The power of OpenTable and email marketing

Owning a business means having the right tools at your disposal in order to make not only your life easier, but that of your customer’s as well. When it comes down to it, no technology is perfect, and no one solution works best for everyone, which is why many brands choose to work together and create integrations that help suit the needs of both businesses and their consumers.

Owning a business means having the right tools at your disposal in order to make not only your life easier, but that of your customer’s as well.

Source: Emma

One example can be seen through our own Emma HQ platform, which integrates with a variety of partners to help enhance your overall experience. One of our integration partners is Venga, a platform used for improving customer experiences through the use of data. 

Venga has proven time and again that their data-driven engagement strategies help increase client satisfaction, loyalty and more, so it was no surprise to us when we learned that Venga was joining forces with OpenTable, a brand that’s quickly becoming a one-stop-shop for restaurant technology solutions. 

The power of technology in marketing

What makes the partnership of Venga and OpenTable even more interesting is that it’s bringing all that Venga has to offer, such as the ability to gather and analyze customer data, to individualize the OpenTable user experience. While Emma HQ and OpenTable are not integrated at this time, the data that’s collected for OpenTable can then be used to create powerful, personalized email marketing campaigns for restaurants based on their user’s information. 

What is OpenTable?

Before we go into detail about how OpenTable can be used with Venga and Emma HQ, let’s go over who this brand is and what they provide.

In short, OpenTable is an online restaurant reservation service. It is currently one of the largest dining networks that help millions of diners find and book tables to restaurants worldwide. Why do restaurants choose OpenTable?

  • Allows restaurants to control the availability and draw in more diners

  • Has more than 600+ integrations to help more people book tables across multiple apps

  • Gives restaurants more online exposure through photos, sharing their menus and more

  • Gain search rankings through increased customer reviews

  • So much more

How can OpenTable be used with email marketing?

Since OpenTable has acquired Venga, Emma HQ clients can now take their data from Venga and use it to help better their customer engagement through the use of more personalized email marketing. How is this possible if Emma HQ isn’t integrated with OpenTable you ask? 

The customer information collected through OpenTable, such as names and reservation preferences, sync nightly to Venga. Venga then can sync with Emma HQ and be put to good use. In short, the information transfer looks something like this:

The customer information collected through OpenTable, such as names and reservation preferences, sync nightly to Venga.

Source: Selfmade 

Using OpenTable data to personalize your email campaigns

Once you have transferred your OpenTable data into your Venga integration, you can then start using your customer data to personalize your email campaigns better, much like The Palm’s did in their “We Miss You” campaign.

Once you have transferred your OpenTable data into your Venga integration, you can then start using your customer data to personalize your email campaigns better, much like The Palm’s did in their “We Miss You” campaign.

Source: Emma

Some of the data that is collected through the use of Venga includes:

  • A person’s name

  • Their age

  • Places frequented

  • Days they’ve visited & more

Using this data can help restaurants create custom, personalized email campaigns that cater to a customer’s likes, personal preferences, and so much more. The options here indeed are endless. If you give your consumers the option of filling out a preference center, then that opens your brand up to even more vital information, which can help you further personalize your campaigns. 

Examples of stellar personalized restaurant email campaigns

After syncing OpenTable with Venga, Emma HQ users can then use that data to design not only beautiful email campaigns for their readers but personalize them to their customers. Below, we’ve compiled a few examples of customized restaurant-related email campaigns to help guide your creative process. 

Union Jack

This example by Union Jack isn’t only a visually appealing email, it doubles as an event invite. An email campaign like this can be created using the data that was collected by OpenTable and downloaded to our Venga integration. Users who then have visited this location before could then be emailed an invite, as could those who have frequented other locations that may have featured adult beverages and desserts. 

This example by Union Jack isn’t only a visually appealing email, it doubles as an event invite. An email campaign like this can be created using the data that was collected by OpenTable and downloaded to our Venga integration.

Source: Delivra

Resy 

Resy is a brand that connects readers to some of the best restaurants worldwide. A brand like this could easily put OpenTable/Venga to good use and then use their customer information to create personalized emails that suggest different restaurants to their readers. 

In the example below, Resy suggests pizza in New York and even goes so far as offering up a coupon code for readers to use. Even better—users who receive these emails can go ahead and book their restaurant reservations through the link provided, making it a win-win for the reader and the restaurant.

In the example below, Resy suggests pizza in New York and even goes so far as offering up a coupon code for readers to use.

Source: Campaign Monitor

Reserve

Reserve is a similar service as Resy, and, in fact, was recently acquired by them. With that said, Resy offers reservation recommendations to popular restaurants, all based on a user’s preferences. Since they use consumer preferences and past reservations for making their recommendations, they can use a service like Emma HQ to create personalized email campaigns to attract the reader's attention. 

These campaigns not only allow users to book a table, but they can also send "Thank You" campaigns for booking a seat, followed up with a reminder email that includes their reservation details, such as Reserve did in their email below. 

These campaigns not only allow users to book a table, but they can also send "Thank You" campaigns for booking a seat, followed up with a reminder email that includes their reservation details, such as Reserve did in their email below.

Source: Really Good Emails

Why marry a source like OpenTable and email marketing?

We know just how powerful OpenTable is. Thanks to their partnership with Venga, a popular integration used by many of our Emma HQ clients, the ability to send your clients beautifully designed, personalized campaigns is now easier than ever. 

Not only does having the right information help drive better quality campaigns, having a marketing tool that can tie everything together makes your restaurant marketing strategy that much simpler. The right tools can help you create brand consistency while being able to monitor everything that your marketing team does, even if they’re located across different franchise locations. 

Not only does having the right information help drive better quality campaigns, having a marketing tool that can tie everything together makes your restaurant marketing strategy that much simpler.

Source: Emma 

Remember, the work doesn’t end after you’ve hit the “send” button. Once you’ve sent off your personalized email campaigns, you’ll want to monitor them carefully to see how they perform with your readers. 

It is especially important since you’ve got access to vital consumer information through OpenTable and Venga. Use this information and see if your content is suiting their needs by monitoring your email campaign’s key performance indicators such as:

  • open rates

  • click-through rates

  • deliverability rates 

If they’re opening and booking reservations, then you know your content best suits your reader’s needs. If they aren’t, then you know it’s time to head back to the drawing board. 

Why is monitoring this information important? This information is just as crucial as your customer data. Why—because it's what will help drive your email marketing campaigns in the right direction. Without it, you won't know what type of content your users prefer and sending them the wrong content can be just as detrimental as sending them no content at all.

Wrap up

With Emma HQ’s integration with Venga, restaurants can make use of valuable consumer data that is collected through sources such as OpenTable. It can be done in several ways, including:

  • Creating personalized email campaigns

  • Making quality recommendations to readers

  • Allowing feedback to help boost a restaurant’s online presence 

Having the right data means nothing if you don’t have the right marketing materials to put that data to good use. 

If you’re ready to see what Emma HQ and Venga have to offer your brand, request a demo today! 

About the Author

Emma is an email marketing platform that gives you all the tools you need to send campaigns that really connect with your subscribers. With our

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