How Email Marketing Can Help Local Restaurants

Local restaurants have plenty of challenges during these trying economic times. With everyone tightening their belts, families aren’t as likely to go out to eat as they were five years ago. And when they do go out, they are more prone to head towards the type of chain restaurant—such as a TGI Friday’s, Applebee’s, Chili’s or Houlihan’s—that has the advertising budget to flood the airwaves with promotional campaigns touting their affordable meals.

What can a local restaurant do, even if it is able to match the prices of the chains? Trying to return fire with the “big boys” by matching their advertising efforts will almost certainly lead to financial disaster for smaller restaurants. But the good news is there’s no need to spend a fortune to outdo the chains—not with email marketing for local restaurants!

Indeed, the relationship between local restaurants and email marketing is a win-win for all involved. Most local restaurants don’t have the budget to advertise on local television or radio, never mind nationally, and the days in which the local newspaper was a reliable advertising option are long gone. The declining readership of newspapers—as well as their shrinking ad space—means any ads placed there will almost surely go ignored by the target audience.

But email marketing software gives local restaurants an inexpensive and easy alternative. The software is affordable for restaurants of all sizes and can be managed by anyone with a minimal amount of computer experience. There is no need to hire anyone to handle email marketing for local restaurants.

The personalization and customization options of the software, meanwhile, allow local restaurants to deliver a targeted and multi-media message. In addition to opening the local restaurant’s email marketing message with a personalized greeting, the email can contain photos, menus as well as descriptions of and testimonials about the food. These messages are also the perfect place to include details about the restaurant’s special promotions (such as deals offered on a specific day, i.e. “All You Can Eat Pasta Monday”) and coupons.

Consumers, meanwhile, get these unobtrusive local restaurant and email marketing messages delivered straight to their inbox, where they have a far better chance of reading and reacting to it than if the ad were in the newspaper or on television and/or radio. Even if the recipient of the local restaurant’s email marketing campaign message isn’t planning on a night out anytime soon, the email will remain on his or her mind and he or she will be much more likely to retrieve the message before planning a trip to a restaurant.

Email marketing for local restaurants is a savvy way for these “Mom and Pop” establishments to overcome the advertising advantage that the chains enjoy while reminding residents of the great food and value located right around the corner from their homes. Those who operate restaurants in small towns and cities shouldn’t waste any time in finding out that email marketing for local restaurants is a marriage made in heaven!