The use of email marketing (also known as "e-marketing") by a restaurant may seem antiquated in the era of social media, but it is still the most effective way to deliver personalized and targeted offers, messages, and advertisements to your most devoted customers.
The best approach to keep people engaged with your business is through email marketing for restaurants. You can use it to inform customers about new menu items, exclusive deals, or just to entice them to visit again.
Email is one of the most reliable and rapidly expanding platforms, unlike social networks and paid advertising, and it is also the simplest and most efficient approach to bring in more consumers to your restaurant.
Email campaigns are without a doubt great tools for keeping your company and your consumers in touch.
Email marketing has the major benefit of allowing you to sell your brand regardless of the size of your company. You don't have to have a sizable advertising budget or be a well-known brand to launch a mass email campaign. A promotion strategy that is available and practical at all levels is email marketing for restaurants. All you require is a specialized tool that enables you to effectively manage every step of email campaign creation.
There are many types of email marketing and today we are giving examples and tips about email marketing for restaurants.
5 Reasons To Include The Email Campaign In Your Restaurant's Communication Strategy
It directly influences the intended audience
It takes more than just being online to advertise your business. You must be able to communicate with your audience using all available means, preferably directly and naturally. Even more so if it is accessed on a smartphone, email continues to be a daily and private space. Because of this, each time a client opens an email, it's as if you could sit next to them and invite them to sample the delectable fare at my restaurant. They are very likely to accept your invitation and book a table for that same evening.
Users willing to interact with you and voluntarily subscribe to your contact list make this a powerful penetrating force.
You can obtain quick outcomes
Today, checking our e-mails is a daily pastime in and of itself. And even more so among those who are accustomed to performing tasks like restaurant reservations online. Email is a direct, impromptu, and quick conversation because of this, producing an effect and a response that are equally important. If your email marketing campaign is executed properly, you can immediately attract more clients. Additionally, if you use the action buttons wisely, you will be able to draw in your customers' friends, coworkers, and relatives, which is ultimately the main goal of these tactics.
It can make you know your customers better
Emailing is a great tool to help with restaurant management and better understand your target demographic. Making the appropriate judgments is aided by having a list of clients and information about them. Utilizing contact list management tools, such as the one provided by TheFork, can help you build a strong database and learn important details about your clients' preferences and patterns of behavior. This is excellent for determining how to target your marketing campaigns correctly and how to improve your product or service.
You can learn a lot while investing little.
The cost of mailing is not as great as that of other advertising channels. It has low operational and resource costs, and it also functions as a tool for quickly calculating the return on investment so that your budget can be adjusted. Email marketing is thought to increase sales by 13%.
It increases client loyalty
You may talk to your subscribers directly and frequently by sending them emails. By informing your customers in real time about what is happening in your restaurant, you can build stronger bonds with them and provide them with the inspiration they need to keep enjoying your business and returning frequently. This is made possible by the tool, which enables you to effectively segment your audience and produce the appropriate messaging and content for each segment. When you give a customer exactly what they want, they are loyal.
Tips Of Email Marketing For Restaurants
Create a database
Making a contact list is the first stage in any email marketing campaign, including one for a restaurant. Here are some pointers to help you do it as soon as possible:
To attract newsletter signups, include a simple link or form on your website.
By giving your clients a deal or a free gift on their subsequent visit, you might entice them to join the list.
Include a postcard with the bill so that those who come to eat there can sign up.
Include a social network link where people can sign up to receive your emails or newsletters.
As customers wait for their orders, provide a sign-up sheet at the takeout counter.
Be aware of any email-related legal requirements
Many international regulations exist with the purpose of defending consumers from spam and other forms of predatory marketing. Although effective restaurant email marketing software should help mitigate these hazards, it's wise to familiarize yourself with the guidelines before you start.
Greetings to your clients
After joining a mailing list, eight out of ten users anticipate getting a welcome email. It's crucial to represent your brand correctly because this will be the prospective subscriber's first engagement with your business.
You may establish a positive first impression with prospective clients through a welcome email before they ever come in. This kind of attention is a great strategy to influence their decision in your favor because you know that potential clients are conducting additional research before choosing on a specific establishment.
Send your marketing emails when it will be most effective
The best and worst times to send marketing emails have been the subject of numerous studies, and the results are very variable based on the demographics of the respondents. The best thing a company can do is experiment with sending emails at various times and days. Next, monitor your open and click through rates and determine which days are most effective for you.
Decide on a focal point item.
Getting your customers to open your email is the first step. Finding something that will catch their eye while using terms that won't land you in the spam folder is the trick. Additionally, make sure the subject line is brief, with 35 to 50 characters.
Remember to add your contact information
While it's true that your clients can discover this information on your website, why should they bother to search for it themselves? Now that you have their attention, it is the ideal opportunity to quickly win them over.
A link to your website, social media accounts, an online order and/or reservation form, and your phone number should be prominently displayed in the header or immediately below your logo. These details can be included at the bottom of your email if it isn't too long; just make sure they are prominently highlighted. It's also a good idea to give your hours and address if there's room.
Personalize your communications
Customers choose to patronize small companies in order to help out their neighbors and local community. Include a remark from the proprietor, recognize a standout employee, or ask the chef to comment on noteworthy menu modifications to give your business a human face.
To make your readers' mouth water, use unique pictures
It can make a difference in whether someone merely reads your email or clicks the "buy now" button if you include photos of your new menu or ones from a recent farmer's market. However, you don't necessarily need to hire a pro to take great pictures. Just make sure you have a smartphone that isn't too old, some diffuse natural light, and are knowledgeable with professional composition techniques.
Define your objective and your target
Each email campaign needs to have a specific goal; otherwise, you'll get erratic results that are hard to quantify.
Ask yourself what you want from your subscribers before each sending:
create an internet purchase order;
obtain a loved one's sponsorship;
emphasize your gift cards;
encourage entry into a contest;
boost your reputation and image;
“Upseller” (sell something more following an order)
boost interest in your most recent blog post...
Once you have chosen your sending goal, you must modify the message to fit both the goal and the intended recipient. In fact, you wouldn't send the same message to a student, a client who stops by for lunch at work, or a mother who takes her kids out to dinner.
Personalize your mailings
You may improve the personalization of your emails to make them more effective by segmenting your audience and making sure the proper information is requested when registering (particularly the first name).
Your employee, the use of the recipient's name, individualized recommendations—the more you know about the audience for your campaigns, the more pertinent they will be.
Use responsive design for sending messages
Test your campaigns on several devices before delivering them, including tablets, smartphones, laptops, and desktop computers. Your message must be free to glide naturally across all screen sizes. This is referred to as "responsiveness."
How To Write Your Mailing?
Catch the eye
In the email's subject line, make a strong first impression right away. There is no magic bullet, but you should always bear in mind two requirements to locate the proper trigger: be relevant and personal.
Keep it easy to read and crystal clear
Remember that an email does not have the same reading style as a book or a newspaper article. It must be constructed using best practices for screen readability and information architecture. Stay away from the jumble of typos and colors. The secret is simplicity!
Make your hooks more editorial
Simple and quick to read calls to action, such as "I'm getting 30% off," are preferable. Do not put off reading your content because your reader is already doing so.
Emphasis on empathy
“A new advertisement, ugh!” most users will think to themselves. "What else do they want from me?" as they say this to themselves. Make it evident that you have empathy in your sales speech. Declare your proposals, and your responses right away in total transparency.
Condense your message
Never discuss two different offers in the same mail. A mailing campaign has just one objective. An instruction, a demand for action. The simplicity of everything should be maximized. Your client must immediately understand what you expect of him, without any effort or need for reflection.
When To Send The Mailing Of His Restaurant?
Tuesday or Wednesday, 10 am or 3 pm, continue to be the greatest times for "all sectors together".
Thursday between the hours of 8 and 10 a.m. continues to be the greatest time "for physical stores and motels."
As a result, there are two tales and two solutions to a problem. Do "all sectors" or "physical shops" appeal to you more? Knowing when to send your restaurant mailing will come with experience.
It takes more than just being online to advertise your business. You must be able to communicate with your audience using all available means, preferably directly and naturally. Even more so if it is accessed on a smartphone, email continues to be a daily and private space. Because of this, each time a client opens an email, it's as if you could sit next to them and invite them to sample the delectable fare at my restaurant. They are very likely to accept your invitation and book a table for that same evening.
After joining a mailing list, eight out of ten users anticipate getting a welcome email. It's crucial to represent your brand correctly because this will be the prospective subscriber's first engagement with your business.
You may improve the personalization of your emails to make them more effective by segmenting your audience and making sure the proper information is requested when registering (particularly the first name).