|
Robert Burko
Email marketing software might not make your food taste any better,
however it will help pack your tables and your reservation list. In the fiercely competitive food
service industry, it is very important that you market your restaurant to guarantee that customers
are frequently dining at your establishment. But, for many restaurant owners, they have a hard time
competing against the multi-million dollar marketing budgets of the major national franchises.
However, a new weapon in the arsenal of restaurant owners has emerged that helps level the battle
field. This new tool, which restaurant owners around the globe are starting to take advantage of,
is simple and effective.
By harnessing the strength of email marketing, all restaurant owners can effortlessly execute
top-notch campaigns with just a few clicks of their mouse. The days of hiring over-priced designers
or absorbing costly printing fees for conventional flyer campaigns are finally a thing of the
past.
Establishments of all kinds have all started understanding the value of collecting customers' email
addresses, allowing them to follow-up with their clientele with the idea of bringing them back into
the restaurant. From fast-food to upscale restaurants, asking for your customers email address in
the way of a signup sheet by the cash register or comment card on the table is no longer the least
bit invasive and is the initial step towards powering your. While your restaurant may not
manufacture an extensive contact list overnight, after a few weeks of assertively gathering contact
information, you will have enough data to upload into your email marketing software and to start
reaping all the benefits.
The majority of email marketing solutions will allow you to easily add your contacts online. In
addition, the top tier email marketing software programs will allow you to partition your data into
different groups. With this ability, you can now separate your contacts by meal times (for example,
lunch vs. dinner) which lets run a specifically targeted email marketing campaign.
Once you have successfully put together your establishments contact list (which is an on-going
process) you can commence with your creative and marketing juices and run wild as you prepare to
launch an email marketing campaign. A main reason that email marketing is very effective in the
food services industry is because it lets the restaurant branch out and communicate with their
customers in a face-to-face setting right in their inbox, and away from the mess of other mass
medium platforms.
Restaurants can employ all kinds of promotions using simple and effective email marketing software.
One of the most popular approaches is to send out an email marketing campaign with a coupon (often
referred to as an "ecoupon"). The offer can range from a certain percentage off the customer's
meal, a free desert, two-for-one dining, or anything else the restaurant owner believes will entice
people to come in for another serving. The two-for-one dining is an effective strategy because the
establishment is promoting both repeat business and new business in one swoop. And, of course, the
new customer has the chance to sign up to the restaurant's mailing list, so they can now also
receive these special email marketing ecoupons.
Email marketing can also be used to announce and promote new menu items, special events, catering
options and more. Since the people receiving the restaurant's email have presumably already had a
positive experience, the email marketing campaign provides an effective tool to keep the restaurant
name on the clientele's map. After all, the more the restaurant can keep its brand in front of the
customer, the higher the chance the restaurant is to be the answer to the question: "Honey, where
do you want to go for dinner?"
When engaging in email marketing, every restaurant can obtain a competitive advantage without the
need to break the bank. And, in this day and age, where every restaurant is competing for the same
customer's dollar, any and all forms of an advantage is a solid ingrediant when aiming at leveling
the playing field between the big national chains and the smaller independent restaurants.
About the Author:
Robert Burko is President of EliteEmail.com, the top email marketing
software trusted by restaurants around the globe. You can start harnessing the power of email
marketing for your restaurant with a no-obligation free trial of our easy-to-use
solution.
|
