Customer comment cards have been around about as long as restaurant marketing has. Even in an age of apps and endless marketing tech, they’re still popular. However, they aren’t even close to being the best solution nowadays thanks to WiFi marketing.

Comment cards have a lot going against them. They have to be printed beforehand, presented to customers, filled out by hand and transferred manually into a database. Each step is a hurdle that slows or stops your customers’ praises or grievances from being heard in time.

Thanks to mobile technology and WiFi marketing, the food and beverage industry can finally be free of comment cards. 77% of Americans own smartphones. The numbers are even higher among younger people with 92% of 18-29-year-olds owning them. If you’ve been to a restaurant lately, you know people can’t put their phones down. So why not put them to use?

WiFi marketing beats comment cards

WiFi marketing is a great alternative to the dreary ineffectiveness of comment cards. It can help gather contacts, capture feedback and connect with customers quickly and automatically. If you have a WiFi connection and free internet seeking customers, you have most of what you need to start.

It works by providing access to guest WiFi in exchange for contact information. Customers provide their email address, and sometimes other details, when they sign in on a landing page. This helps merchants know their customers better. And when customers return, their device alerts your hotspot. You can automatically track customer visits, build rich customer profiles, target communication more precisely and directly measure in-store impact.

Once contacts are collected, you can send customer surveys and communications that can completely replace comment cards. And even better, customers’ visits can trigger specific messages. For example, if a customer visits twice in one week, they might become eligible for a discount.

The advantages of WiFi marketing

If you have a deep fondness for deciphering customer handwriting, or are resistant to change, you might be thinking customer comment cards are fine. Well, just because something’s not broken, doesn’t mean you can’t fix it. 86’ing comment cards will make your marketing more efficient and effective. Here are some things to consider:

Timely feedback is essential.

You need to be able to act on comments quickly. It helps fix problems with your business and protect your reputation. Since WiFi marketing can automatically send and collect customer comments, there’s no delay between the time customers submit their opinions and when you can review them and take action.

WiFi marketing is more convenient

Physical comment cards are either stuck on a kiosk or dropped into a check presenter.  Moving away from physical cards means you won’t have to manage the availability of the cards. And since the cards are filled out by hand, you won’t have to decipher all that scribble later.

Staff can’t interfere.

What do you think the chances are that a staff member will turn in a card that reflects negatively on their performance? Typically, pretty low. Employees have also been known to fill out cards that make them seem like service industry messiahs. Comment cards require vigilance if you have a ‘mischievous’ staff (and who doesn’t?).  

Keep information accurate.

To keep data organized, cards have to be manually entered into some sort of database. Manual entry and difficult to read writing can cause errors. If your data is bad, you won’t be able to take action on it.

Customers won’t feel weird.

Most customers who decide to fill out a comment card have probably had either a really good or really bad experience. If it’s the latter, they might be uncomfortable sharing their feedback while still in the establishment. Or even worse, they’ll fire up a review app on their phone and torch you on the internet.

Comment cards are anonymous

Some might consider anonymity a benefit, but it’s not if you want to fix something that went wrong for a customer. Sure, a comment might alert you to a broader issue, but it’s better if you can address specific customer complaints.

WiFi marketing helps you stay connected.

Comments cards are typically filled out once and that’s it. With WiFi marketing, you can continue a conversation with customers. Besides customer surveys, you can send them interesting content and special offers.

Feedback is actionable.

Receiving negative feedback can trigger notifications, allowing you to take immediate action. Positive feedback can be channeled to positive reviews. Both can be handled in real time.

Give WiFi marketing a try

Visit our site to learn more about how to ditch comment cards or just improve your overall marketing strategy. We can set you up with a demo of our WiFi marketing solution and offer suggestions on how it can help you.