Every restaurant wants new customers. But the relentless focus on acquisition — food delivery platforms, Instagram ads, influencer partnerships — often comes at the expense of the more profitable strategy: keeping the customers you already have.
Acquisition Costs Are Rising
In Singapore's competitive F&B scene, acquiring a new customer through advertising costs $15-30 per head. Food delivery commissions take 25-35% of order value. Influencer partnerships cost $500-5,000 per post with unpredictable results. These channels bring traffic, but the cost per customer is high and rising.
Retention Is 5-7x Cheaper
Retaining an existing customer costs $3-5 — the cost of a push notification, a small bonus credit incentive, or a personalised message. Yet retained customers spend 67% more than new ones, visit more frequently, and refer friends organically.
The Retention Math
If you retain just 5% more of your existing customers, you can increase profits by 25-95% (depending on your margins). For a restaurant doing $50,000/month in revenue, a 5% retention improvement could mean $12,500-47,500 in additional annual profit.
How to Shift the Balance
- Invest in a CRM that tracks customer behaviour
- Send timely push notifications to lapsed customers
- Offer loyalty tiers that reward repeat visits
- Use topup/wallet systems that pre-commit customers to return
Experience Zeno provides all of these tools — free. Start retaining more customers today.