exposure to the community.

By promoting Father’s Day reservations, buffets, and specials one to two weeks in advance, restaurants provide a convenient way for customers to plan ahead or find them for last-minute gift decisions.

4-minute read ---

​For many business owners, switching to a new point of sale system is an expensive, but necessary, investment. Learning a new restaurant technology and management system brings a learning curve for both managers and employees. Generally the losses and delays associated with implementing a new POS system are justified with enhanced operational efficiency and overall system cost-effectiveness.

Owners/operators that make the switch to Aldelo Express Cloud POS, on the other hand, deploy a complete restaurant technology solution in minutes, and receive unparalleled POS value over the life of the system. Plus, with familiar user interfaces (UIs) across all devices, restaurant staff transition to using the iPad- and Android-based system in just days, not weeks, saving the business time and money.

3-minute read ---

​Labor is one of the most controllable costs business owners have. With the right visibility, managers know when to prepare for an influx of orders, and conversely, when to reduce purchases and related inventory levels. Having proper insights into the operation allows managers to properly staff and control labor costs.

​In addition to these reporting features, modern restaurant point of sale technology provides a means to nimbly manage expenses based on the current needs of the business. By implementing digital services that include ordering, payments, and digital receipts, businesses become less reliant on physical labor. Additionally, these businesses reduce costs related to managing guest services such as printable receipts, legacy gift card, loyalty, and coupon programs. By going digital, restaurant information becomes readily available to operators in order to make important business decisions that protect the bottom line.

3-minute read ---

​People enjoy resorts because they are exciting getaways from ordinary work and daily routines. The best resorts and parks have great food (that guests don’t have to prepare), great hospitality (that make guests feel like celebrities), and great entertainment for guests to enjoy.

In these types of environments, people are constantly moving around and making purchases as they go. There is an expectation of VIP service and luxury experiences throughout, so the faster and more convenient transactions are, the more satisfied customers will be as they roam from poolside bars to restaurant dining rooms, multi-level clubs, seaside bars and snack shack bungalows. Being able to serve in fluid, mobile environments means shorter lines and less congestion for customers getting and other services, providing overall enhanced customer experiences and providing more physical space.