You’ve probably spent years building your guest database.
So, are you actually talking to the people in it?
Email marketing for restaurants doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s still one of the simplest ways to bring guests back. New menu coming? Tell them. Tickets on sale for an event? Tell them. Got tables to fill next Wednesday? You get the idea.
The question is which tool to use.
There are the big email marketing platforms, some simpler alternatives, and tools built specifically around restaurants. Here are five I’d look at.
There isn’t one answer for every restaurant.
Mailchimp is a good all-rounder, Brevo gives you a wider set of marketing tools, MailerLite keeps things relatively simple, and Klaviyo goes much deeper into customer data and automation.
DinnerBooking takes a different approach by putting newsletters alongside your bookings and guest database.
Here’s the quick version.
Mailchimp is the obvious place to start.
It’s been around for years and gives you pretty much what you’d expect from a dedicated email marketing platform: campaigns, templates, segmentation, automation and audience management.
If you want email marketing to be a bigger operation for your restaurant, there’s a lot you can do with it.
I’d look at Mailchimp if: you want a dedicated platform and expect to make good use of the extra marketing tools.
Yes, this one is us.
But there’s a good reason I’ve included DinnerBooking.
DinnerBooking takes a slightly different approach to the dedicated email marketing platforms on this list. Your Newsletter System sits alongside your bookings and guest database.
So every time someone books a table, you’re also building an audience you can communicate with later.
You can reach frequent guests, reconnect with people who haven’t booked for a while or tell guests about an upcoming event. And with a newsletter subscription link, you can grow that audience beyond the people who have already booked.
If you already use DinnerBooking, that might save you from paying for another platform. If you’re choosing a restaurant booking system, it’s worth asking whether email marketing is something you want built into it from the start.
I’d look at DinnerBooking if: you want bookings, guest data and email marketing working together rather than managing them separately.
Brevo starts to make sense when you want to do more than send newsletters.
Email sits alongside a wider set of marketing and customer communication tools, including automation.
If you’re building a broader marketing setup around your restaurant, that’s useful. If you just want to tell your guests about next month’s events, you might not need all of it.
I’d look at Brevo if: email is one part of a bigger marketing setup.
MailerLite is perhaps the easiest proposition on this list to understand.
It’s a dedicated email marketing platform without making the whole thing feel too complicated.
You can create campaigns, manage subscribers and set up automations. For a restaurant that wants a standalone newsletter tool and doesn’t need a huge marketing setup, that could be enough.
I’d look at MailerLite if: you want a dedicated email marketing tool and want to keep things relatively simple.
Klaviyo is at the other end of the scale.
Its strength is using customer data for detailed segmentation and automated marketing. That becomes interesting if you have more complex customer journeys, particularly if your restaurant business also includes ecommerce.
Would I choose it just to tell previous guests that Christmas bookings are open? Probably not.
But if you want to get much deeper into customer data and automation, it’s one to look at.
I’d look at Klaviyo if: your marketing needs go well beyond the occasional restaurant newsletter.
Not always.
This is the question I’d ask before getting too deep into feature lists.
What are you actually trying to do?
If you want complex automations, detailed customer journeys and email to become a serious marketing channel, then a dedicated platform could be money well spent.
But a lot of restaurants have a much simpler opportunity sitting in front of them: previous guests.
They’ve already chosen your restaurant once. You don’t need to convince them who you are. You need to give them a reason to come back.
That might be a new menu. An event. Christmas and New Year. A special experience. A Campaign Code for a quieter weekday.
And if those guests are already sitting in your booking system, I’d start there.
Don’t send a newsletter because you haven’t sent one for a month.
Send one because you have something worth coming back for.
An event is an obvious one. So is a new menu or experience. If Wednesdays have been looking a little empty lately, give people a reason to book one.
And you don’t always have to say the same thing to everyone.
Your regulars might be interested in something different from guests you haven’t seen for six months.
Think about who you want back, what would make them book and when you need them.
Then send something useful.
If you want a dedicated email marketing setup with more advanced automation, Mailchimp, Brevo, MailerLite and Klaviyo all offer different levels of functionality.
But restaurants have another option.
Rather than treating bookings and email marketing as two separate jobs, you can choose a system where they already work together.
That’s the thinking behind DinnerBooking’s Newsletter System. A guest books a table, becomes part of your guest database, and you have a way to stay in touch afterwards.
If you already use DinnerBooking, take a look at what you have before adding another platform.
And if you’re currently choosing a booking system, don’t just think about how it gets guests through the door the first time. Think about what it gives you to bring them back.
