Depending on your business, there are a number of different campaigns you could run during the holiday season.
The type of campaign you decide to run will depend on the products and services you offer, and the audience you’re trying to reach. You will also need to consider the type of results you’re looking for, and your overall goals for the upcoming season. Constant Contact email marketing and the new Facebook Ads have been most successful.
To help you get started, we’ve compiled a list of possible campaigns you can try out.
Offer a coupon
The key to a great offer is that it’s compelling enough to get people to act. You can add a coupon to any email and let customers redeem in-store or online.
Hosting a holiday event is the perfect way to thank customers for their continued support. It’s also a great opportunity to interact with your audience face-to-face.
Contests are a great way to engage your audience and can help generate buzz during the holiday season. Come up with a prize that your customers will love, and encourage them to enter by providing their email address.
If running a promotion doesn’t fit your business, you can still do something special for your customers by sending them a thank you email or offering something of value.
How to Get The Most Out of Your Restaurant Email Newsletter
A compelling email newsletter can be a very powerful tool for restaurants. They can inform customers about latest dishes and events and promote a restaurant’s unique personality to differentiate from other restaurants. But how can you ensure that you are creating an effective newsletter?
Vibrant images and calls-to-action
You have a sizeable customer email list and are reaching out to your customers on a regular basis. Now what? How do you ensure that your newsletter stands out from the other newsletters your customers receive on a daily basis? Having a vibrant image and a convincing call-to-action can help give your newsletter that edge!
You can start by including eye-catching photos that will draw their attention. Try including an image of your latest dish. Think of a vibrant color/image as one which stands out from the background and would draw someone’s attention almost immediately. The image should also match either your restaurant or newsletter’s content so it remains relevant and cohesive. An example of such an image is:
Banko Cantina chose this image for the restaurant’s all-you-can-eat tacos on Taco Tuesday special. (Source: Banko Catina)
Once you have picked an image, are your email newsletters actually bringing customers back to your restaurant? Are you engaging your customers with content that leaves them wanting to do something about it? Ensuring that your email newsletter is effective in bringing customers back through an exciting and convincing call-to-action is the next important step in promoting your business.
Start with the most important information. For example, if there’s an upcoming special or event on Tuesday night, state all the details pertaining to it. This should include the date, time, and specials your customer will get from attending. A good subject title would be, “Enjoy $1 tacos this Taco Tuesday!” This title works because it’s personal, direct, and simple. Exactly what a customer wants. You are also being explicit in the benefit your customer will get for going to your restaurant on Tuesday.
Customers want to feel special. Personalized and exclusive offers given to them because they are on your mailing list will make them feel that way. This gives them a feeling of being rewarded while also making it easier for you to track the results of your marketing campaign. It’s a win-win!
Great content
Still, some people receive hundreds of emails a day. How do you stand out? There are some general rules of thumb to ensure that your communication doesn’t get lost on its way to a customer.
Start with a click-worthy subject line. Be sure to keep it short, sweet and enticing. You have about 5 seconds to grab their attention, so make it count!
Sometimes a restaurant email newsletter promotes more than just specials, it’s a reminder of how great your restaurant is to customers who haven’t visited in awhile. Spreading the word about an update in your menu or changes to your restaurant’s look will encourage them to come back. You can also highlight positive reviews of your restaurant such as a favorable quote from a recent customer. This reinforces that same feeling amongst other customers, encouraging them to write their own positive review or even just to return to your restaurant. Following these steps ultimately helps in the reputation management of your restaurant.
Lastly, don’t forget to make the newsletter personal. If you have their names, include them. Adding a personal touch to your newsletters will make customers feel special and more inclined to go back to your restaurant.
A great example would be “Happy Hump Day, Alex! Next drink on us.” It’s personal, direct and simple, and your customer is incentivized to click on it.
Using the proper tools
Knowing what to include in a newsletter is only half the battle; doing it on a regular basis is what can really save you time.
Entrepreneur Magazine noted that many companies are seeing open rates on their newsletters as low as 5 percent. However, if you are able to leverage marketing automation with the right tools, you will be left with more time to think about the content of your newsletter and execute it effectively.
An automated marketing platform not only helps you easily build your email marketing database, but it can help create and schedule your emails both simply and automatically. Zenreach is an example of such a platform.
Not only does Zenreach let your customers sign into your portal and receive a customized WiFi experience, it allows them to participate in your restaurant’s special offers and deals.
Still not convinced? Sign up for a free Zenreach trial today and see how a marketing automation platform can grow your business in just 30 days!
Spearhead Multimedia and Zenreach make it easy! Try It Today
How does your reputation online affect your business offline?
We live in a day and age where consumers openly air their complaints online for all to see. Ask any business owner to think back to a negative review left online, and they’ll sigh, wishing they could have resolved their customer’s concern privately before public and permanent damage to their reputation was done. Studies show that businesses risk losing 22% of business when potential customers find one negative article on the first page of their search engine results. Two negative reviews on the first page? 44% lost. Four or more? You could lose up to 70% of potential customers.
Many business owners worry that automating their email marketing makes their business seem impersonal. In reality, when done right, email automation demonstrates to your customers just how well you know them. When you send your entire customer database the same email – the information may not be relevant to every customer. This runs the risk of customers disengaging with your emails, deleting them from their inbox, or even flagging the messages as spam. Instead, use automated email marketing to target key groups of customers with messages relevant to them.
Do you ever get an email and think “what was the point of sending me this?” It wasn’t informative. It didn’t tell you anything you didn’t already know. It wasn’t actionable. So what exactly were you supposed to do with it?
If you run a bar, it’s never too early to start thinking about football season. We all want to make sure our spot is the go-to place to watch every game. So how do you get fans in the door? And how do you keep them coming back for more?
How to Get The Most Out of Your Restaurant Email Newsletter
A compelling email newsletter can be a very powerful tool for restaurants. They can inform customers about latest dishes and events and promote a restaurant’s unique personality to differentiate from other restaurants. But how can you ensure that you are creating an effective newsletter?
Look for our next blog post about creating compelling content. Meanwhile, learn more about Spearhead Multimedia and Zenreach and how we create an automated, hands-off system to build your customer list, manage your reputation and keep your current customers informed. Learn more…
Special offer: Sign up between now and March 31, 2018, to receive a free first month and we’ll waive the cost of the access point (a $199 value). Sign up now.
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