Best Email Marketing Tactics To Use In The Food & Beverage Industry
Posted By Peyton Fox | October 24th, 2023
In a fiercely competitive landscape like e-commerce, having the right set of tools is essential. In the food and beverage industry, leveraging effective email marketing tactics can make all the difference. In this blog, we will review some of the best email marketing tactics your food and beverage brand can utilize to keep up in the industry and help engage with your audience, build brand loyalty, and drive forward sales.
Effective Subject Lines
With 69% of the recipients marking an email as spam based on the subject line, using the right tone and wording can make or break a sale. A good subject line is short and sweet to capture the customer’s attention and give them a sneak peek of what to expect. Keep your subject line between 4 to 7 words or 30 to 50 characters. Here are some subject line tactics you can use in the food and beverage industry:
Urgency:
A good subject creates a sense of urgency, resulting in a higher click and open rate. The best use of urgency is using time-sensitive words that reinforce the customer’s need to act soon or miss out. It’s vital in the food and beverage industry that your subject lines aren’t only clear but have genuine value. We want to prompt engagement, and overusing this tactic can lead to customer disinterest and lack of trust. Use urgency when the need calls for it, and be honest about the deals when you do. Urgent subject lines can include “Ending Soon, Last Chance, Quick, Don’t Miss or Hurry.”
Scarcity:
Unlike clothing and shoe brands, the food and beverage industry tends to have products with expiration dates, and we don’t want products going to waste. Incorporate scarcity subject lines that urge your customers to buy when supplies are limited or low.
You’ve probably heard of the term FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). But did you know how effective it can be for your food and beverage emails? When your food and beverage brand stresses scarcity with its products, it can cause FOMO and prompt customers to check it out and buy it before it’s sold out. Use these kinds of subject lines sparingly, though, as it can have the opposite effect and cause customers to feel pressured to buy. Your goal is to be honest about your offer and not mislead; this is how FOMO and the use of scarcity results in more sales, not agitated customers.
Emojis:
Inboxes are so crowded nowadays in the food and beverage industry you need to find a way to diversify your brand from the rest. This can be done using emojis. Using emojis to replace words or add to them creates a new and engaging way to connect with your customers and stand out amongst the food and beverage industry crowd. If you are a food brand specializing in sweets, your brand can use the ice cream emoji, chocolate bar emoji, or candy emoji. Tons of useful emojis, such as beer, wine, coffee, or tumbler glass emojis, can be used for beverage brands. While emojis are an excellent source for emails in the food and beverage industry, we stress caution when using them- don’t overdo it- too many emojis can make it seem unprofessional and cluttered.
Subject Line Examples
Using all these tactics, your subject lines can dominate the food and beverage industry. Example subject lines using limited characters, urgency, scarcity, and emojis can look like this:
“Exclusive Deal: 24-Hour Flash Sale on Gourmet Chocolates 🍫”
“Limited Time Offer on Artisanal Coffee Blends ☕”
“Grab Your Share of the Limited Batch – Craft Beers Available Now 🍻”
“Satisfy Your Cravings Now – Limited Inventory of Sweet Treats 🍰”
“☕ Morning Rush: Limited Coffee Supplies!”
For the food and beverage industry, the little details lead to email success. The subject line is the first thing your customers see, and making an excellent first impression is everything. Craft your subject line to be between 4 to 7 words, include an honest phrase of what the customer can expect with an incentive such as urgency or scarcity, and add a little emoji to seal the deal. By utilizing these email marketing tactics, your food and beverage brand is setting its emails up for success, significantly improving its email open rates, fostering trust, and driving sales, ensuring your brand emails aren’t just another blimp in the food and beverage industry.
Need some more resources on how to create the best subject lines for your brand in the food and beverage industry? Check us out on Facebook at Email Marketing BFF. Our free Facebook community uploads content on how best to navigate the email marketing industry with free templates, live workshops, and videos packed full of helpful tips.
Inspiration
Inspire your customers and create content that sparks the customer’s curiosity and gives them inspiration about not only why they should buy your products but what they can do with them. Put in-use content into your emails, share recipe ideas, and make how-to videos that’ll help your customers envision themselves with your products.
In-Use:
By providing content showing how to use your products, it gives your customer base an idea of how they can apply it to their everyday lives. If you own a smoothie brand, you can showcase a variety of different fruits on a platter or bowl and then show them being blended and put into a cup. Or a spice brand sprinkling an assortment of different exotic spices on a steak. This breaks up the monotony of using still images for your email marketing and provides a visually appealing alternative.
Recipes:
In the food and beverage industry, showcasing creative ways to use your products is paramount. Make specific content based on dietary preferences or different recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. You can even tailor recipes and content based on the time of year to create seasonal recipes that are trending, such as pumpkin spice-flavored foods and drinks. This gets customers interested to buy the products and try these creative recipes themselves, they may even share it on social media and provide your brand with social proof.
How-To:
How-To content is a great tool in your email marketing arsenal that not only keeps your brand on-trend but also fosters trust and loyalty among customers. It’s about providing valuable guidance and inspiring your audience to explore the endless possibilities of your food and beverage products. Showcase trending recipes and offer step-by-step instructions on how to recreate them. Whether it’s the latest dessert or a unique twist on a favorite latte, your how-to content demonstrates that you’re not just following trends; you’re setting them.
By using in-use demonstrations, creative recipes, and how-to content, you can elevate your email marketing strategies and spark customer curiosity by showing the potential of your products. You’re not just selling items; you’re offering them an experience. This will help you not only stand out in the food and beverage industry but also build lasting trust and loyalty with your customer base.
Responsive Design
Responsive design in email marketing refers to creating emails that adapt and display across various devices and screen sizes, such as tablets, smartphones, and desktop computers. For the food and beverage industry, brands need to make sure their emails are easily readable across all platforms, not just computer screens, as more and more people shop for food and beverages on various devices. 42% of all emails are opened via smartphones or tablets, so creating emails that showcase your delicious and hydrating brands on tablets, smartphones, and computers alike is essential for the food and beverage industry.
Having responsive design emails ensures that customers can view your products and receive deals wherever they may be, ultimately improving user experience and engagement. Suppose a customer who doesn’t have immediate access to their laptop or computer really wants to buy from your online bakery business but views a non-responsive email or is finding themselves having to zoom in or scroll excessively; this often leads to frustration, decreased engagement, and missed opportunities- something e-commerce food and beverage brands can’t afford!
We don’t want customers leaving the page before making a purchase; mobile users often abandon their shopping carts if the checkout process is troublesome to navigate. Responsive design allows you to optimize the checkout page for mobile screens, ensuring that forms, buttons, and payment options are easily accessible and can be completed with minimal effort, allowing your brand to stand out in the food and beverage industry.
Personalization
People are diverse, especially with their dietary needs. This opens up a door of opportunity in the food and beverage industry to personalize their email marketing based on the individual’s personal needs, wants, and previous purchases. 67% of customers have used personal recommendations when shopping for products. When an email has a personal touch to it, the customers feel more appreciated and are more likely to make continued purchases with that brand. Repeat customers, not one-off buyers, drive success in the food and beverage industry. Personalization can be done in a number of ways, such as tailored recommendations, special occasions, and behavioral triggers.
Tailored Recommendations:
Get personal by adding the customer’s name to the email and showcase enticing food and beverage options tailored to their tastes based on past purchases. You can even enhance the message and include friendly copy that thanks them for their purchase and suggests similar products they’d enjoy. For the food and beverage industry, including high-quality images to get customers hungry and thirsty for your products is essential. Remember to add a special discount code or free shipping to sweeten the deal.
Special Occasions:
Every moment is an opportunity to celebrate your customers. Keep track of important dates, such as birthdays or anniversaries, and send personalized emails to make them feel appreciated. Show that you’ve remembered their special day and offer them products they can enjoy and a discount code as a thank you. Whether it’s a birthday, a loyalty anniversary, or another milestone, use these occasions as a chance to connect on a personal level.
Behavioral Triggers:
Sending out emails based on the customer’s past behavior is a great way to let the customer know you’re paying attention to them. This includes abandoned carts, browse abandonment, product replenishment reminders, and post-purchase follow-ups. When one of these is triggered, send a personalized email with the customer’s name and use engaging, friendly copywriting to either thank them for a purchase and suggest other products they might like or to remind them of forgotten items and persuade them on why they should reconsider and make the purchase! Don’t forget to include high-quality photos of your food and beverage products and even some testimonials from previous buyers. When customers see photos of people enjoying your products, it makes it more enticing for them to buy and experience it themselves.
Personalization doesn’t have to be a cut-and-dry email tactic; get creative with it! Address customers by their first names, celebrate their milestones, and keep track of customer’s wants and needs. By getting personal with your customer base, you establish that you pay attention and that your brand cares, which will make you stand out in the food and beverage industry.
Segmentation
Segmentation is a term you’ve probably heard get thrown around when it comes to email marketing- there’s a good reason why. Segmented campaigns can result in a 760% increase in revenue. It’s incredibly important not just for clothing or shoe brands but also for the food and beverage industry. Even within your brand, your customers have their own needs and wants, and everyone’s purchase history will be different. Putting customers into different segments based on when and what they buy improves loyalty and open-and-click rates. Ideas for other segmentation options include age, gender, location, and purchase behavior. The most significant things to look out for when segmenting your customers are their age, gender, income, and location, which significantly affect what they buy and how often they buy it.
Age Segmentation:
Different age groups have distinct food and beverage preferences. For example, you might find that younger people prefer cocktails while your older customers prefer wine and beer. Pay attention to the age of your audience and look for what they are attracted to the most.
Gender Segmentation:
Some products may appeal more to one gender than the other; maybe you find that men prefer chocolate and women prefer cake. Cater your emails concerning chocolate to send more to your male audience and cake to your women, offering them both products that would compliment their preferences.
Income Segmentation:
Income levels can determine how much a customer is willing to spend and how often this affects their spending habits and product choices. In the food and beverage industry, products can either present an expensive, luxury lifestyle or cater to those with children and a limited income. Offer your most premium to those who can afford it based on purchase history and budget options to those who can’t.
Geographic Segmentation:
Targeting your customers based on their geographic location is essential, as their food preferences and availability can vary significantly from one region to another. If a specific type of candy, tea, or pasta is more prevalent where they live, send content and discounts based on those products.
Segmentation is a powerful tool that can transform your email marketing efforts. For the food and beverage industry, where personal preferences and tastes vary widely, segmentation is not just beneficial but essential. By dividing your customer base based on age, gender, income, and location, you can create tailored email campaigns that resonate with each group. Doing this improves customer loyalty and boosts open-and-click rates, ultimately increasing revenue. Don’t underestimate the impact of segmentation on your email marketing strategy. It’s the key to delivering the right message to the right audience and presents the full potential of your brand’s products.
Social Proof
Social media isn’t just for clothing brands; it’s an excellent resource for food and beverage brands to connect with customers and create endless email marketing content. Using social proof in the food and beverage industry helps generate content for your brand to use in email marketing while also increasing your followers online and getting your brand’s name out there. Some of the best ways to get social proof is through influencer collaborations, customer rating and reviews, and UGC (User Generated Content).
Influencer Collaborations:
There is no shortage of influencers nowadays; many are always looking for brands to work with. Do some research and find an influencer that works within your food and beverage niche, whether that is pasta, bread, wine, tea, kava, you name it! Send them some of your products to try and ask that they make content on their platforms endorsing your brand. Influencer opinions carry a lot of weight in today’s age, and a positive opinion about your products can increase sales. You can post this content not just to your social media but also feature it in your emails. When you launch a new product, including a video or review from an influencer, who recommends it will go a long way.
Customer Ratings:
After a customer purchases from your website, give them a few days and then send an email thanking them for their business and asking that they submit a review about the product. You can then use these reviews in future product recommendation emails to other customers and encourage them to buy. We recommend you display 5-star ratings and positive comments prominently on your product pages; that way, they can be noticed. You can use reviews found on social media, provide a link to a form, or even use platforms like Google Reviews for additional credibility.
User-Generated Content:
UGC is often perceived as more authentic and trustworthy than brand-generated content. It showcases real people enjoying your products, which really resonates with potential customers. UGC can come in different varieties, such as videos, photos, and reviews- all of which are useful in the food and beverage industry. Post this content to your social media page and use it in your emails. Include videos of people preparing your cheese spread for a birthday or setting up fun, inventive cocktail drinks for a bachelorette party. You can even create a hashtag on social media as a quick way to search for UGC but also for people to find and get involved with your brand.
Using social proof is a game-changer for the food and beverage industry as it allows brands to connect with their customers, excel in email marketing, and boost customer loyalty and sales. From influencer collaborations to customer reviews and UGC, these kinds of social proof build trust and credibility while providing your brand with a steady stream of email content. Embracing these strategies expands your online following and amplifies your brand’s presence. Social proof isn’t just a tool; it’s the secret ingredient that takes your brand to the next level.
A/B Testing
A/B testing, also known as split testing, is a useful technique for optimizing email marketing campaigns for food and beverage brands. It allows you to test different elements of your emails to determine which ones are most effective in achieving your goals, such as increasing open rates, click-through rates, or conversions. For the food and beverage industry in particular, A/B testing can be used to optimize email campaigns, find the best discounts or offerings to use, and see the best methods to boost customer engagement.
Optimizing Email Campaigns:
A/B testing allows food and beverage brands to refine their email marketing strategies by testing elements such as emojis in your subject lines or using videos and gifs instead of photos as visuals. By identifying what resonates best with your audience, your brand can improve open, click-through, and conversion rates.
Promotions and Discounts:
Offering discounts is essential, but some methods may work better for your food and beverage brand than others. Experiment to assess the effectiveness of various promotional strategies, such as discounts, coupons, and loyalty programs. This helps in finding the right balance between attracting customers and maintaining profitability.
Customer Engagement:
Take those different kinds of social proof your brand has amassed, such as social media posts, surveys, and interactive content, to identify which approaches resonate most with your audience and encourage them to make purchases.
A/B testing is an indispensable tool for food and beverage brands looking to refine their email marketing strategies and enhance customer engagement. It allows food and beverage industry brands to make data-driven decisions rather than rely on gut feelings or assumptions. By analyzing subject lines, visual content, and promotional tactics, brands can uncover the best combinations that drive higher open rates, click-through rates, and conversions.
Conclusion
For the food and beverage industry, where competition is fierce, finding the right email marketing tactics is nothing short of essential. We’ve delved into some of the most effective strategies to help your food and beverage brand not only stand out but thrive. Start by crafting attention-grabbing subject lines with urgency, scarcity, and a touch of emojis to the art of personalization and segmentation, and then explore social proof and the valuable insights that can be gained through A/B testing.
Need more insights into the best email marketing tactics for your brand? Check us out at Spark Bridge Digital and schedule a free 30-minute consultation with us to get feedback on how to make your food and beverage brand stand out from the rest and utilize the email marketing tactics described above. Remember, success in the food and beverage industry lies in the details, and your email marketing strategy is just the start.
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