The most wonderful time of the year is almost here and everyone’s looking forward to the joy and excitement it brings. But Christmas isn’t just known for being the season of gift-giving, people also look forward to the wonderful feasts that are only really prepared during the holidays.
While most families like gathering around their own dining tables in front of a homemade feast, others like to take their festivities outside.
Even on the biggest holiday of the year, restaurants are still packed with families and people celebrating. It’s a busy day for chefs, catering crews, and restaurant owners; customers are just as busy trying to find the best restaurant for them.
With the many restaurants offering all sorts of Christmas menus to families, it’s important to make sure your restaurant stands out from the crowd.
One of the few things you can do to get your menu out to more people is through email marketing.
Email Marketing
This is a kind of marketing where you send personalized messages to existing customers to introduce new products or promotions, this helps to keep them engaged.
Restaurant owners can use email marketing to inform loyal customers about new dishes on the menu or events coming up.
Here are a few strategies for your email marketing:
- Get Personal
You can create messages that are specifically written for each individual customer you are sending them out to.
Making personalized messages will help build a relationship with your customer. If their regulars and you want to include a dish you know they love in your menu, telling them that in your promotion will definitely make your restaurant menu very appealing to them.
- Timing
Pick the right time to send your email. Try to think about when your customer will most likely be able to read your message immediately. You don’t want it to get lost in their other emails and miss the opportunity to promote your menu.
- Be Creative
There’s no better way to stand out than to add some creativity into the mix. There are many Christmas email templates available online, such as in PosterMyWall, that allows you to create an eye-catching email.
- Add High-quality Photos
A picture is worth a thousand words, as they always say. Make use of high-quality cameras and photography skills to capture the tasty dishes in your restaurant. Adding these images to your email will make for a tempting invitation.
- Share Promotional Offers
Use emails to offer discounts and other promotions to existing and potential customers. Not only will it drive traffic to your website or app, but it will also encourage repeat purchases and increase references.
- Entertain Customers
The holiday season is meant to be fun and relaxing. You can include ‘email gamification’ in your marketing where you can let your customers play fun mini-games to “win” a prize or a discount code.
- Help Customers Get What They Want
It’s not uncommon for customers to receive a gift that they didn’t want during the Christmas season. You can help your subscribers get what they want by letting them add their favorite items to their carts and then sending “hints” to their relatives or friends. Mentioning this in your email marketing is one good way to drive traffic to your website.
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- Reward Loyal Customers
There’s no better way to make customers feel special than by creating a loyalty program. You can offer all sorts of rewards to regular patrons such as an exclusive discount code, less waiting time, lower delivery fees, a sneak peek at your new menu and so much more. Not only does it drive repeat purchases but it also ups your referral game.
- Share Cooking Tips and Recipes
Building a connection with your customers is always important. One way to do this is by sharing what you know and what you’re good at. You can add fun little infographics of different recipes and cooking tips in your emails so your customers will always have something to look forward to.
- Use Real-Time Content to Keep the Customers Updated
During the holiday seasons, stocks are sure to run out fast. You don’t want an eager customer checking out a product you heavily promoted only to find out too late that it’s sold out. Connect your emails to Google Spreadsheets to use real-time content in emails. This way you can easily update customers on the status of the product and prevent any disappointment.
- Have a Clear Call-To-Action
Adding a CTA at the end of your emails is one way of reminding your customers what they need to do. A CTA can range from telling readers to subscribe to your newsletters, encouraging them to order from your app or convincing them to visit your restaurant in person. A clear CTA that’s easy to understand has a good chance of increasing conversion rates.
- Show Your Gratitude
Your business would not exist without your customers. The Christmas season is the perfect time to express your gratitude and let them know that you care.
Final Words
Email marketing is one effective way you can reach your audience, especially during a busy season. You can easily create eye-catching emails using online tools such as PosterMyWall’s email marketing platform. Combine that with the tips mentioned above and you’ll be converting holiday sales in no time!
