Restaurant CRM Promotions: What to Know Before Getting Started

Running restaurant CRM (customer relationship management system) promotions is one of the best ways to drive repeat visits, boost loyalty, and increase customer lifetime value. But not all promotions are created equal. Without the right data, timing, and targeting, even the best offers can fall flat.

That’s where a restaurant CRM system becomes essential. With tools built specifically for hospitality, you can launch promotions that feel personal, timely, and impactful to your customers.

In this post, we’ll explore how to run effective promotions with a restaurant CRM, where most restaurants go wrong, and how you can avoid those same pitfalls.

Why do you need a restaurant CRM?

A restaurant CRM system helps you collect, organize, and act on guest data.

Unlike generic CRM platforms, a restaurant CRM system connects directly with your POS, online ordering, and loyalty tools to give you a real-time picture of your guests.

This means you can:

Run promotions that work for your specific audience
Launch marketing campaigns tailored to your guests' behavior
Improve the overall guest experience by applying valuable insights to your marketing

As your CRM works behind the scenes to drive more orders and boost revenue, you can put your focus back on day-to-day operations, the dining experience, and, of course, your food.

Why most restaurant CRM promotions fall flat

Many restaurants use CRM tools to send mass emails and SMS messages to offer blanket discounts or run sporadic loyalty campaigns.

Efforts like these often miss the mark because they:

Lack segmentation: All guests receive the same offers, regardless of their level of engagement with the restaurant
Are too infrequent: Sends aren't triggered by guest behavior or habits
Are sent at the wrong time: Messages are sent too far ahead or too close to a promotion's end date

As a result, many restaurant CRM promotions can feel generic or irrelevant, and customers tune them out.

4 tips to build restaurant CRM promotions that actually work

Here are four tips you can follow to avoid sending ineffective restaurant CRM promotions:

1. Rely on automation when possible

Reduce your workload by using automated CRM promotions. With the DoorDash Commerce Platform Boost and Pro packages, you can take advantage of automated email sequences that help you win back lapsed customers and engage loyalty program members. These set-it-and-forget-it campaigns run in the background, and can boost order frequency by an average of 15% among new and returning customers.*

Explore automated email marketing

2. Segment your sends

Not every promotion will work for every customer. Does it make sense to send a welcome offer to a long-standing, frequent customer? Probably not. Before scheduling a send, think critically about who your message is for, and segment accordingly to make sure you capture the attention of the audience you have in mind.

With customizable email and text marketing available on the DoorDash Commerce Platform Pro package, you can segment your audience by loyalty program status, order frequency, and more.

restaurant text message campaign segmentation

Explore customizable email and text marketing

3. Pick the channel that matches the length of your promotion

Will the promotion you're running last a few weeks or just a few hours? Use the length of your promotion to help you decide which CRM channel to use. SMS and push notifications are a great choice for very time-sensitive deals, while emails are a good choice for longer-tail campaigns where customers have more time to take advantage of the offer.

restaurant text message campaign creation

4. Measure and iterate

Use campaign reporting tools to look at open rates, clicks, and how many sales a CRM promotion brought in. Key metrics like these will help you track how your marketing efforts are supporting your goals, helping you refine your promotions strategy as you gear up for your next send.

Effective restaurant promotion ideas

The best restaurant CRMs make it easy to apply your guest data to ensure you're sending relevant messages at the right time and through the right channels.

Here are some promotions you can run with your restaurant CRM:

Winback offers: Offer lapsed guests a discount on their next order to get them back in the habit of ordering from your restaurant.
Welcome promotions: Secure your spot in new customers' good graces by offering them a welcome discount on their first order.
Loyalty perks: Give your loyalty program members access to exclusive promotions, offers, and freebies as a "thank you" for their commitment to your brand.

For more CRM promotion ideas, check out these email and SMS campaigns for restaurants.