When Rocky Hill, Conn.-based steakhouse Dakota decided to celebrate students' return to school with $10 off an entrée, the restaurant chose e-mail as the vehicle that would carry that coupon to customers.
The back-to-school period was a natural candidate for a promotion, said Sara Haggerty, director of administration and marketing for Dakota's parent company Reel Hospitality.
"It seemed like a great time of year to bring people in the restaurant and let them know about celebrating their kids being back in school, and come in and check out our steakhouse," she said.
Since it signifies transition — and, by association, a time crunch and collision of schedules — the return to school is a key opportunity for restaurants to connect with their customers, said Kathleen Richardson, vice president of client services for Alexandria, Va.-based Fishbowl Marketing, which handles Dakota's e-mail marketing.
"It's a great opportunity for a restaurant owner to remind these time-pressed parents, and the time-pressed moms who are a bit harried, about the convenience that they offer," she said.
For a successful back-to-school e-mail promotion, Richardson said a restaurant should emphasize three components in the message: convenience, to accommodate busy schedules; a family-friendly environment, to welcome children; and value, to offset the additional expenses associated with school.
"It's a time when parents are spending dollars on back-to school expenses," she said. "And we all know about that: school supplies and clothes and other things. What a great time to remind them that kids eat free or for a reduced price."
Concepts with built-in convenience factors are particularly suited to a back-to-school promotion because of their appeal to time-sensitive customers, Richardson said.
"If you have curbside-to-go or if you're a fast-casual concept, it might remind them that they can come in and pick it up or call ahead," she said.
For Dakota's promotion, 1,600 e-mails were delivered to guests. About 25 percent of those were opened, which is standard, Haggerty said. Based on that rate, she said coupon redemption seems to be moving along successfully.
Dakota general manager Chuck Cornell said 15 coupons had been redeemed as of the eighth day of a three-week promotion and he expected a solid conclusion from it as well.
"You always get hit right off the bat and then right at the end," he said.
Haggerty also expected a positive overall response from the promotion. The company was pretty open to using e-mail for its back-to-school promotion, since other ventures with Fishbowl — such as March Madness and women's night promotions — had been successful.
"Fishbowl is a really wonderful tool," she said. "It allows you to reach people for a pretty low cost, considering you can send out as many e-mails as you want per month. It's a great way to reach guests."
