What benefits does postcard marketing still have today?

Are You Delivering Service With a Smile?

Did you know that the simple act of smiling can not only boost your mood—it can boost the mood of anyone who sees you do it?  The reason this one small fact is so important in running a business is that research has proven, when a customer’s mood is elevated, he or she will spend more money and have a more positive and memorable experience in your establishment.  Since making the customer happy and reaping the benefits of that in the way of profits are at the core of your success in running a restaurant, a smile should be the one thing you wear every day at work, regardless of what’s going on in your personal life. 

When customers are greeted with a smile, they “warm up” to your restaurant quickly, making the entire dining experience a better one.  When they are served with a smile, that smile makes the food taste better and the service seems better.  Service with a smile appeals to people of all ages and all demographics, and is appropriate in any type of restaurant—from casual to formal.  When your patrons are greeted warmly and served by servers who offer a welcoming smile, your restaurant immediately becomes a memorable place to eat and enjoy the dining experience.

Let’s face it—everyone has a bad day at some point in their lives.  It’s unreasonable to expect your servers or hostess to not deal with personal issues that cause them to be down-and-out while at work.  However, when they allow these issues to show on their faces—or worse, allow these issues to cause them to be rude to customers—they can seriously affect the business’s bottom line and its reputation.  That’s why it’s important to stress to everyone within your restaurant that, regardless of how you might feel, try to always offer smile to customers.  It will make the customer’s day better as well as uplift the spirits of the person having the bad day.  It’s a scientifically proven fact!

Direct Mail Marketing isn’t Dead

Since the recent marketing trends have pushed small businesses into choosing email marketing over direct mail marketing, some business owners have decided to completely get rid of direct mail in their marketing campaigns altogether.  After all, direct mail is often more expensive than email marketing, right?  

The problem with this line of thinking is that it underestimates the core of what makes marketing work—doing something different.  When you do something different as a business, you get attention.  Customers react to unique experiences and the promises of them, so they respond positively to any type of marketing that is unique and stands out from the rest of the thousands of ads they see throughout the span of a day.  

This is why direct mail can work for you. It’s not the newest, greatest trend in marketing, but sometimes that’s a good thing.  New isn’t always good and customers are more likely to pay attention to direct mail when it’s not what everyone else is doing, so don’t falsely assume that direct mail marketing is dead.  

Direct mail is still a great way to reach a local customer base and can be effective, given the right message and design.  Direct mail also has several advantages over email marketing, especially in its ability to communicate brand awareness and “stick” in the consciousness of potential customers.  It has the potential of reaching multiple people (instead of one person’s email inbox, where it may or may not be read) and if done right, can still be money well spent—even in today’s modern small business marketing strategies.  

With this in mind, why not try something with your direct mail campaign that will capitalize on the concept of uniqueness?  Allow your targeted audience to see how you stand apart from the trends in order to set your own.  

Should I include educational information in my emails to customers?

Creating Emails People Want To Open

With the introduction of smartphones and other wireless devices into the mainstream market, an increasing number of consumers are sending marketing emails straight to their junk email boxes.  This is no surprise—especially in consideration of how bombarded people are with advertisements and marketing through everything from their televisions to their cell phones.  

That’s why email marketing is all too often a hit-or-miss kind of scenario, where your email has a big chance of not being read.  While email marketing is an inexpensive way to meet your present and future customers, it’s the type of marketing that needs to adjust to the customers’ needs and wants if it is to be effective in its purpose.

So how do you create emails that you know people will want to open?  The answer is simple: the email needs to add value to their lives.  There are several ways you can do this:

1. Attach incentives to your emails, such as coupons or discounts. 

If customers know that most of the emails they receive from you are beneficial to their wallet, then they’ll be less inclined to shuffle your emails into their junk mailbox.  You can also use emails to announce weekly specials or remind customers of “Two for One night” or something similar.  

2. Make your emails educational by sharing your expertise.

This is a big one—what is one of the main reasons people get online in the first place?  If you answered for information, then you’re correct.  People use the internet to research, find out information, read news articles, stay up-to-date on their favorite activities, and keep up with trends that are important to them.  When you include important information in your emails that is relevant to your clients, your emails will then add value to their lives through the information you provide.  Share cooking secrets or recipes, discuss important trends in menus, talk about health benefits of certain foods on your menu, and show your expertise in what you do.  It will build brand image for your restaurant and build your customer base in the process. 

Restaurant and Retail Marketing: Send Birthday Emails

In marketing your restaurant, you’ll find that there are a lot of gimmicks and tricks that people think of to encourage repeat customers, but only a few of them are tried and true practices.  Since small business owners have little time and money to spend on an unproven gimmick, a little research goes a long way in making sure the marketing techniques you are using will actually do what they’re supposed to do – make people want to come to your restaurant.  

One of these proven strategies is birthday emails and specials, sent via email directly to your customers.   When your customers receive an email offering them a special discount that is personalized for them, it’s an offer that’s almost impossible to turn down.  Everyone wants to feel special on their birthday and everyone wants to DO something special like go out to a restaurant with loved ones or friends, while being showered with gifts (or discounts or free menu items).  

Below are the steps you can take to incorporate birthday emails into your regular marketing campaign.  It is simple and low-cost, and with the right software, can be fully automated.  It’s a no-brainer!

1. Collect the Necessary Information

Keep subscription cards at your counter or hostess stand and include them with your bill for customers who are dining in.  With the right offer attached, once word gets around, customers will be asking you for you.  If you have a website, you can include a form on it as well.  

2. Organize and Send Monthly Birthday Emails

Software to maintain a customer database is usually equipped with email capability that will automate the process for you for each customer.  Otherwise, emails can be sent by an employee or manager, but this will be a time-consuming process. 

Why should I consider sending birthday emails to my customers?