Email marketing for restaurants and bars
Getting email content to look as delicious as your food and drink is key!
As a bar or restaurant, it is vital that you know how to market your product. It doesn’t matter if you are a buffet, a cheap place for drinks, or a Michelin star a-la-carte restaurant. Marketing is always needed, to both take on new interest, as well as to ensure previous diners/visitors remain interested.
So, how do you make your marketing content appeal?
Well, first thing’s first is to branch out from social media marketing. It works, but it isn’t personal enough to entice potential diner’s into your offers & promotions, as well as showcase new items on your menu/s.
Email marketing works very well if you are a hospitality business because it is direct, and is a great way to visually entice your readers. Compare this to the traditional “walk around a city and hand out flyers” technique, and you’ll realise email marketing gives you much more of a broad choice of potential customers.
Instead of handing out flyers, offer them a discount on their first visit if they provide you with their email to sign them up to your mailing list. Most people who receive flyers and menus in the street generally throw them away after 5 minutes – If you conveniently pop back up in their inbox, they’re going to be pleasantly surprised. Some people forget all about what you were called and can sometimes want to find out what the hype was/is all about.
To use email marketing effectively as a bar or restaurant, we recommend you use these 3 tips:
1. Make full use of professional imagery – Whether you get someone else to take the photos for you, or you do it yourself, having a visual appeal in your marketing emails can help potential customers to begin craving your food and drinks. Did you know – A recent survey by Campaign Monitor showed 65% of email users preferred emails to contain mostly images?
2. Offer regular promotions, vouchers and special menus in your emails – By providing fresh content in your marketing emails, your readers will always have a reason to come back. Whether it is a rotating menu, a new cocktail, or a voucher they can use for the month, keeping things fresh and updated ensures new and existing customers have a reason to return to your establishment.
3. Showcase your positive feedback, as well as any media appearances your restaurant gets. Email is a great way to give readers who have taken an interest more of a reason to visit your bar/restaurant. It adds a reputation and provides reassurance if you have a great standing in local papers and on review sites like TripAdvisor.
As a bar/restaurant, it is better if you start doing email marketing sooner than later! It is generally free to do with a couple of thousand subscribers, so we recommended you get a list built up now, so you can start promoting your deals, promotions and special dishes!
