In her recent DM News article titled, "Restaurants Drive Consumers to Dine Out with Calculated Email Coupons," Diana Dilworth reports restaurant chains are having huge success using email to attract new and repeat customers. What’s noteworthy, I think, is that restaurant chains like Pei Wei Asian Diner and Taco John’s International have learned that the key to successful email marketing is using other channels like social media, in-store signage and mobile to invite consumers to become email subscribers.To introduce its new Caramel Chicken entrée, Pei Wei used a cross-channel marketing strategy that included in-store signage, online ads and social media messages that invited consumers to sign up for Pei Wei's email list for a buy-one, get-one free coupon. To get the coupon, consumers were asked to text their email address to a mobile shortcode.
The multichannel campaign netted 20,000 new email subscribers in just two weeks, making it the restaurant chain’s most successful new email list growth effort to date. It also proves that using SMS to drive email opt-in is very smart.
Equally impressive was the number of new email subscribers who used the coupon. Redemption rates at Pei Wei’s 173 locations averaged 20 percent!
“Given the large volume of guests carrying their mobile phones into the restaurants, adding an SMS element to our social media, web and email channels made perfect sense,” said Jason Miller, digital content and community manager for P.F. Chang’s. “Texting doesn’t just allow us to engage with customers while they’re in the restaurant, it enables us to expand our email and social media strategy so we can continue creating relevant and effective customer experiences even after they leave.”
Like Pei Wei, Taco John’s International also uses in-store signage that encourages consumers to sign up for its email list by texting to a mobile shortcode. Taco John’s is using email combined with social and mobile to attract new customers. The chain uses promotions to help build its list and to drive traffic into the store. For instance, in November of last year, the company sent out emails to its database to promote its new Baja Boneless Wings dish. In order to encourage recipients to go into the restaurant, Taco John's email included a coupon for a free portion of the meal.
Cross-Channel Marketing Strategies are More Effective
The successful marketing strategies of Pei Wei and Taco John’s prove that a well-planned cross-channel marketing strategy engages customers more effectively and delivers better results. To learn more about how to plan and manage cross-channel marketing campaigns that deliver a seamless customer experience, read the 2011 Forrester Consulting study commissioned by ExactTarget titled “The New Campaign Management Mandate.” To download the free report, visit www.ExactTarget.com/mandate
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