After birthdays, Mother's Day is the second-most popular day to dine out, according to the National Restaurant Association. Valentine's Day is third, followed by New Year's Eve.
In the restaurant industry, reservations are crucial when it comes to holiday or special-event dining. They let the chef know how many he or she can expect for dinner — minimizing waste in the process — and they give staff an idea of what to expect during the day. Restaurant operators can look to the Internet, and their established e-mail lists, to drive traffic and sales for those all-important holiday feasts.
Holiday or special event e-mails can save an operator time and money, and can be used as a last-minute reminder to call restaurant patrons into action, said Aron Hayek, account supervisor with Fishbowl Marketing.
E-mail reminders can be sent as a primary or secondary restaurant-marketing approach, used in lieu of radio, television or print advertisements, or as a supplement.
"I'd say it works best for any and every holiday," Hayek said. "When clients identify a holiday that relates to their brand, it sends the perfect message."
Hayek said about 75 percent of reservation e-mails are used as the primary marketing technique; about 25 percent are used as a reminder.
Jennifer Russell, owner of the Stardust Restaurant in Alexandria , Va.
"It's a really great tool to get information to people. For making reservations in advance, I think e-mail is a great way to do it," she said.
For Russell's e-mail subscribers, they have the ability to make reservations over the phone or via the Internet. But the majority, about 90 percent, of restaurant e-mail subscribers use the alerts as a reminder to call the restaurant, Hayek said.
A few easy steps ...
Restaurant operators using the Fishbowl Local Store Marketing Interface can build and send their own e-mail messages, determining when and how those messages are sent and received.
"If you have something that comes up at the last minute, you don't have to plan all of your marketing," Hayek said. "From a local store standpoint, it allows you to let your customer base know about it at the drop of a hat."
Additionally, Russell said the ability to compose the restaurant's e-mail messages has given her a creative outlet.
"Sometimes you get so bogged down in the day-to-day stuff (e-mail) allows you to be creative and to show the personality of the place," she said. "It's amazing how user-friendly computers have become; it's such an important part of communication now."
Clients who use the Fishbowl program also have access to full program customer support, including training, implementation and local-store messaging tools, and sales and service-department assistance.
Hayek said the e-mail reservation program is the perfect fit for restaurants, many of which have a loyal customer following.
