By Nancy P. Howard, Contributor
Emailing is one of the best techniques used by restaurants to convert a casual visitor into a regular. For example, encouraging a return visit, informing about the new prizes of your loyalty program, encouraging people to subscribe to your social media profile, and reporting on interesting events and news coming soon.
As part of the restaurant's marketing strategy, drafting emails necessitates attention to detail, good writing skills, and specific knowledge of how to communicate with a person to convert him into a client.
In this post, we’re going to go over five tips for writing an amazing “welcome email” to send to your restaurant guests. Get ready to take notes!
How Do You Write a ‘Welcome Email’ to Customer?
According to statistics, the average open rate for welcome emails is 86%, which is significantly higher than the open rate for regular newsletters. As a result, investing in attracting customers through this channel may yield a good return over time.
To write an excellent welcome email for your restaurant's customers, you must be both a psychologist and a persuasive writer. Let’s look at some strategies for writing an amazing welcome email.
1. Create a Chain of Messages
When implementing the welcome message strategy, it is recommended to create a message automation of three emails. As a result, you will have a better chance of smoothly leading the guest to the desired action (visiting your restaurant), structuring the information about the institution, and submitting it portion by portion without overwhelming the new visitor.
Let's take a look at what these three welcome letters might look like.
Welcome Letter #1: Thank a Potential Guest for Subscribing
Thank your customer for his subscription in the first welcome letter. Your gratitude demonstrates that you value the user's choice and time. Tell them what to expect from your email, mention how frequently and what content you will send. Setting expectations is key.
To segment future mailings, you can ask subscribers to select the type of content they would like to receive. For example, you can see which guests want your regular newsletter, or just updates on menu changes, special events, or whatever other communications you think is key to your restaurant’s marketing strategy.
Welcome Letter # 2: Getting to Know Each Other and Product Ads
In your second email, talk about your restaurant and your amazing menu items. It is preferable to send this email within two to three days after the first one.
In this second email, you can invite a potential customer to visit your restaurant and try your best-selling dishes. This is a great time to offer them a special discount for being part of your email list – be it visiting you on-premise or ordering delivery.
Welcome Letter #3: Socialize and Motivate Guests to Visit & Order
The third letter in your restaurant’s welcome automation should be sent two or three days after the second one. Share social network links in it, add surveys for further segmentation, or make pleasant surprises in the form of discounts for top positions on the menu.
2. Make Your Emails Appealing to Subscribers
Emails must pursue a specific marketing goal and benefit so that the reader (customer) understands why you sent them to them. If your network has a discount or loyalty program, you can send special offers and notifications about the status of a person’s bonus account via email.
To make the restaurant’s newsletter more anticipated, dilute promotional emails with useful content. For example, you can include the following information in them:
Interesting facts about the history of national cuisine;
Nutrition advice;
Recipes from the chef;
Wine pairing suggestions.
Choose topics that will be interesting to your target audience. For example, if you own a family restaurant, send not only advice from the chef, but also kid-friendly recipes that can be prepared at home with family and friends.
3. Personalize Your Emails
According to a McKinsey survey, an increasing number of customers want to receive personalized messages. Thus, they get the impression that your brand or business gives each customer personalized attention.
That means referring to your subscribers by their first name. Many email systems use the code %FIRSTNAME% for this. Sending emails on their birthday or letting them know when their favorite specials dish is back on the menu are some great ways of achieving this.
4. Use Proper Structure
The structure of a welcome email is as important as its content. Here is an example of a good welcome email to a customer that you can use to write your own:
Hi [customer’s name]!
Welcome to the [your restaurant’s name] family! I am [your name], founder of [your restaurant’s name].
As a thank you, here is a fascinating [number]% off on your first purchase! Just use [promocode] at checkout!
Before we get started, I would like to share [your restaurant’s name]’s story with you.
[Here, you should give a brief history of your restaurant, what inspired you to open it, and what services and meals you provide].
We hope that by using our restaurant’s services, you will [describe the advantages that a customer receives].
[Your restaurant’s name] is so excited to have you on board!
Best,
[your name]
5. Establish a Welcoming Environment
If your welcome email is formatted like a bank statement, your prospective guests are unlikely to read it. Your main objective is to win a person’s favor.
Thus, you should use language that is easy for him to understand:
Avoid structuring first-person offers;
Focus on your guests wants/needs;
Avoid jargon and complex terminology.
Create a welcoming environment and reassure your customers that they have made the right decision by purchasing/ordering from your restaurant. You want to win over their favor and also set the tone for the personality of your restaurant.
Final Thoughts
If you have not used the welcome emails yet, you should do so right away. This marketing tool will generate new leads, increase sales, and foster customer loyalty to your restaurant.
About the Author
Nancy P. Howard has been working as an editor at Trust My Paper custom essay writing service. She is also a professional writer at Best Writers Online and Writing Judge review services in such topics as blogging, IT and HR. She loves travelling, photography and is always welcome to meet new people.
