The 6 best restaurant email marketing personalization trends in 2024

In today's digital age, personalization is key to standing out in the crowded restaurant industry. With the increasing reliance on email marketing, how can restaurants effectively personalize their email campaigns to drive customer engagement and loyalty?

Email marketing has become a powerful tool for restaurants to connect with their customers and drive business growth. However, with the ever-evolving digital landscape, it's important for restaurants to stay ahead of the curve and adopt the latest email personalization trends.

As we enter 2024, the importance of personalized email marketing for restaurants cannot be overstated. By understanding and implementing the best personalization trends, restaurants can create a unique and tailored experience for their customers, ultimately leading to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty. In this article, we will explore the six best restaurant email personalization trends that are set to dominate in 2023.

What is email personalization?

Email personalization refers to the practice of tailoring email communications to individual recipients, based on their specific preferences, behaviors, and interests. It goes beyond simply addressing recipients by name and delves into creating a unique and delightful experience for each individual or customer groups with similar preferences.

With advancements in technology, data management, and analysis, email marketers now have the ability to gather vast amounts of information on their subscribers, enabling them to craft the email content from products, events, offers and promotions. Email marketers can also optimize the send time of a message based on the subscriber's time zone or when a subscriber is likely to read email messages in their inbox. 

In this research you will learn:

• Benefits of personalized email marketing for restaurant businesses
• Helpful email marketing personalization trends and examples
• Tips for integrating a personalization strategy into your email marketing campaigns
• Challenges with personalization and how to maximize your impact

Personalized email marketing has proven to be a game-changer for restaurant businesses seeking to connect with their audiences on a deeper level. By tailoring messages to individual recipients, this approach not only increases conversion rates, achieves higher click-through rates, and prompts sales.

A few key benefits of personalized email marketing in the restaurant category:

• One of the key benefits of personalized email marketing is the ability to deliver hyper-targeted offers and promotions. By understanding customer behavior and preferences, restaurant businesses can create highly relevant product content that resonates with their audience and core customers. In this scenario, personalization helps elevate brand trust but also showcases a deep understanding of customer needs and interests.
• Statistics further underline the effectiveness of personalized email promotions. A vast majority of consumers, nearly 80%, are more likely to open, read and act on promotional emails that are personalized. Additionally, 88% of marketers say that investing in personalization significantly improves their email marketing performance.
• Personalized content and offers ensure that messages are delivered to the most interested recipients. Utilizing built-in dynamic segmentation tools to create your email lists and tailoring content to specific customer groups, businesses can create a seamless automation experiences that aligns with individual preferences and interests. 

Personalized email marketing campaigns and email automations offers immense benefits to increase conversion rates, sales prompts, and higher click-through rates that translate into improved sales performance. 

Personalization is possible with precise data and actionable insights.

Email personalization trends and examples that restaurant businesses should consider implementing

Email personalization continues to evolve shaping the way businesses connect, engage and build lasting relationships with their audience and core customers.

It all starts with the right data, powerful machine learning tools and large learning libraries to pinpoint opportunities for actionable insights that can an be easily implemented in email marketing campaigns and email automations.

At GoGoGuest, we've made this process super easy for you. Let's dive in.

1. The process of personalization starts with access to precise information about your audience and core customers

Implementing a personalization strategy into email marketing touchpoints (in-store or online is possible with the right data and actionable insights that trigger behaviour specific email automations.

It is important to note that the personalization of email marketing content is not limited to a person's first name. With the right information and dynamic rules, you can create levels of customer journeys that are unique to each individual or customer group based on product preferences, age, gender, location, preferred service channel, memberships and more.

What does it mean to have the right data?

Collecting the right information with permission from each guest that visits your restaurant , including their name, phone number, email address and product preferences.  It also means that dynamic information including last visit date, total spent during each visit and products purchased are updated when a customer re-engages.  This process seems daunting when customer information is spread across multiple solutions that do not communicate with each other.

There is good news! 

With the advancement of cloud technology solutions and the availability of customer data management platforms (CDPs), it has become easier to gain a comprehensive understanding of your audience and core customers with just a click of a button.

The power of dynamic segmentation in email marketing

Thousands, if not millions of data come through a restaurant business daily.  When all your data sources are connected and streamlined, the information can be used to create personalized email campaigns and automated emails tailored to each customer.

With so much information that flows from multiple systems daily, dynamic segmentation is a critical tool in your marketing technology stack. With dynamic segmentation, a restaurant marketer can create rules to find groups of people with similar profiles such as location, total spend, average purchase after each visit,  frequency of visit, products purchased and more.

This data can also be used to segment customers into groups, which allows you to deliver more specific promotions and offers.

As an example, a restaurant may provide a 25% discount on wine during specific times and days to a group of local customers. The campaign effectively targets the local audience, with an 80% likelihood of them responding to the offer, which could potentially help improve sales performance during slower days.

Demographic, psychographic and purchase behavior data

There are many data sets available to any business.  For restaurants, the key datasets would include demographic, psychographic and historical purchases - in-store and online. 

By tracking customer purchases over time from both your POS (point-of-sale) and your online ordering platform or eCommerce platform, restaurants can further fine-tune their personalization strategies in order to maximize revenue opportunities.

For instance, by analyzing purchase history data and using machine learning algorithms restaurants can create tailored offers for birthdays, highlight a product that complements the most popular products on your menu and sending a hot button campaign when a customer is hungry.

2. Dynamic customer journeys and automations

Automating the customer journey is a crucial aspect of email marketing personalization. Why? Fully automated and dynamic customer journeys helps with the activation and improves the engagement levels of different cohorts or customer groups in your entire subscriber list.

Here are a few examples of email customer journeys for restaurant businesses:

• A "Welcome" message is sent after a reservation is made or when a first-time customer places an order online. The email content for this journey may include detailed information about the reservation and any follow-up questions regarding potential diet restrictions or clarification of special requests. Alternatively, it may include the specifics of the order, such as the estimated pickup or delivery time.
• A "Thank you" message is sent after a dining reservation is completed or consumed or an online order is successfully picked-up or delivered.  For first time customers, the thank you message could also include a private survey, followed by a request for a public review on a case by case basis. 
• When requesting a review from your customer, it is important to focus on their dining experience and the menu items they tried. Gaining a deeper understanding of your customer's subjective insights about your brand is valuable for restaurant marketers.

By designing and mapping the customer journey and implementing automation at key touchpoints, restaurant brands can save time, improve efficiency, and deliver relevant content to customers, ultimately enhancing the overall customer experience.

3.  Optimizing subject lines for increased open rates

Optimizing subject lines is a key strategy for increasing email engagement. A compelling subject line that is received at the right moment can pique the recipient's interest and motivate them to open the email.

Here are some effective techniques for optimizing subject lines to improve engagement:

• Personalization by name: Personalized subject lines can have a significant impact on open rates. Adding the recipient's name or other relevant personal details creates a sense of exclusivity and relevance, increasing the likelihood of the email being opened.
• Weather focused subject lines: Subject lines that is filled with empathy can be highly effective in driving engagement. Using compelling language, posing a question, or playfully teasing a product that is aligned with a season can entice recipients to open the email.
• Urgency and scarcity: Including time-sensitive elements or conveying a sense of limited availability in the subject line can create a sense of urgency, encouraging recipients to take immediate action and engage with the email.
• Relevance and specificity: A subject line should clearly communicate the value or benefit that the email offers. Being specific and relevant to the recipient's interests or needs can attract their attention and increase the likelihood of engagement.

By implementing these techniques and continuously experimenting and adapting, restaurant email marketers can improve engagement and drive better results with their email campaigns.

4. A/B testing

Testing different subject lines, sender email addresses and send times to identify the most effective ones is crucial for optimizing email engagement. 

Here are a few examples of A/B tested subject lines:

• Subject line 1: The weekend menu is ready for you
• Subject line 2: Fresh bread and pastries, baked with love

The above subject lines were sent to a list size of 6,760 unique email subscribers. In this A/B testing exercise the email campaign with subject line #2 generated 26.9% opens, which is 20% more than subject line #1, which generated a total of 22.4%. In this A/B testing exercise, we observed a consistent pattern where subject lines that described the menu item and contents of the email emerged as the winners.

• Subject line 1:  Last minute stocking stuffer
• Subject line 2:  Last minute Christmas gift cards

The above subject lines were sent to a list size of 13,906 unique email subscribers. In this A/B testing exercise the email campaign with subject line #2 generated 50.9% opens, which is 184% more than subject line #1, which generated 18.0%. Albeit the subject lines used do not seem to be personalized, the subscribers in subject line 2 are comprised of locals and non-locals who have visited the restaurant in the past 3 months.

By analyzing open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates for different subject lines, restaurant marketers can continuously refine their email marketing and personalization strategies.

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5. The impact of visuals: Photography, video and audio content in emails

In addition to personalized content, capture your audience's attention with stunning visuals and tantalizing photographs of your delectable menu items, enticing them to make a reservation, order online, or even venture out from behind their computer screens to experience your restaurant in person.

Including visually engaging elements in an email marketing campaign can capture the recipient's attention and create a more immersive and delightful experience with your brand.

Studies have shown that emails with visually appealing images have higher click-through rates and conversions. Restaurant brands should invest in photography that tell the story of their brand in various seasons, special occasions such as birthdays and holidays, and lifestyle images that resonate with your audience and core customer groups.

Similarly, video content encourages social shares. According to Hubspot, video is the second most effective content type for boosting engagement on social media.

• Tweets on Twitter get 10x more engagement.
• 68% of video marketers plan to use LinkedIn video this year.
• People watch almost a billion videos a day on Pinterest.

There are various examples of visual, video, and audio content that can be incorporated into your email marketing campaigns.  By leveraging these design elements, restaurant marketers can create a more engaging and memorable experience for their audience, ultimately resulting in higher user engagement and conversion rates.

6. Potential applications of AI in restaurant marketing

AI and large learning language models are shaping the future of marketing by transforming huge amounts of data into valuable insights in the speed of lightning. With these next generation marketing technology, restaurant businesses can enhance the performance of their marketing strategy and execution in several ways.

• Audience analysis in the speed of light
• Fully automated personalization processes for  email marketing, SMS marketing and loyalty programs
• Create brand assets and content that exude your brand's tone and voice
• Write brand specific content for a variety of media channels
• Craft unique promotions and offers for your business
• Measure ROI and sales performance
• And so much more! 

The use and application of AI in restaurant marketing has significant impact and potential for transformation. Lean restaurant marketing teams can benefit from using next generation marketing tools to effectively manage multiple projects and tasks at scale, helping them stay ahead of the competition at all times. 

Overall, interactive content and experiences in emails provide a unique and immersive way to connect with subscribers. By fostering engagement, loyalty, and ultimately conversions, AI is a powerful tool in a marketer's arsenal.  Learn more.

Challenges with email personalization

Email personalization has become an essential component of successful email marketing strategies in the restaurant industry. However, there are several challenges that marketers face when it comes to effectively implementing personalization tactics.

One major challenge is the need for accurate and reliable data. To create personalized content, marketers rely on data about their subscribers' preferences, behaviors, and demographics. However, collecting and managing this data can be complex, especially with privacy regulations and concerns.

Hiring a marketing team and lead or agency that is capable of implementing data-driven restaurant marketing strategies at scale can be challenging with a limited budget.  

Finally, there is the challenge of implementing scalable personalization strategies. As the subscriber base grows, restaurant businesses will find it more  challenging to maintain a high level of personalization for each customer without a proper data management strategy.   

Privacy regulations and concerns

Privacy regulations, such as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), have had a significant impact on email marketing. These regulations aim to protect individuals' personal data and ensure that marketers handle it responsibly. As a result, email marketers must be transparent about how they use subscriber data, provide options for subscribers to change their preferences or unsubscribe, and obtain explicit consent before including them in email lists.

One of the key guidelines of GDPR is obtaining consent. Restaurant marketers must clearly explain to subscribers what data will be collected, how it will be used, and who it will be shared with. Additionally, marketers need to create a privacy policy that outlines these details and provide an easy way for subscribers to revoke their consent if desired. These guidelines ensure that subscribers have control over their personal information and feel more comfortable engaging with marketing emails.

At GoGoGuest we are committed to building technology products that prioritize protecting consumer privacy.  We believe that with transparent data usage and explicit consent, restaurant marketers can provide a personalized experience while respecting their subscribers' privacy preferences. This not only strengthens customer engagement but also ensures compliance with data privacy regulations.

Balancing quality vs quantity of email campaigns sent

Balancing the quality and quantity of emails sent is a crucial aspect of effective email personalization strategies. While personalization allows marketers to send highly targeted and relevant emails to their subscribers, finding the right balance is essential to maximize the impact of these messages while maintaining a positive customer experience.

When it comes to the quality of emails, it's all about delivering valuable content tailored to individual preferences and needs. Personalization enables marketers to create highly relevant and engaging messages that resonate with each recipient. By understanding customer behavior, demographics, and preferences, marketers can craft emails that provide real value and drive customer engagement.

However, solely focusing on quality without considering quantity can limit the potential impact. Sending too few emails may result in missed opportunities for personalized communication, reduced customer engagement, and ultimately, lower conversion rates. On the other hand, bombarding subscribers with excessive emails can lead to irritation, higher unsubscribe rates, and even negative brand perceptions.

Striking the right balance ensures that subscribers receive enough personalized content to stay engaged and informed without feeling overwhelmed. A well-optimized email personalization strategy considers factors like the customer journey, frequency preferences, and the specific goals of each email campaign. By finding this balance, marketers can deliver a seamless experience that keeps subscribers interested and builds positive brand perceptions.

How to maximize email personalization strategies for impact

To maximize the impact of email personalization, restaurant marketers can leverage several key strategies and techniques.

• By analyzing data from a customer's digital interactions with your brand including past purchases or reservations, if any, social media engagement and past email engagements, restaurant marketers can create hyper-targeted content that reflects the recipient's preferences and needs.
• Hyper-personalization is crucial. This means encouraging a subscriber to provide their preferences during the email or SMS opt-in process. By understanding the subscriber's preferred frequency of emails or SMS messages, content topics, and preferred communication channels, restaurant marketers can deliver highly personalized and relevant content that resonates with the recipient.
• Diving into data-driven insights is essential. With powerful customer engagement analytics tools and tracking metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates, and sales performance from each campaign, restaurant marketers can gain valuable insights into their audience and optimize their email campaigns accordingly. 
• Captivating storytelling and user-generated content is another powerful technique that restaurant marketers should bake into their marketing quiver. By telling engaging stories and incorporating user-generated content, like reviews or testimonials, restaurant marketers can connect with their audience on a deeper level. This fosters a sense of trust and authenticity, and increases the chances of driving customer engagement and loyalty.

Summary

Email marketing personalization is an effective way to increase open rates, click-throughs, and conversions. With the right strategy and technology, your business can create an email experience that’s tailored to each customer’s individual needs.

Here are the top 6 trends in email marketing personalization for 2023:

1. Automated Personalization: As AI and machine learning become more advanced, automated personalization tools are becoming increasingly popular amongst marketers. These tools allow marketers to send personalized emails based on user behavior, demographics or other factors. Automated personalization can help you quickly generate highly targeted campaigns with minimal effort. Suggested further reading: The State of Personalization in 2023.

2. Dynamic Content: Dynamic content allows you to quickly tailor your emails based on certain conditions such as demographics or user data like purchase history or location. This type of content can be used to create highly relevant messages in a short amount of time and boost engagement with your emails.

3. Behavioral Targeting: By tracking user behavior, you can target customers with more relevant content that speaks directly to them. This type of targeting is especially helpful when trying to re-engage past customers who have gone inactive or abandoned their shopping carts mid-purchase.

4. Dynamic Segmentation: Segmentation is key when it comes to creating personalized emails that speak directly to each customer segment needs and interests. You can use segments based on customer demographics, purchase history, user preferences or other criteria in order to send more relevant messages that will drive better results from your campaigns.

5. A/B Testing: A/B testing allows marketers to test different versions of an email campaign in order to find out which version performs best among subscribers before launching the final version of the message across larger audiences. Through this process, marketers are able to refine their campaigns until they reach peak performance levels in terms of open rate and click-through rate metrics

6. High Fidelity Brand Content and User Generated Content: Photography, rich visuals and video that are interactive and embedded in email campaigns are often re-shared, helps increase a brand's social media followers, and prompts new reservations and online orders.

Conclusion 

Implementing a personalization strategy for email marketing and customer engagement that scale is a big step forward for restaurant businesses. With the help of GoGoGuest, you can quickly generate entire hyper-personalized email campaigns that resonate with your intended audience. Book a demo.