Fro-yo girl here. I eat a lot of fro-yo as you know and I visit many fro-yo shops. Sadly, most of the fro-yo shops I visit are places I’ll only visit once. There are certain things frozen yogurt stores can do to increase the likelihood of a return visit. These are things that draw me back to a frozen yogurt shop:
* New fro-yo flavors: This is the main reason that I revisit a shop that I haven’t been to in awhile. If I hear of a new flavor that I haven’t had there before, I’m immediately interested. On a related note, frozen yogurt shops should announce new flavors. Usually I don’t want to pick up the phone to call and ask about new flavors. Make it easy for customers to learn about your new flavors. While new toppings are nice, they don’t interest me as much as frozen yogurt flavors.
* Seasonal flavors: While the fro-yo flavor might not be new (that is it’s never been offered at the shop), I do look forward to the return of certain seasonal fro-yo flavors, especially pumpkin.
* Favorite flavors: If my favorite fro-yo flavor is part of the line-up, I’m definitely inclined to revisit a shop.
* Promotions, contests and special events: Discounts should only be used sparingly but they can be effective. Events are fun and include celebrating shop birthdays, fundraisers, special limited edition frozen yogurt spoons, happy hour, etc.
* Reward programs: They do work. When I get closer to filling up the card, I go more often. I hate rewards that expire. If I don’t think I can fill up the card in time, I won’t even try.
* Having a strong social media presence: If I like a frozen yogurt store, I’m interested in knowing what’s going on and the easiest way to track a fro-yo shop is through Twitter and Facebook.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
Zelda here. I couldn't agree more. As someone who goes out on a daily basis for fro-yo, I have many of the same feelings on these issues. I get so frustrated with shops that don't make a strong effort to keep their customers, especially us die hard addicts. I've even had the owners of a local chain in Washington tell me that they specifically won't post their flavors because they don't want their customers coming in based on flavors but rather for the environment. WTF? Their social media presence is almost non-existent except to announce when they open a new location. And the same yogurt chain refuses to put phones in their stores for customers, so I can't even call to find out what flavors they have. I find myself rarely going to this chain because I'd rather go where my favorite flavors are instead of taking a risk on a lame flavor lineup. Reading your comments really echoed all of my frustrations. I couldn't have said it better myself!
ReplyDeleteHi Zelda,
ReplyDeleteWhat? They won't even put a phone in the store? That's really awful. They need to either keep people informed by updating their social media accounts or allow people to call (what if there's a holiday and you wonder what the hours are). I hope there's a better fro-yo place you can go to?
- FYG