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If you're looking for a way to promote your restaurant while also establishing connections or even just garnering more business, then email marketing should be the appropriate strategy for you. Email marketing develops direct relationships with potential customers by sending them messages about product promotions and deals through their email inboxes.
It is one of the most popular strategies businesses use to market their products directly to millions of consumers daily. Email marketing is a great start. Here we'll break down how to set up an email campaign for your restaurant and what tools will help you grow your customer base.
What is email marketing?
Email marketing is the process of sending out email messages to your list of customers and potential customers. It's similar to text messaging, but you can send longer messages and include images, videos, and links. You can also set up a drip campaign, which means you schedule emails to be sent at certain times.
For email marketing to be effective, you must build a list of contacts (either people who fill out a form on your website or people who sign up for your newsletter). The best way to start is by using a small, targeted list or email opt-in forms on your website. Just collect their email address and send promotional emails about your restaurant.
How do I get set up?
The first step is building a list of contacts. You should collect emails from people who have visited the website or signed up for a newsletter. If you already have a customer database on your POS, you can import it into email marketing software and keep them updated that way. If you don't have time to do this manually, there are several services that will connect to your POS system and collect contact information automatically.
Benefits of email marketing
There are various reasons you should use email marketing for your restaurant. Here is a few:
· Your customers like to be in control. For example, they'd instead opt-in to your email list and get special offers, versus getting bombarded with phone messages or paper advertisements. Email allows you to give them offers that they want.
· It's a great deal cheaper than other forms of marketing.
· You can gain insight into customer behavior. For example, you can find out which dishes your customers like or which messages your customers get annoyed with.
· It's a great way to communicate with your customers.
· It's an easy way to create brand loyalty and more awareness of your business name and service.
· It's the best way to find new customers.
The essential tasks of an effective email campaign
For email marketing to be beneficial, there are essential tasks that you must accomplish:
1. Deliverability: This depends on your email platform. If you don't have an email service provider (ESP), you may want to consider a third-party solution such as Dripwheel, SendGrid, or Mandrill. You can get these services for free or use their paid plans if your email list is small.
2. Correctly set up the emails: You need to set up a list properly, send emails relevant to each customer, and create a campaign name, categories, and other details about the emailing process.
3. Message: How you present the email to the prospects by including a video or a sign-up box. For people to open and read your messages, you need to send them relevant content about the business and its products.
4. Reassurance: The best way to reassure the prospect is through a gift or voucher when they first sign up. This reassures them that you're serious about their business, and you want to help them.
5. Social proof: This is the process of adding credibility to your messages by including testimonials and advertisements. Websites such as Trust, Zomato, and TripAdvisor can help you gain trust in your customers by adding online reviews.
6. Follow Up: Remind your prospects regularly about their order and how long it will take to process it. This reduces the risk of the customer not finishing the order. Make sure you don't over-promote and don't annoy customers with constant messages. Try to space out the emails you send out every 12 hours.
7. Opt-In: Include an opt-in box in any email to your customers after completing the transaction. This increases the chances of reordering and removes any excuse for not purchasing from you again.
8. Automation: You can automate some or all of your emails through Adobe Inbox software or using Mailchimp or Constant Contact.
9. Frequency: You should send at least one email every six months so that your customers do not forget you. When you are sending emails to your customers, make sure that you delete any duplicate email addresses in your customer list. They will probably unsubscribe from your list if they are getting too many emails.
Takeaway
Email marketing can be used for all sorts of things, from promoting a new menu item to sharing a discount code. It's a great way to tell people about upcoming events and specials. Most importantly, it's a way to let your customers know you appreciate them!
If you've ever received an email from a company saying “thank you” or “you're special to us,” it made you feel special, right? It makes you feel like the company cares about you as an individual. This is important for restaurants because customers nowadays expect personalized service. To provide that, you need to keep your customers updated and encouraged to come back.
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