Most restaurants are fighting the wrong battle.

They’re chasing new customers while a 95 percent guarantee sits right there in their own data.

The economics are brutal right now. Seventy-five percent of Canadians are eating out less due to cost-of-living pressures. Forty percent of restaurants are either losing money or just breaking even.

Food costs are up. Labor costs are up. Insurance premiums have doubled in some markets.

Every operator I know is feeling the squeeze.

But here’s what most miss: the crisis isn’t about getting people through the door. It’s about what happens after they leave.

The Power of 4 reveals a loyalty pattern hiding in plain sight

First-time customers return at a 46 percent rate. Decent, but nothing to build a business on.

Second and third visits? About 40 percent come back. Still unpredictable.

Then something shifts at the fourth visit.

Return rates jump to 95 percent.

Ninety-five percent.

The fourth visit represents a psychological threshold where casual diners transform into committed regulars. Something fundamental shifts in their relationship with your restaurant.

They’ve established favorites. They recognize faces. They feel at home.

That comfort creates near-certain loyalty.

What this means for your operation

Most restaurants treat every customer the same. They spend equally trying to attract strangers and retain visitors.

That’s economically irrational.

Acquiring a new customer costs five to seven times more than retaining an existing one. Yet most marketing budgets are weighted heavily toward acquisition.

The Power of 4 gives you a specific target. Your goal isn’t repeat business. You need to get customers to visit number four, where loyalty becomes predictable.

Retention stops being vague hope. You get a pathway with measurable milestones.

So how do you engineer that fourth visit?

Start by mapping the journey from first to fourth visit. What’s the typical timeline? Two weeks? A month? Three months?

Then design interventions specifically for visits two and three.

A targeted offer after the first visit. “We noticed you tried our brunch. Here’s 15 percent off dinner this week.”

A personalized message after the second visit. “Glad you came back. Next time, ask for Maria. She’ll make sure you get our best table.”

A meaningful reward timed for the third visit. Something to make them excited about coming back.

Treat visits two and three as your most valuable marketing real estate. These aren’t random touchpoints. They’re the bridge to near-guaranteed loyalty.

Most loyalty programs fail because they’re designed for customers who are already loyal. They reward the tenth visit when the real battle is won at the fourth.

The fourth visit changes your entire revenue model

When you know getting someone to visit four times creates a 95 percent return rate, you forecast revenue with confidence. You can staff more accurately. You can plan inventory with less waste.

You stop hoping customers return. You know they will.

Certainty beats acquisition campaigns every time.

Right now, with 75 percent of Canadians cutting back on dining out, you can’t afford to treat customer relationships like a guessing game. You need strategic clarity about where loyalty actually forms.

The fourth visit is that moment.

Every customer who reaches it becomes a predictable revenue stream. Every customer who doesn’t represents wasted acquisition cost and lost lifetime value.

Strategy beats hope

Most restaurants are drowning in tactics. They’re posting on social media, running promotions, trying every platform and gimmick that promises results.

Tactics without strategy is expensive chaos.

The Power of 4 tells you where to focus your energy and resources for maximum return.

You go from scattered marketing to a system with clear milestones.

When economic pressure increases, clarity wins. You don’t have resources to waste on activities without measurable outcomes.

The restaurants that survive will understand this loyalty threshold. They’ll build their retention system around reaching visit four.

The fourth visit is where you win or lose.

Your competition might already know this. Or they’re about to find out.