The Aquitaine Group is the Boston-based restaurant management company behind the acclaimed Aquitaine Bar a Vin Bistro, Metropolis Café, Union Bar and Grille, and Gaslight Brasserie du Coin, in Boston’s South End, as well as Aquitaine Chestnut Hill.  Partners Seth Woods, Matt Burns, and Jeff Gates developed The Aquitaine Group based on their love of food and passion for excellent service and hospitality. 

Challenge: Connecting with customers at multiple sites

The Aquitaine Group attracts thousands of patrons at its five restaurants each week. Aquitaine Group partner Jeff Gates, who handles marketing for the company and its restaurants has found no shortage of customers interested in signing up for an individual restaurant’s mailing list, and uses various methods to capture this information. Gates includes an opportunity for diners to subscribe to a restaurant’s mailing list at multiple touch points, such as a comment card presented at the end of every meal, or as part of the reservation process.

However, Gates struggled to find a way to capture and organize the email addresses and specific data about each customer’s interests in order to market to them most effectively. Knowing which diners are interested in special events or menu updates allows Gates to target his messages to those customers.

“We easily collect hundreds of email addresses a month from customers, but we want to know what will most interest them so we can be certain that after they’ve signed up they’ll want to continue hearing from us,” said Gates.

Solution: Targeted communication leads to happy readers – and diners!

Gates found his answer in an email marketing solution from Constant Contact.  He relies on this solution to capture and manage the customer information he receives from all of the restaurants. Using Constant Contact, Gates is able to produce targeted email campaigns that stir excitement about dining at Aquitaine Group restaurants.

“After sharing their email addresses, our patrons soon realize that we put them in control of what they receive through email, and if they wish, easily allow them to step out of the conversation,” says Gates. “We’re thankful for Constant Contact’s good email practices. It fosters trust and confidence amongst our customers, puts them in control and makes them feel valued.”

Gates is also able to manage the growth of his lists by paying attention to the campaign reports that are incorporated into his email marketing subscription. He receives updates when people join his mailing list or when they opt-out. The Aquitaine Group has found that very few customers opt-out of receiving their news, but when they do – it’s okay. “The only thing worse than getting an email you don’t want is getting it twice,” says Gates. “We’re not in the business of chasing people who don’t want to be in a conversation with us. A smaller list that only goes to people who really want to hear from us is so much more effective.”

The Aquitaine Group’s emails are focused on menu updates, new dishes and upcoming events. Each newsletter has a purpose, includes a specific call-to-action and highlights important reservation information. These elements have had a great impact, producing higher results and increasing business. The Aquitaine Group’s past three campaigns have generated an open rate of 41.76%, on average, with a click-through rate of 26.9%.

After using Constant Contact for a while, and taking advantage of the free education Constant Contact offers, such as local email marketing seminars and webinars, Gates feels that he has become more fluent in email marketing and better equipped to communicate to customers. Said Gates, “Constant Contact created a discipline for me - that’s what I needed – a professor, a teacher. For me, it feels like I’ve joined a marketing club.”

Success: Reliable results translate into regular customers

Before sending Aquitaine Group news with Constant Contact, Gates found it difficult to determine the efficacy of his email campaigns. “With Constant Contact's reporting, we can directly relate reservations and gift cards sold as a result of our email campaigns. We can even tell who is coming to our web site because of a link we included in the emails.”

Constant Contact has provided The Aquitaine Group with an efficient way to build a devoted customer base. Gates notes, “If a diner has a good experience at our restaurant, they might return. When they sign up for our newsletter they often become a regular.”