Turning Occasional Guests into Regulars: Leeni Heino on Loyalty Tech for Nordic Restaurants

As the Nordic restaurant landscape becomes more competitive and digitally driven, building lasting guest relationships is more important than ever. To explore how technology can help restaurants turn occasional visitors into loyal regulars, we spoke with Leeni Heino, Marketing and Engagement Specialist at Cluby. In this interview,

Leeni shares her perspective on the power of first-party data, the evolution of loyalty programs, and practical steps any restaurant can take to grow guest retention and sustainable revenue in 2025 and beyond.

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1. What do you see as the biggest opportunity for restaurants in the Nordics when it comes to technology in 2025, and why?

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In my view, the biggest opportunity lies in using technology to build and retain customer relationships. The Nordic restaurant scene is innovative when it comes to food and service, but still underdeveloped in customer relationship management. When restaurants start collecting first-party data — knowing who visits, how often, and what they buy — they can communicate directly and give guests a reason to return.

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This move from an anonymous transaction to a recognised relationship is where I see the biggest untapped potential for growth in 2025. By using simple tools to unlock this data, restaurants can strategically drive repeat visits and build lasting loyalty, rather than constantly relying on expensive new customer acquisition.

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“The biggest opportunity lies in using technology to build and retain customer relationships. When restaurants start collecting first-party data—knowing who visits, how often, and what they buy—they can communicate directly and give guests a reason to return.”

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2. How is technology reshaping day-to-day operations in hospitality at the moment?

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The technology is transforming daily operations by making them significantly more approachable and centralised across the entire hospitality sector. Businesses, such as restaurants and nightclubs, are now looking for tools that are simple to use and genuinely effective at reducing administrative workload.

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The fundamental shift is the move from disparate systems to one unified solution that enables multiple functions without overcomplicating things. This unified platform provides hospitality businesses with new channels for customer engagement. For example, a restaurant can leverage technology for direct marketing through email, or create digital passes that replace ineffective physical solutions, such as traditional paper stamp cards, with a solution stored directly on the customer's phone.

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The biggest change technology offers is not 'more tools,' but rather a unified platform that provides a clear, centralised view of sales and loyalty data across the business. This means technology supports hospitality instead of replacing it. In practice, this leads to less admin and more focus on delivering excellent guest experiences.

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3. From your perspective, how are guest expectations around technology evolving right now, and how should restaurants respond?
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The shift in guest expectations is profound: they now demand smooth, connected, and personal experiences—the same seamless standard they get from world-class retail or streaming services. The key change is the expectation of recognition; guests do not want to feel anonymous, and they are increasingly looking for something extra—added value or a unique experience driven by that recognition.

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But above all, restaurants should just start somewhere. Begin with one simple, consistent tool, like a unified loyalty platform, and use it systematically to secure those direct guest relationships. This approach allows restaurants to grow results step-by-step. Over time, that commitment to simple, consistent use always pays off, turning anonymous transactions into valued relationships.

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4. What’s one mistake you often see restaurants make when adopting new tech, and how can they avoid it?

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I believe the single biggest mistake restaurants make is seeking an instant silver bullet and over-complicating the initial implementation. This stems from the belief that technology alone will deliver results without genuine commitment or internal effort. A common error is adopting a complex system, expecting immediate, game-changing results, as if the tool will do all the work automatically.

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When these results don't appear instantly, operators suffer from 'tech fatigue' and abandon the solution. Furthermore, this mistake often involves adopting several disconnected tools that add complexity instead of reducing it.

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My advice is simple: adopt a step-by-step approach to growth and choose solutions that are easy to implement and genuinely useful from day one. Good technology shouldn’t require a big transformation; it should fit naturally into existing routines and make daily restaurant work easier, not harder.

• Start Small: Choose one simple, high-impact feature to begin with. For example, move your physical stamp card system to a digital pass or, if you host events, start selling tickets directly yourself instead of using a third-party vendor.
• Embrace Progress: Results don’t appear overnight. Building a loyal customer base takes time, but progress can be seen quickly when you make the right initial commitment and take consistent actions. Technology shouldn’t feel like a project; it should feel like progress. Use the insights from that first feature to learn, and then add the next layer of functionality to grow results step-by-step.

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5. If you could give restaurant owners one practical tip for using technology to grow in 2026, what would it be?

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The single most practical tip for using technology for sustainable growth in 2025 is to systematically secure your direct guest data to build the foundation for a loyal customer base.

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Use your digital membership or data capture system to offer an irresistible, instant joining benefit—a free coffee, a complimentary side dish, or a strong first-purchase discount (e.g., 20% off). This incentive is what allows your technology to start the process of collecting guest information.

• Promote visibly: Print high-visibility materials promoting this specific, instant reward.
• Engage staff: Ensure that all personnel are fully aware of the benefit and trained to actively mention it to guests during checkout.

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This focused use of technology rapidly builds the direct communication channel you need to grow long-term loyalty and turn anonymous visits into recurring revenue.

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6. Loyalty and guest retention are becoming central to restaurant growth. How do you see the role of first-party data and loyalty technology evolving for restaurants in the next few years?

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"Loyalty and retention are no longer 'nice to haves,' they are non-negotiable foundations for financial health. The real power lies in using technology and first-party data to understand customer patterns and communicate personally.”

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I think we’ll see loyalty shifting fundamentally from being a separate, transactional rewards system to becoming the central engine for sustainable growth. Loyalty and retention are no longer 'nice to haves,' they are non-negotiable foundations for financial health.

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The core challenge facing the industry is making brilliant service visible and repeatable. Restaurants do incredible work but often struggle to capture that magic. The real power of the evolution lies in using technology and first-party data to understand customer patterns and communicate personally. This is how you connect the dots, turning everyday guests into familiar faces who keep coming back.

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The future of technology here is simplification and automation. Technology will provide the easy-to-use tools that make the complex process of building loyalty simpler and helps grow results step-by-step. This automation ensures that while building a loyal customer base takes time, the process is handled in the background, freeing staff up to focus on the human side of hospitality. Ultimately, loyalty technology facilitates the shift from simply offering benefits to truly understanding and valuing the guest relationship.

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About Cluby

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‍Cluby is a digital platform that helps restaurants build stronger guest relationships through customizable loyalty programs, direct communication tools, and data-driven marketing. By making it easy to reward loyal customers and engage diners with personalized offers, Cluby empowers restaurants to drive repeat business and grow their brand.

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About Leeni Heino

Leeni Heino is a Marketing and Engagement Specialist at Cluby, where she helps restaurants harness digital tools to build stronger guest relationships, drive loyalty, and create memorable customer experiences.

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