Quick Summary: Email marketing is one of the effective ways to increase digital footprints and build sustainable customer loyalty. But you can enjoy its benefits when you utilize email marketing best practices. So, this article helps you understand the nitty-gritty of email marketing for restaurants. Let’s explore.—
Are you running a restaurant? Are you new to this restaurant business? Are you planning to run a restaurant email campaign? You have come up with an excellent idea! But you need to understand how to run an email marketing campaign for your restaurant. That’s a tricky one, even if you are pro to your business.
While digital marketing strategies for restaurants include various tools and techniques, this article will help you explore the best email marketing ideas for restaurants in detail. Furthermore, it will support you in maintaining the effectiveness of your campaign, no matter who runs this on your behalf.
Is Email Marketing Effective for Modern Business?
Yes. Email marketing can be an effective way for modern businesses to reach and engage with their target audience. It can be used to build brand awareness, promote menus or services, and drive website traffic and restaurant sales. However, the effectiveness of email marketing depends on a variety of factors, including the quality of the email list, the relevance of the content, and the frequency and timing of the emails. Additionally, it is important to comply with laws and regulations related to email marketing, such as the CAN-SPAM Act in the US.
The Key Elements of Email Marketing
There are several vital elements of effective email marketing, Let’s understand them in detail:
Building a mailing list of targeted customers: Building a mailing list of engaged and interested individuals is crucial for the success of an email marketing campaign.
Integrating clear call to action (CTA): The email should have a clear call to action, such as a link to a website or a button to make a purchase.
Mobile optimization: With more and more people accessing emails on their mobile devices, it’s crucial to ensure that emails are optimized for mobile viewing.
A/B testing:
- Use A/B testing to optimize email subject lines.
- Content.
- Calls to action to improve the performance of the campaign over time.
Regulatory Compliance: It’s crucial to comply with laws and regulations related to email marketing, such as the CAN-SPAM Act in the US.
Customer segmentation: Segmenting the email list based on demographics, behavior, or past purchases can increase the relevance of the email to the recipient and thus boost the open and click rate.
Automation: Email automation triggers specific emails based on subscriber behavior, such as abandoned cart emails or win-back campaigns for inactive subscribers.
Benefits of Email Marketing For Restaurants
The benefits of restaurant email marketing can be determined by the fact that there are around 4.5 billion email users worldwide. This data is continuously growing and is expected to reach 4.9 billion in 2027. That means more than half of the world’s population will use email. Given the statistics, it is clear that email marketing is an opportunity for more businesses, including restaurants. And it should be noticed.
Some more interesting statistics:
- The average email open rate for the restaurant industry is 40.03%.
- 67% of restaurant owners have automated their email marketing.
- The average click-through rate for restaurant marketing emails is 2.44%.
- About 26% of restaurants use email as their main way of communication with customers.
So, keeping that in mind, you might have a question, what are the benefits of using email marketing or restaurants? We have created some of the top benefits you can gain using email marketing. So, let’s take a look at them.
Build Stronger Relationships With Customers
Email marketing is one of the finest ways to build relationships with customers. Even though mobile messengers and chat apps, like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, have witnessed massive growth recently, e-mail continues to be an integral part of daily online life. Simply a restaurant newsletter can help you build a strong customer base and enhance customer relationships.
Cost-Effective To Implement
Email marketing is relatively inexpensive compared to other forms of advertising. You can start email marketing for your restaurant just by buying tools and getting effective email marketing written by a writer.
Build Targeted Audience
Restaurants can build targeted email lists of engaged and interested customers, which increases the chances of the email being opened and acted upon.
Increased Brand Awareness
Consistently sending out email campaigns can help increase brand awareness and keep the restaurant top of mind.
Enhanced Online Ordering Engagement
Email marketing helps promote your restaurant’s online ordering system effectively. By sharing exclusive discounts or limited-time offers through emails, you can drive more takeout and delivery orders while boosting customer convenience.
Drive Sales
Restaurants can use email marketing to promote specials, discounts, or events to drive sales and increase foot traffic. This could be an effective sales strategy like Instagram marketing boosting visibility and improving customer footprints.
Provide Trackable Results
Email marketing campaigns can be tracked, allowing restaurants to measure the success of the campaign and make adjustments as needed. In marketing, data is king and with email marketing, you can easily achieve it.
Increased Customer Loyalty
Consistently sending out valuable and relevant content can help to increase customer loyalty and repeat business. It’s an invaluable gem that you can get using effective means of email marketing.
Restaurant Email Marketing Best Practices
Email marketing response rate is higher than Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram marketing, with a more than 15% clickthrough rate.
To achieve the maximum response from email marketing for restaurants, you must adopt best practices. There are several best practices for restaurant email marketing:
Email Personalization
Use the recipient’s name in the email and segment the email list based on past purchases or behavior to make the email more relevant.
Add Exclusive offers
Send exclusive offers or promotions to entice customers to visit the restaurant. In addition, you can include personalized recommendations to existing customers.
Think Twice Before Creating a Subject Line
The email subject line is the first thing your users or recipients will see. Use a clear subject line to grab the recipient’s attention and entice them to open the email.
Utilize Images or Video
Images or videos are the most authentic way to attract users to your restaurant. You Use images and videos of the restaurant and its food to make the email more visually appealing. This will help you find out what you serve and how you operate.
Incorporate Interactive Elements
Include interactive features like polls, quizzes, or clickable menus in your emails to engage recipients. These elements make your content dynamic and encourage customers to interact with your messages.
Highlight Sustainability Efforts
Showcase your restaurant’s eco-friendly practices, such as sustainable packaging or locally sourced ingredients. Sharing these initiatives helps connect with environmentally conscious diners and builds trust.
Segment Your List
Divide your email list into segments based on customer behavior, preferences, or location. This ensures that each email is relevant and resonates with the intended audience.
Brand Consistency
Maintain consistency in your email design by using your logo, brand colors, and tone of voice. A cohesive brand identity helps your emails stand out and reinforces recognition.
Automated Email Sequences
Set up automated emails for specific triggers, like welcoming new subscribers or sending reminders about upcoming events. Automation saves time and ensures timely communication.
Mobile Optimization
There are more than 4 billion people, mostly Millenials and Gen Z use the smartphones. Therefore, ensure the email is optimized for mobile viewing, as many people access it on their mobile devices.
Suitable and Clear CTA
Include a clear call to action, such as a link to make a reservation or a promotion code for a discount, a menu, online ordering, downloading the app, and more.
Choose Right Time to Send Email
Email marketing for restaurants becomes essential when sent at the right time. Consider the timing of the email, such as sending it out on a slow night or during a promotion, to increase its effectiveness.
Keep Your Email List Updated
Keep your email list updated by regularly removing inactive subscribers to improve the open rate and response rate.
Apart from these, you can also consider law and regulation compliance, customer segmentation, and more. We have discussed these points in this article above.
Best Restaurant Email Marketing Examples
There are many examples of email marketing that we have given below. You can also use email marketing templates to win customers. The top 5 examples include the following;
Let’s understand these examples in detail:
Happy Hour Specials
Send out an email daily highlighting your restaurant’s happy hour deals, including discounted drinks and appetizers. This will help your restaurant get the attention of users looking for special discounts on their favorite food and beverages.
Limited Time Offer
Limited time offer does a great many things. For example, it creates a sense of urgency, promotes your special dish or menu items, and drives sales. You can use this trick to entice users by promoting your restaurant’s special items available for a limited time.
Seasonal Menu Announcements
Send out an email highlighting your seasonal menu items, such as fall-inspired dishes or summer specials. This keeps customers excited about your restaurant’s evolving offerings and encourages them to visit before the menu changes.
Chef’s Table Invitations
Invite your loyal customers to exclusive chef’s table events or cooking classes. Highlight the personalized experience they can expect, such as tasting unique dishes prepared by your head chef.
Loyalty Program Updates
Keep your customers informed about their loyalty points and upcoming rewards. For instance, send an email reminding them how close they are to earning a free meal or other exclusive perks.
Event Invitations
Send emails inviting your customers to special events like wine tastings, live music nights, or holiday-themed dinners. Include details about the event, like the date, time, and any special offers.
Weekly Newsletter
Send a weekly newsletter to subscribers with updates on your restaurant’s menu, events, and promotions.
Birthday Discounts
Collect email addresses from diners at your restaurant and send out a special offer for their birthday, such as a complimentary dessert or a discount on their meal.
Customer Appreciation
Show your customers that you value their patronage by sending out an email with a special offer or discount as a thank you for their continued support.
Read Also Why and How to Use Google My Business for Restaurant
Where does Foodiv Stand Here?
Foodiv is an restaurant online ordering system that helps small, medium, and large restaurant owners automate their operations. We at Foodiv help you not just implement the restaurant’s off-the-shelves software; we also help you strategize your restaurant process.
