How to build loyalty with delivery customers and get them to order again
A customer who does not come back almost never says so. They just stop ordering.
Short answer
To build loyalty with delivery customers you need three things: a channel of your own, where the customer's contact belongs to the shop; a way to find out when the experience went wrong, in time to fix it; and a reason for them to come back. In practice: ask for a rating after every delivery and answer low ratings the same day, reward people who order often, and reach out to those who went quiet a few weeks ago. A customer who forgot you comes back with a reminder; one who had a problem only comes back if someone found out about it.
Sound familiar?
- You do not know which customers stopped ordering, or since when.
- A customer complained about a cold order right in the delivery app and the shop never knew.
- The promotion brings in new people who never order a second time.
- A loyal customer orders exactly like a new one, with nothing extra for coming back.
- People open your menu, look around and leave, and you do not know why.
Why it happens
On a marketplace, the customer belongs to the marketplace: the contact, the history and the rating stay there. The shop sees the order but cannot talk to whoever placed it the following week. And even on your own channel, without a question after delivery, a bad experience passes in silence. Loyalty is not giving everyone a discount. It is knowing who the customer is, knowing what went wrong and reminding them at the right moment.
Five changes that fix it
The steps below work with a notebook and a spreadsheet too. Software makes each one faster — the order is the same either way.
- 1
Have a channel of your own
A menu with its own link, shared on Instagram, on the table QR and on the packaging, keeps the order and the contact with the shop. DoFast's online menu is that channel, and those orders carry no marketplace commission.
- 2
Ask for a rating after delivery
A short question once the order arrives surfaces the problem while there is still time to apologise. In DoFast the customer rates the order and the delivery on the order tracking page, and a low rating becomes an alert for the shop right away.
- 3
Give them a reason to come back
A simple loyalty card (every so many orders, a reward) works even as a stamped paper card. In DoFast the stamp is added by itself on each of the customer's orders, and the reward coupon is issued when they complete the card.
- 4
Reach out to those who went quiet
Pick out who has not ordered in a few weeks and send a message meant for them, not the same promotion for everyone. In DoFast a WhatsApp campaign can go only to people who have not ordered in a given number of days, and anyone who asks to stop stops receiving them.
- 5
See what people look at and do not buy
A product opened often and ordered rarely usually has a photo, price or description asking for a fix. DoFast's menu analytics show where visits come from, what gets opened and never reaches the cart, and what people search for and do not find.
What changes in practice
The problem reaches you
A low rating becomes an alert the same day, instead of a customer who never orders again.
Loyal customers get something for it
The loyalty card stamps itself and the reward goes out without anyone having to remember.
You talk to the ones who went quiet
A campaign for those who stopped ordering and a reminder for the cart left halfway.
Frequently asked
How do I build loyalty with delivery customers without discounting for everyone?
By focusing the benefit on people who come back. Answering a low rating, getting the order right next time and giving a reward on the loyalty card cost less than a coupon for anyone, and they speak to the customer who already likes the shop. A blanket discount attracts people looking for discounts, and they leave when it ends.
Can I build loyalty with customers who order through iFood?
Only a little, because their contact stays with the platform. The way forward is inviting that customer to your own channel: the menu link on the packaging and the receipt, with a reason to order direct next time. On your own channel the shop keeps the customer's contact, history and rating.
Doesn't messaging customers on WhatsApp turn into spam?
It does if it is the same message to everyone every week. In DoFast every automatic WhatsApp message carries a link for the customer to stop receiving them, and anyone who asked to stop gets neither campaigns nor reminders. The abandoned-cart reminder ships off, goes out once only, and only to people who have already ordered from the shop.
Where does the customer rate the order?
On the order tracking page, after it is delivered, or in the customer area. It is one rating per order, for the order and for the delivery, and the shop chooses from which score it gets an alert. Marketplace orders are left out, because the customer already rates them on the platform.
What handles this in DoFast
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