How to use email automation to get your customers to come back

Email marketing is a powerful tool for any restaurant, but it can be especially effective for getting customers to come back more often. By automating your email marketing, you can send personalized messages to your customers at the right time, which can help you increase sales and improve customer loyalty.

Here are a few tips for creating effective email automations for your restaurant:

1. Start with a welcome email: When a new guest signs up for your email list, send them a welcome email to thank them for joining and introduce them to your restaurant. This is a great opportunity to share your menu, special offers, and upcoming events.
2. Send birthday emails: Everyone loves to feel special, and sending birthday emails is a great way to show your customers that you appreciate them. You can offer them a free dessert, a discount on their next meal, or simply a happy birthday message.
3. Send welcome back emails. If a guest hasn’t visited your restaurant for X amount of time, send them a little nudge with an offer to come back. 
4. Send review-seeking emails: After a guest has visited your restaurant, send them a follow-up email to thank them for their business and ask them for feedback, or a Google Review. You can also use this email to promote your upcoming events or specials.
5. Send seasonal emails: Holidays and special events are a great time to send email marketing campaigns. You can share your holiday menu, offer seasonal discounts, or promote your upcoming events.

Here are some additional tips for creating effective email automations:

• Personalise your emails. The more personalized your emails are, the more likely your customers are to open them and read them. Use your customers' names, their past purchase history, and their interests to create emails that are relevant to them.
• Use clear and concise language. People are busy, and they don't have time to read long, rambling emails. Get to the point quickly and clearly, and make sure your call to action is easy to understand.
• Use eye-catching visuals. People are more likely to open and read emails that are visually appealing. Use high-quality images and videos to capture your customers' attention.
• Test and optimise your campaigns. Once you've created a few email automations, test them and see how they perform. Track your open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates to see what's working and what's not. Then, make adjustments to your campaigns as needed.

By following these tips, you can create effective email automations that will help you get your guests to come back more often.