Best day to send an email campaign

In the past it was thought that mid-week was best, but that theory is changing. In a study of email opens, Friday seems to be the biggest day for people to open an email that is sent to them. It's also the day that most Loyal Rewards Clients send email offers. Sunday is a low performer when it comes to open rates. Most still believe that a mid week campaign is the best choice with about 96% of campaigns and 92% of emails being sent Monday through Friday.

However, open rates are not nearly as important as the end result. Sending email offers is all about response and causing action. Open rate is still important for top of mind awareness, but getting your customers through your door is what pays the bills.

When deciding when to send an email campaign, you must consider what else your recipients have going on. During the summer months, they are most likely spending the weekend outdoors or on vacation - away from their computers. In the winter, they may spend more time indoors and have time on the weekends to check and respond to their email. Also, consider holidays and local community events when planning on sending your email offer. Giving discounts on Holidays is a great way to boost sales - especially on Holidays when you would otherwise be slow.

Time of day also plays a roll in response. A recent test sent the same emails at 9am, Noon & 4pm. The results are interesting, but not gospel. The winner? 9am.
Here's what the tests show:
-9am performed 15.63% better then 4pm
-9am performed 9.4% better then 12pm
-12pm per formed 6.9% better then 4pm

Think about when you read your email — also consider who your customers are. When I come into work, the first thing I do is go through my email. Usually, by 8:30am my inbox has been cleaned up and I'm ready for more emails. Others do the same — get to work, check their email and take care of any before starting their day.

There is no exact science when it comes to email marketing. The best advice I can give you, is to try a few different days of the week & times sent. Then, measure your results so you know what works best for you and your customers.

Dining in Groups

Here are some interesting statistics I got from Bill Marvin "The Restaurant Doctor". He said they came from the book Mindless Eating and are based upon a University study.

It showed when people dine out in groups they spend more per person than if they dine alone.

Here's how much more each person spends based upon group size:

2 people - each spends 37% more than if each dined alone
3 - 42% more
4 - 58% more
6 - 65% more
8 - 98% more

Obviously when people are together they eat and drink more. So try sending an email offer catered toward groups of people. Even with a stronger offer for larger parties, the pay-off should more then compensate.

Halloween Promotions: a great way to boost sales and your database count

Here's a clever idea from Scott Anthony - one of the best Pizza Industry Marketing Experts:
Make your pizzeria a trick or treat stop! Bring your kids to my pizzeria on Halloween - receive a 'treat' & get your picture taken with our mascot (costumed employees....) We will e-mail you a copy of the picture.

Thus you 'trick' them into giving you their information & build a quick database - what is a database worth to you? - PRICELESS - make your treat worth it.

Marketing cost + food cost of a slice of pizza, printing cost of a bounce back offer....less then $20.

Email Marketing Must

After spending days, weeks, and months collecting emails, you're finally ready to start emailing your customers. There is so much you want to tell them. Every time an idea pops into your head, you might get an urge to send them a quick email. Don't do it. A recent study explains why to hold back on over sending. Your customers gave you their email addresses to allow you to contact them, but it does not give you authorization to send endless extraneous information - even if it's pertinent to you. According to the MarketingSherpa and Q Interactive "Email Marketing Benchmark Guide 2008," 41% of people mark an email as spam because the email they received was not of interest to them. This reasoning is second to "didn't sign up to receive email from sender" at 52%. The third biggest reason recipients mark email as spam is due to too much email from a sender.

Now what? When you are ready to email your customers - think about "what's in it for them?" Are you giving them a reason to come in and spend money at your business, or do you just have a message to tell them? It's ok to do both - just make sure you also give them something that is of value to them. This can be anything - an early bird special, lunch special, happy hour, or a bundling offer. Put yourself in your customer's shoes… would you like to receive an email from a local business telling you they've hired a new mechanic?

The researchers note that too much email is creating more competition among opt-in emails. As spam and junk filters improve, people are focusing less on conventional spam and more on which opt-in materials are of most significance to them.

Collecting Email Addresses - Make it fun for your customers & staff!

Collecting emails can be easy, as long as you make it fun for your customers. Plus, your loyal customers will appreciate receiving savings offers from you and reward you with their business.

Challenge and reward your customers for predicting the outcome of a popular spots contest or TV reality show, such as Dancing with the Stars or American Idol for example. Customers write their guess and their email address on a slip of paper to be contacted if they are the winner. Then just slip the completed forms into a large box on display with signage that describes first-, second-, and third-place prizes. Winners are chosen by random drawings. The first three people drawn with the correct answers are selected as the winning contestants. This simple promotion is energized by the massive viewership and media attention these events enjoy. Appropriate prizes are anything from freebies, to gift certificates, and appropriate merchandise. Customers love it.

6 quick email marketing tips:

1. While good email marketing will keep your list engaged, the reality is that you need to continually use opt-in strategies to keep it viable.

2. If your customers can’t easily navigate your email or find the information they want at a glance, your messages will fall flat.

3. Use teaser text and HTML colors and layout rather than an image so readers can get an immediate “preview” of your email even if images are disabled.

4. Put the important content – the offer, call to action, newsletter contents etc. – at the top of the email for immediate viewing. You only have seconds to make your case, so make the most them.

5. Design and test your e-mail so that the call to action is clearly visible when graphics are turned off (48% of people do not view images by default!)

6. Consider how your e-mail will appear on mobile devices because more people are using Blackberrys and iPhones to view their e-mail inboxes.

Restaurant deals

An online consumer study by The NPD Group conducted in June shows that affordability of dining out is top of mind among consumers, especially as they struggle with increased unemployment. As the economy slowly improves, restaurants still will be expected to provide the traffic-driving deals many are promoting today, NPD data indicated.

When NPD asked consumers who have cut back on restaurant visits what would entice them to visit restaurants more often, they listed discounts, something free, more dollar menu items, choice of price offerings, and other cost management options. According to the study, most consumers wanted a price discount on a regular menu item over free items or 99-cent offerings.
NPD added that restaurant visits prompted by deals represent a quarter of the industry’s total traffic.

Social Media Is Good for Email Marketing

According to a recent report by the Nielsen Company, people who are heavy users of sites like Facebook and Twitter actually use email more than those who are lighter users.

Nielsen's study revealed that the time heavy social media users spent using email significantly increased between April 2008 and April 2009, from around 80 minutes to more than 180 minutes.

When you think about it, this makes sense. After all, Facebook sends a constant stream of email to your inbox every time a friend has commented on a post, or tagged you in a photo, or any other kind of activity on the site. And, one of the reasons people join and participate on sites like Facebook or Twitter is to make connections. So of course they'd encourage those relationships by staying in touch off the sites.

For email marketers, this presents some obvious good news: The more email people get, the more they’re going to be checking their inboxes. And the more they check their inboxes, the more chances they have to see your email messages.

One of the most important rules of effective marketing is: Always try to reach people where they are. As this study shows, reaching people with email marketing continues to be a great idea.

Integrate Kids into your marketing

There are many opportunities to grow your business and assure repeat business by marketing to kids...

 •Families with children account for over 45% of the personal
   consumption expenditure for food away from home.
 •Kids never dine alone.
 •Kids exert tremendous influence on family decisions where to eat.
 •If you make the kids happy, the parents are happy.

Today's 8-year olds are not the same as 8-year olds of 30 years ago. They are smarter, more worldly, tech savvy and more independent. They are tired of the same old chicken finger menu choices. They are tuned in to the eating-out experience, and know what they want.

Ideas to become a "Kid-Friendly" Restaurant

• Drinks served in easy grip, plastic cup (4 oz).
      Don't top off the beverage but offer free refills.
• Offer bendable straws.
• Put a cherry in the drink.
• Serve entrees with salad forks.
• Serve soup with a teaspoon & a cup of ice (to cool down the soup).
• Provide extra napkin and/or wet naps.
• Staff is attentive to the needs & demands of families.
• Have high chairs & booster seats (plenty to go around).
      Be sure they are clean and in good repair.
• Have changing tables in both men & women’s restrooms.
• Offer a separate kids menu.
• Tableware should be kid proof.
• Know how to deal with finicky eaters.
• Make the waiting game fun.
• Keep plenty of stock on toys, crayons, etc.
• Ask parent's permission. "May I bring.... ", "Should I serve their
      meal as soon as it is ready? ", "Do you want the
      beverage served now or with their meal?"
• Seat kids by windows. There are distractions and things to look at.
• Have a "Clean Plate Club".
• Consider a Kids cafe on your slower days to draw families and
      young children into your restaurant.
• Before kids leave, offer them a balloon or toy, etc.
•Greet kids by getting down on one knee, talk at their eye level.