How To Grow And Engage Your Email Database
Although it’s easy to feel like you’re getting lost in the throng of email newsletters flooding your guest’s inboxes, hospitality is actually among the top three performing industries for this low-cost and highly effective marketing tool.
Email marketing isn’t a new communication channel by any means, but it is one that needs to be tracked and nurtured. To help make sure you’re getting the most from your email marketing strategy, we’ve put together this handy guide on how to grow and effectively utilise your email database.
Choosing The Right Tool For The Job
There are hundreds of platforms on the market designed for seamless CRM (customer relationship management) varying in price from $0 – $200 p/m so how do you know which is best for you? Here are some key considerations when choosing your email marketing platform.
Automations – Consider this a “set-it-and-forget-it” tool. Create a personalised customer journey based on the information subscribers share. For example, collect guests’ birthdays and set up an automated invitation to enjoy a complimentary birthday drink on arrival to entice guests to book their celebrations with you.
Third-party apps & integrations – A database that’s integrated with your POS or reservations system creates unique opportunities for bespoke automations. For example, a regular guest securing a reservation for their 10th visit, might receive an automated email thanking them for their continued support.
Segmentation and personalisation – Segmentation is the first step to hyper-targeted emails. Slice up your subscriber list into common groupings and suggest activations accordingly. For example, try setting up a VIP segment for guests with 3+ visits, you might want to send this segment early-bird access to your next highly anticipated event.
Data Is King
It is official – data is now the most valuable asset in the world, ahead of oil. When designing your newsletter sign-up, consider which customer information is key in implementing your email marketing strategy. Planning on offering that complimentary birthday drink we talked about? Then you’ll need to make sure you collect your guest’s birthday. Although there’s value in data, the last thing a guest wants is to complete a census to subscribe. Identify the data that is key to your email marketing plan and stick to it. Find our favourites below.
Birthday/Anniversary – Securing a table for special occasion is a great way to get bums on seats and drive up that average spend, planting yourself as the go-to by offering an incentive a couple of weeks before the celebrations is a great way to increase your chances of getting that booking.
Postcode – Guests are less likely to travel too far throughout the week, target locals for weeknight incentives to fill out quieter periods.
Interested In – Not everyone is interested in the same content, and that’s a good thing! Targeting different market segments based on what customers are interested in, ensures seats are consistently full throughout different periods. Interested In options might include: Happy Hours, Live Music, Beverage Dinners, and Masterclasses, all of these options help further personalise your email campaigns to ensure you’re reaching the right audience.
Growing Your Database
A dusty old sign-up button lost amongst the offerings of your What’s On page is seldom going to hook prospective sign-ups. Growing your database is an active and ongoing process that requires regular maintenance. So how do we make sure those numbers keep growing?
Data Imports – Are you sitting on a customer list that would love to hear more from you? Chances are, guests that have interacted with your business through a third-party app like a reservations platform or event enquiry form can be imported to your mailing list. Just make sure the correct permissions have been acquired from the third-party platform.
Competitions – If you have a huge social following but your email list is lacking, cross-pollinate the two by launching a sign-up to win competition across your socials.
Feedback forms – If you’re collecting feedback after each visit via a paper or digital feedback form, don’t forget to include an option for guests to opt-in to your mailing list! A printed QR code on your marketing collateral will take guests straight to a sign up page without needing to enter a web address.
Partner Offer/Raffle – Using a third party or business partnership is a great way to score sign-ups from an already engaged audience. Team up with a supplier or local business and offer their customers a chance to win a dinner for two. Data from the competition entries can be used to grow your database with new customers that are yet to sample your offering.
Engaging Your Database
So you’re the proud holder of a 20,000-strong email database, but only 1% opened your email and of that, 5% have unsubscribed. How do we maintain our mailing list and ensure it’s functioning optimally?
Clickbait-y Email Subjects – Think about the emails you receive in a day, how many words into the subject line do you get before you determine if it’s one worth opening? The standard is between 6-8. Choose your words carefully and leave a little mystery to entice readers to open.
Know your segment – Chances are, a guest with 5+ visits will be more excited about a new Spring menu update than someone whose last visit was more than two years ago. Tailoring content to specific list segments can help keep less engaged users subscribed for when you have a better-suited activation to tell them about.
Have something to say – Although we love reminding everyone we’re still here, sending frequent emails with repetitive content will result in a loss of subscribers. Let your newsletter be one that guests look forward to because it always includes something fun or exciting.
