Business & E-mail Marketing Lessons from Restauranteur Jeff Good
Have you been revolutionary this week? I hope so… Let’s get started with this week’s marketing lesson on E-mail Marketing.
Consistency. Consistency. Consistency.
Last week, we learned how important it is to be “consistent in the small things” and to “do what makes your heart sing” from small business owner turned publishing superstar, Jill Conner Brown (aka THE Sweet Potato Queen and Multiple #1 New York Times Bestselling Author).
This week, Jeff Good, co-owner of three locally owned and operated restaurants, started off the ResultsRevTV episode again discussing consistency. Maybe moving mountains and finding success means just being consistent and reliable in what you can get done in your business? How can you be more consistent this week in your marketing and customer experience?
Building Blocks for an Effective E-mail Marketing Program
Yesterday, Jeff spent a lot of time talking to us about his highly successful e-mail marketing efforts. Here are a few tips you can apply to find success in your own e-mail marketing campaigns this week:
- Use a robust software solution for your e-mail marketing. This assures you are compliant with Federal spam laws and that you have access to valuable customer insights and analytics.
- Practice using the software by sending test messages to yourself over and over again until you get it right. Don’t practice on your customers, or you’ll hurt your brand by sending out e-mails that look BAD.
- Use an e-mail solution that has a “schedule your campaign” feature. Make sure you know how to use that feature! This will allow you to create campaigns on your schedule – and send them at the best time for your customers. Jeff has learned that Monday afternoon and Tuesday mornings are his best times to send for a great response.
- Collect e-mail addresses consistently and aggressively. They are GOLD to you and will contribute mightily to your business success now and far into the future.
- Accept that the balancing act between e-mailing too much and not informing your customers is a delicate one. When in doubt, make sure your customers are informed. They can delete the e-mail if they wish, but remember that they chose to be on your list.
- Don’t be a spammer. That means NOT collecting e-mails wherever you can (like from the CC: line of a chain e-mail). Only send e-mails to those who requested them. Jeff admitted that he was a recovering spammer, and he recommends again such practices.
- Respect privacy. Always do the RIGHT thing by your customers by never sharing their e-mail address or your list as a whole with anyone, even your closest ally in business. Have thick skin and don’t let it bother you when people unsubscribe from your list – even if it’s your best friend.
- Never send e-mail just to send it. Only send valuable e-mails.
BONUS: Jeff on Customer Complaints & Employees
Jeff also shared some general wisdom that he’s learned from more than fifteen years in the restaurant business:
- Create a vehicle to collect customer complaints. Jeff uses highly visible printed comment cards in his restaurants. They process approximately 200 cards a week – some complimentary; a few not so much.
- Take customer complaints seriously. Create a system that allows you to respond to complaints quickly and consistently. But also nurture an environment with your employees where complaints make it to you, the owner, so that you can ALL learn from these complaints/mistakes together.
- When you receive a complaint, go out of your way and over the top to make it right. When someone praises you, say thank you. Jeff sends a small gift card as a thank you to customers of his fine dining restaurant for every comment card they submit.
- The quality of the business that you build will determine the quality of the employees you will attract.
Want more?
How many e-mails does Jeff have in his database? What campaign has been his most successful to date? How does he consistently sell out events using nothing more than e-mail marketing? Watch the full episode archive HERE and learn the answers to all of those questions and much more.
Jeff Good is co-owner of Mangia Bene Restaurant Group, a locally owned and operated restaurant group in Jackson, Miss. Jeff and his partner Dan Blumenthal own and operate their original, high quality, high touch restaurant concepts Bravo! Italian Restaurant & Bar, Sal & Mookie’s New York Pizza & Ice Cream Joint, and Broad Street Baking Company as well as Mangia Bene Catering.
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