In this 300th episode of “Give an Ovation,” host Zack Oates welcomes back Olga Lopategui, a seasoned restaurant marketing consultant and the Founder of Restaurant Loyalty Specialists. Olga shares her expertise in setting up and optimizing loyalty programs for restaurant chains, offering insights into the importance of process optimization and the role of technology in enhancing guest experiences. Tune in to learn about the best practices for maintaining customer loyalty, the impact of effective guest communication, and the strategies Olga recommends for improving guest satisfaction.

Here are some highlights:

What are some of the problems you tend to solve for restaurants? (1:11)

“We work with restaurant chains, usually 25 units on the up, and we help those restaurants set up their loyalty programs, optimize their loyalty programs, move from one loyalty provider to another and sometimes back. So anything related to loyalty and communications through own channels.“

Any tactics or tools that you specifically have found to be successful in creating a great guest experience? (13:11)

“Just little things, I mean from packaging… We created this amazing little bento box called the squee box during COVID. That’s on our menu. We try to put an insert card in all of our bags… It serves two purposes it talks about ordering first party, but there’s also an educational component associated with it.”

Who’s someone who deserves an Ovation in the restaurant industry? (12:55)

“I’d like to Give an Ovation to my client, Smokey Mo’s. They’ve done a fantastic job with launching their loyalty program and with the rebranding. They’ve taken a fairly antique image and turned it into a very, very contemporary, sharp new look and feel.“