Apart from offering tasty food, the restaurant industry has come so far where usage of digital tools and technologies not only automates operations but allows them to reach more customers at a pocket-friendly cost. Restaurant business owners use numerous marketing methods to attract potential customers.
From social media marketing to content creating to paid advertising to even certain offline marketing techniques, in short, there are endless options to market a brand online. However, email marketing is one of the techniques that still drives conversion and offers attractive yield.
Restaurant email marketing is the art and science of using email to generate leads for your restaurant business. So, it is a worthwhile investment for your restaurant management. With the existence of Domino’s to Pizza Hut to Burger King and dozens of other brands, it has become very difficult for restaurateurs to survive and gain loyal customers.
Now coming to the main question why email marketing still has that charm to convince customers. Because media and paid advertising can burn your pocket at that time, email marketing could be your best friend.
Gain More Diners through Email Marketing
According to Adobe’s research, here you can see more than 52% of companies using email as a primary communication tool with their customers. Email is one of the ultimate ways to reach out to the audience. It is a direct way to promote your brand in front of an audience.
With the increasing usage of smartphones and wide access to the Internet, email marketing is not only about sending promotional messages, but it helps to build strong customer relationships.
No doubt, you could run paid advertising on social media networks such as Twitter and Facebook. You could distribute pamphlets in local streets, but email marketing helps you increase brand awareness. Check out the below statistics.
- Research from a Gallup Poll reveals that paid advertising on social media attracts only a 5% audience.
- Whereas according to McMethod, email marketing drives almost 400% of engagement and one of the cost-effective methods to gain loyal visitors.
- According to 80% of digital marketing professionals, if you have a solid email marketing strategy, it drives maximum customer acquisition and retention. It means customers will surely pay attention to your email if it relates to their needs.
- Almost 61% of customers enjoy receiving a personalized email every week, and 38% of them would like to receive email from their favorite brands almost daily.
- Since the usage of smartphones is increasing, email open rates from mobile devices have grown 100% since 2012. Hence, marketers are adopting new and emerging techniques to reach mobile users. Fortunately, email marketing stands first as it is an effective and cost-efficient option.
The above statistics are enough to understand the significance of email marketing for your restaurant business. Running restaurant email campaigns is one path to:
- Attract new customers and experience in foot traffic to your restaurant
- Show gratitude to your existing customers
- And entice customers to come back again and again
Restaurant Email Marketing Ideas and Quirky Tips
Restaurant email marketing is a fascinating way to grab local customer’s attention and generate a handsome amount of profit. No matter how many other marketing techniques you follow, successful restaurant email marketing is essential as it offers numerous benefits.
Moreover, if it’s done correctly, it gives your desired results no matter how much you charge or what cuisine you offer.
Entrepreneurs are now choosing a custom website builder for restaurant business where they can send promotional emails without any technical know-how.
Now you must be wondering what excites customers, what to send daily. Don’t worry, your confusion is reasonable. In case you don’t have any clue where to start with your restaurant email marketing campaign, here are some valid and practical ideas that inspire you to get started.
- Promotional mails (promos, discounts, freebies)
- Holiday mail (for brunch or dinner)
- Special occasional mail (send them on festive days)
- Birthday mails
- Calendar of events
- Meet the cook members
- Event proposals
- The story behind the delicious dishes
- Ask for reviews
These kinds of emails usually entice customers. Surely, email marketing is an exceptional way to target your customers. It offers numerous benefits.
Now, what if you have no idea how and what to include in a professional email that grabs eyeballs. If you are searching for email marketing tips for restaurants, we have mentioned a few that make your work easy.
- Start with a catchy subject line
- Don’t bombard customers with email daily. Send them occasionally
- Send at the right time
- Give a personalized touch in sales emails
- Try to use beautiful images and clear CTA
- Include contact information
- Integrate social media sharing button
Now, you must be clear with what kind of email marketing practices you should follow for your restaurant business.
Send Personalized Emails Using Stunning Templates
You want to send a beautiful email newsletter, but starting from zero can be challenging. Thanks to unique ready-to-go email templates that can help get you on your way to stunning, and customized email newsletters that grab customer’s attention. But how to design a perfect email template that can include all the above information and save your time.
Here we have curated a list of the best online email templates that you can use for your restaurant email marketing campaigns and reduce the churn rate.
1. Mailchimp
When we talk about email marketing, the very firm name that springs to mind is Mailchimp. Whether you want to create a personalized message, automate email marketing tasks, or looking for modern features, Mailchimp has it all. Due to its aesthetic touch, more than 600 million emails are sent regularly via Mailchimp.
Small restaurant business owners find it tough to design email templates from scratch, and outsourcing a digital marketing agency is impossible; here, Mailchimp comes as a boon and helps restaurants and delivery business create beautiful email for their campaigns.
Attractive themes to personalized messages to easy drag-and-drop editor, Mailchimp helps restaurants to find the best suitable templates for any occasion.
2. CampaignMonitor
Followed by Mailchimp, CampaignMonitor offers one of the best email marketing services that contains lots of visually appealing templates. Its free email template builder lets you build mobile-friendly emails for your diners. Moreover, templates are fully-tested in Outlook, Gmail, and all other most-used email platforms.
CampaignMonitor has numerous attractive designs for everything from promotional messages to holiday content to ask for customer reviews to much more. You can search for the best template as per your need and get started.
Apart from alluring themes and designs, CampaignMonitor has tons of resources and email marketing ideas that can inspire you to create an eye-catching newsletter for your customers.
3. Zoho Campaigns
Zoho campaigns are another great option if you are looking for the best email templates for your restaurant email marketing. It is perfect for freelancers, food and restaurant business owners, and small businesses, as it allows you to manage the email marketing cycle without any trouble. From choosing a template to organize content to share it on social media, the Zoho campaign is the marketers’ ultimate choice.
Zoho offers unique template designs, having the ability to share email for your social media campaigns, and moreover, you can also import all your Google contacts directly. Paid plans are very appealing. However, you can get started with a free version that allows up to 200 emails per day. If your requirement is more, you can opt for the paid version.
Zoho has more than 25 email templates for different kinds of business emails. All you need to choose the layout that perfectly fits your restaurant theme, then customize it and send them to diners.
4. SendGrid
SendGrid is one of the most excellent sources for free and visually appealing email templates. SendGrid though you can automate email marketing operations without any email infrastructure. From choosing templates to arrange content to testing to sending, SendGrid manages all tasks and helps you improve your marketing email delivery compared to other SendGrid alternatives.
SendGrid could be one of the options for restaurant business owners because it sends emails to almost 15 billion customers every month to drive engagement. Small business owners and reputed multinational companies like Walmart, Airbnb, Uber, Spotify, Pinterest, Hubspot, Foursquare, etc., are using SendGrid because it can manage huge volumes of emails.
5. GetResponse
GetResponse is a popular source that has beautiful and mobile-responsive email newsletter templates. GetResponse offers bulk email marketing services; you can also add social media profile buttons, links, YouTube videos, and much more to make your email more professional and catchy.
Earlier, GetResponse was popular in European countries only, but now it operates in more than 180 countries and helps almost three lac plus small and large scale companies. Well-known corporations such as Marriott, Blueman group, and Glaxo Smith use GetResponse to find new buyers.
6. Colorlib
The main agenda of sending emails is to connect with customers and promote your products and services. Colorlib could be one of the best options for restaurant business owners as templates come with stunning images and designs.
You can display your products, blogs and also edit the content without any hassle. Moreover, all the templates you choose within Colorlib have responsive designs so that they will work well across all devices.
Which One Will You Choose?
Email marketing is a significant part of running a restaurant business. From welcome mail with amazing offers to regular emails – each email allows you to build a personalized and robust relationship with customers.
So, choose wisely, take your pick while keeping your brand identity in mind, and get started with an eye-catchy email template that awakes your customer’s hunger pangs.
Author Bio
I am Brijesh Vadukiya, a tech activist and avid blogger. My major concern is to educate people who are interested in technology.
I am passionate about helping people in all aspects of SaaS solutions, online delivery business, digital marketing, and other related topics that make tomorrow’s world better. I am fond of writing useful and informative content that helps brands to grow businesses.
