Succesful email marketing can connect you with customers in a way that directly impacts your bottom line. If a customer signs up for your email list - chances are that's a loyal customer. Repeat business is the best business, so keep your regulars happy and engaged with email marketing that gives them what they want - information about you! So set up a list, maintain it well, and send to it often. How often? It depends on your customers - but one per week to one per month is probably right. How do you know how often to send? Pay attention to your metrics:
Email metrics 101. "Open rate" is a very important indicator of how successful your email marketing is (that's the percentage of people who open your marketing emails). 18% open rate is average - that may not seem like much, but think about how many marketing emails you receive on a daily basis and consider how busy your customers are, and that number doesn't seem so bad. If you're getting under 18% open rate, or if you have a high number of unsubscribes every time you send an email, consider tweaking your message, examining your list (is it old? did you buy emails? if either of these things is the case, you may need to clean it up). Perhaps you're sending too many emails per week - it's tempting to send out every single special you have, but if your customers aren't responding well, put out less and make it higher quality.
Content Tips. Now that you've figured out your list and how much to send, what should you write about? Chances are, your customers want to keep updated with your specials, your deals, and your beer and wine dinners and celebrations. So make sure you include that information in your emails, but also, give them recipes and other informative information so it's not all sales related, all the time. Make an effort to switch things up, and maintain a consistent level of spelling, punctuation, graphics, and high quality photos. Working with an agency, in house marketing person, or another type of professional is highly recommended as it makes a big difference in how your emails appear. You hire a professional chef to run your kitchen - so make sure your outward facing marketing gets the same professionalism and attention to detail.
Email Server. Get smart with managing your list. It's tempting to use a free server, but chances are, the templates will be clunky, the font choices uninspired, and you may not have all the smart capabilities to really service your customers. If you use Open Table, consider Fishbowl - it will integrate seamlessly with your reservations list. If not, there are plenty of 'smart' servers which will help you keep a managed list for a low monthly fee. In addition to better templates and integration, choose a server which will allow for smart data, such as remembering your clients birthdays and anniversaries. Sending out a special offer on those special days will encourage them to celebrate with you! And at the end of the day, email is just another tool in building a loyal customer base who comes back often.
