Top 10 Tips for Boosting Restaurant Guest Loyalty & Frequency with Email Marketing

In the restaurant business, one of the keys to long-term success is retaining current guests. Returning customers are typically more profitable than new ones because they require lower marketing and acquisition costs, spend more per visit, and are more likely to order higher-margin items due to their menu familiarity and loyalty. One of the most effective ways to market to existing customers right now is email marketing. 

Email gives restaurants a direct line of communication to their guests, providing opportunities to nurture relationships and drive repeat visits. Here are our top 10 tips for how you can leverage email marketing to boost guest loyalty and frequency in your restaurant.

Tip #1 – Segment Your Audiences 

Audience segmentation is the process of dividing and separating email subscribers into groups or segments based on predefined criteria, aiming to send tailored content instead of distributing the same message to all audiences. You should use data such as purchase history, dining preferences, frequency of visits, location, or engagement with previous campaigns to create personalized emails that resonate with specific audience segments

For example:

• Send Frequent Diners exclusive “VIP” offers to keep them coming back
• Re-engage Lapsed/Infrequent Guests with a special discount or reminder about their favorite dish
• Welcome New Subscribers through a series of emails that introduces them to your restaurant’s story and unique offerings
• Incentivize Loyalty Members with bonus points or early access to new menu items
• Invite Sports Fans to watch upcoming games while enjoying LTOs
• Customize imagery and menu suggestions based on Dietary Restrictions (such as Gluten Free)

Tip #2 – Clearly Define Your Goals

Prior to designing your email and creating copy, you should first identify the primary goal of the email. What’s the key message? What action do we want users to take? How will we measure success? This will guide the decisions you make during the content development phase. Avoid trying to accomplish too much in one email. Remember–if every message is important, no message is important! 

Tip #3 – Stick to Your Brand

The emails you send your guests should look, feel, and sound like they’re coming from your brand to create a cohesive cross-channel experience for users—both online and in your restaurant. Some key branding elements for email marketing include: 

• Leverage your brand’s voice, tone, and overall personality
• Incorporate your logo, colors, and other visual ID elements
• Avoid custom fonts when possible to ensure fonts render correctly across email providers—find comparable web fonts (Google fonts)
• Make sure the sender name is your restaurant/brand name and use a valid “reply to” email address

Tip # 4 – Craft Compelling Subject Lines

First impressions count! The primary goal of the subject line is to get people to open your email. All audiences are different, so spend some time developing and testing subject lines that drive engagement from your guests. 

• Grab attention by using as few words as possible (50-60 characters or less)
• Provide value or excitement for the recipient that makes them want to open the email
• Summarize what recipients are going to read and/or see once they open the email
• Make the most of the preheader text to complement the subject line and provide additional context
• A/B test with different subject line elements to identify what resonates with your audience:
  • Personalization (first name, etc.) 
  • Questions vs. statements
  • Tone 
  • Emojis (restaurants can have some fun with this!) 
  • Creating urgency 

Tip #5 – Make it Visual

Attention spans are short, especially when it comes to reading emails. It’s best to keep the copy of your emails as short as possible and include compelling images to capture attention. Consider including craveworthy images of the food and beverages the email is promoting, or even images of your restaurant to showcase the unique atmosphere guests can expect. 

Additional tips: 

• Write short, punchy, and scannable copy to hold your audience’s attention
• Leverage content blocks, headings, subheadings, bullets, iconography, etc. to promote skimming
• Don’t rely on the email to tell the full story—let it generate interest to get people to the desired destination (online ordering, restaurant locator, gift cards, etc.) 
• Optimize images for faster load times

Tip #6 – Make it Responsive 

Leverage HTML to ensure your email design is responsive and changes format to fit the device and resolution it’s being viewed with—desktop, laptop, mobile. Since not all email clients automatically display images, it’s best to avoid image-based emails. Image-based emails also don’t always render well on mobile devices (appear distorted, text too small to read, CTA buttons too small, etc.). 

Tip #7 – Include Clear CTAs

Thinking back to Step #2 and your email’s goals, incorporate clear, visible, enticing calls to action (CTAs) to encourage guests to take the desired action, ultimately boosting conversions.

• Use contrasting colors to make CTAs stand out
• Keep the wording concise (i.e. “Order Now,” “Find a Location”, “Watch Video”, etc.)
• Keep the CTA above the fold when possible, avoiding significant scrolling 
• Make CTA buttons large enough for easy mobile tapping
• Ensure the landing page pays off the email’s message and delivers on the CTA

Tip #8  – Leverage Marketing Automation

Another powerful feature of email marketing is the ability to send automated, behavior-based emails. These emails are triggered by specific actions or inactions, which means you can respond in real-time to guest behavior and drive visits when they’re most needed. For example, post-dining emails to thank guests and gather feedback, win-back campaigns for customers who haven’t dined recently, birthday and anniversary emails, etc. These trigger-based campaigns will keep your brand on guests’ minds, while offering timely, relevant incentives that encourage repeat visits. And with less time spent manually sending emails, it’ll save you time, too! 

Tip # 9 – Consider Timing & Frequency

A great email strategy doesn’t just consider what to send, but when to send it. Send emails at a time when your audience is most likely to read them. Below are a few general rules, but it’s always best to test and learn with your specific audiences.

• Send emails Tuesday – Thursday, 9am – 12pm or 5 – 6pm ET
• Avoid sending emails too frequently so you don’t overload subscribers
• Establish an appropriate cadence based on the target audience, goals, and your overall email marketing content strategy
• Test frequencies to determine what drives the most engagement while reducing unsubscribe rates (2-3 times per week has been noted as the peak stat; source)
• Time-sensitive offers like LTOs and new product launches may warrant a higher frequency
• Consider allowing subscribers to dictate how frequently they receive emails through a preference center 

Tip #10 – Measure & Optimize

To understand the performance of your restaurant’s emails against the goals you’ve established, you’ll need to set up proper tracking and analyze key metrics on an ongoing basis. 

• Key email marketing metrics to measure include:
  • Deliverability rate
  • Open rate
  • CTR
  • Conversion rate (online orders, etc.) 
  • Unsubscribe rate 
• Append UTMs for source, medium, and campaign to your email links to measure post-click engagement
• Continually test and learn to identify opportunities and improve campaign effectiveness by testing elements like:
  • Subject lines and preview text
  • Send days and times
  • Language and tone 
  • Visual elements (images, videos, GIFs)
  • CTA button design and placement 

Remember, loyalty isn’t built overnight—it’s the result of consistent, thoughtful engagement. Email marketing offers the perfect platform to keep the conversation going and support your restaurant’s goals. So, consider these tips for your email marketing strategy and inspire your guests to keep coming back for more!

Ready to Cook Up Success?

We’re here to help. Morrison has worked with several clients to craft and execute compelling email marketing strategies that drive results. Give us a shout to learn more!