Why Cash Back Marketing Is a Must-Try for Restaurant Owners in 2023

gravatar
 · 
January 6, 2023
 · 
7 min read
Featured Image

As a restaurant owner, you're always looking for ways to increase revenue and stay ahead of the competition. One strategy that is gaining popularity recently  is cashback marketing, where customers are offered a percentage of their purchase price back in the form of cash (sometimes also points, but in this article we will focus on cash). This incentivizes customers to make repeat purchases, as they know they will be rewarded for their loyalty on shopping at these locations.

In the past, cashback marketing was typically only available to larger companies with the resources to implement and manage complex rewards programs. However, thanks to advances in technology, and especially CLO (card-linked offers), it is now possible for small and medium-sized businesses, including restaurants, to easily implement cash back marketing campaigns part of their customer acquisition strategies and compete against those bigger brands.

With online platforms and apps, it is now possible to set up a cashback rewards program with just a few clicks. This means that even if you don't have a large marketing budget or team, you can still offer cashback rewards to your customers. Additionally, and maybe most importantly -  there is no need for specialized equipment or infrastructure to track purchases and give cash back automatically to customers. Customers can easily redeem their cashback rewards using their smartphones, making the process seamless and convenient.

In short, you could easily say that cash back marketing is a valuable and accessible strategy for restaurant owners looking to increase revenue and customer loyalty. In the next section, we will discuss the various benefits of cash back marketing for restaurants.

Restaurant owner, about 40 year old woman using POS system. On top of the image is a blue overlay and text ''As a restaurant owner you know that customer loyalty is essential for the success of your business''

The Benefits Of Cash Back Marketing For Restaurants

As a restaurant owner, you know that customer loyalty is essential for the success of your business. By offering cashback rewards, you can encourage customers to choose your restaurant over competitors, leading to increased repeat business and higher revenue.

But that's not the only benefit of cashback marketing for restaurants. Here are a few more reasons why you should consider implementing a cashback rewards program in 2023:

  • Stand out in a crowded market: With so many restaurants to choose from, customers are always looking for reasons to choose one over another. Offering cashback rewards can give customers an added incentive to choose your restaurant, which can help you stand out from the competition.
  • Cost-effective way to drive business: Unlike traditional marketing methods, which can be expensive and difficult to measure, cash back marketing allows you to directly track the effectiveness of your 
  • Increased customer satisfaction: In addition to incentivizing customers to make repeat purchases, cash back rewards can also increase customer satisfaction. Customers who feel valued and appreciated are more likely to have a positive experience at your restaurant and recommend it to others.
  • Proven success in various industries: Cash back marketing is not just a trend – it is a proven and effective strategy that has been used by various companies across different industries. For example, a study by the Wharton School of Business found that a cash back rewards program increased customer spending by an average of 28%. Additionally, several large companies, including Walmart and Amazon, have reported success with cash back marketing campaigns.
  • Get millions of people to see your offer and only pay for the results campaign deliver:
    Most of the cash back networks offers you to post your campaign to their network for totally free, without any monthly or setup fees (for example we operate that way). That makes it easy for you to attract all those users of that cash back network and show your offer to them, and most importantly - only pay the commission when you get new sale through campaign.
  • Easy to implement to use and start: With nowadays card-linked offers technology (CLO) you can start cash back marketing campaigns really easily, without any additional equipment. The cash back company will track all the transactions with the CLO technology so you don’t have to worry about that. CLO’s are automated and easy way for both, customers and businesses to enjoy the benefits of cash back.

    You can read more about CLO technology from this article, but overall we will cover the technology briefly in the next section.

Overall, the benefits of cashback marketing for restaurants are clear. By implementing a cashback rewards program, you can increase customer loyalty, stand out in a crowded market, and drive business in a cost-effective way. In the next section, we will discuss how technology makes it easy for restaurants to implement cashback marketing.

How Technology Makes It Easy For Restaurants To Implement Cash Back Marketing

Thanks to advances in technology, it is now possible for small and medium-sized businesses, including restaurants, to easily implement cash back marketing campaigns.

Manage and track your campaigns with ease: Running a restaurant is a demanding job, but managing cashback campaigns doesn't have to be. Say goodbye to the hassle of managing complicated campaigns- with the help of online tools, even busy restaurant owners can easily track and optimize their cash back campaigns in a blink of an eye. No more compromising on other crucial tasks that are part of your everyday routine.

From the dashboards you can see how much each customer is spending, how much they are being rewarded, and how effective your campaigns are at in the most important metric - driving business and increasing revenue. This allows you to fine-tune your marketing strategy for maximum effectiveness without having to spend hours on going through some transactions on your books or trying to find all those missing paper punch cards.

Provide a seamless and convenient experience for customers: Customers can easily, and automatically redeem their cash back rewards using their smartphones. This makes the process seamless and convenient, and ensures that customers have a positive experience with your rewards program and you don’t have to worry about causing big lines in the cashier when trying to scan or stamp paper punch cards.

Overall we could say that technology, especially all the time improving CLO technology makes it really easy for even non tech-savy restaurants to implement and manage cash back marketing campaigns (btw, we listed 18 best free marketing tools for restaurant owners) In the next section, we will discuss the various statistics and examples of successful cashback marketing campaigns in the restaurant industry.

Laptop on the table showcasing cash back marketing tool showcasing home screen of Benjamin app

Statistics And Examples Of Successful Cashback Marketing Campaigns

Cash back marketing has been shown to be a successful and effective strategy for various industries, including the restaurant industry. For example there are at the moment there are more than 17,000 local restaurants in our cash back network who already enjoy the benefits of these campaigns. To give you more insights about the campaigns, here are some statistics and examples of successful cash back marketing campaigns in the restaurant industry:

In this case study by GetKard writes that McDonald's average transaction value of $8.86 during their cash back campaign was 10% higher than the market average. It also increased 23% vs. the prior period ($8.86 vs. $X).  

Burger King Cash Back Campaign with GetKard

  • Average transaction value during the campaign increased a whopping 25% vs. the prior year ($10 vs. $7.50).  
  • The offer encouraged a 15% increase in the average number of visits -- 1.5x compared to just 1.3x the prior year.
  • Nearly 70% of customers who used the offer once made another purchase within   two weeks.  Notably, locations in Georgia averaged 5.5 visits per store!

Most of those 17,000 local restaurants have also reported success with cash back marketing campaigns, and we are about to publish some of those results pretty soon.

Overall, there are numerous examples and statistics that show the effectiveness of cash back marketing especially in the restaurant industry, where purchases and buying decisions are made based on many different factors, and one of them being cash back amount offered from the purchase.

Conclusion - Give Your Restaurant An Edge With Cash Back Marketing

In conclusion, cashback marketing is a valuable and accessible strategy for restaurant owners looking to increase revenue and customer loyalty. With the help of technology, it is now easy for restaurants to implement and manage cash back marketing campaigns, and there are numerous examples and statistics that show the effectiveness of this strategy.

If you are a restaurant owner and want to try cashback marketing in 2023, contact us to learn more and get started. Our team of experts can help you set up and manage a successful cashback rewards program, and provide the support and guidance you need to drive business and increase customer loyalty.

Don't miss out on the benefits of cashback marketing – contact us today and start increasing your revenue and customer satisfaction in 2023.

Macbook that shows Benjamin Cash Back Marketin Tool on the Browser
wordmark-white

© 2024 Benjamin Capital Partners, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Benjamin Capital Partners, Inc. is a financial technology company and not a bank.