Email Marketing Fail: Pita Grill, New York City
So I eat at Pita Grill a lot. I love their Steak and Rice Bowl. Their Hummus is quite good, and because it’s Hummus, I’m apt to forget how fattening it is, because it sounds like it’s good for me.
However, from an email marketing perspective, they need to go back to the kitchen.
I got this in my email today, with the subject line of “Happy Earth Day!”
OK. Where to begin…
OK. It is earth day, it’s 4/22. They got that part right. Sadly, though, that’s where the good stuff ends.
Their call to action was
a) Buy our food.
b) Don’t get it delivered, but come and pick it up
c) Eat it outside.
What am I missing here?
Wouldn’t Pita Grill do better offering some kind of call to action that encourages me to go there not just because I remember how good their Steak Rice Bowl is, but rather, because they’re offering some kind of discount, or other incentive?
How about: “In celebration of Earth Day, help keep our planet green by walking to pick up your food instead of ordering it in, and , and we’ll give you ten percent off your order! And hey, since it’s a gorgeous day out, eat it at Hell’s Kitchen Park, a block away!”
Or, they could do what Seamless Web does, and tell me that if I bring my own silverware, they’ll drop a buck off my order. I’m actually kinda surprised they DIDN’T do this, since if you look, their back-end is RUN by Seamless Web!
All companies know that Green only works for them if it has a bottom line of money saved or made. And we also know that money earned comes better with targeted campaigns. So since you already had my contact info, why not give me a better reason to come to you today?
I’m already in their geographic area, since they deliver to me, so adding in the park reference would be a nice touch, since I didn’t even know such a park existed. (Thank you, Google Earth.)
The goal of any email campaign should be conversion, not JUST recognition. As such, a call to action must actually DO something, not just remind me of you. Give me a reason to eat there again when I hadn’t thought of it before, and I’ll come on in.
On the plus side, at least they didn’t tell me to print out the email and bring it in for a discount.
April 22nd, 2010 at 10:49 am
Well put Peter and yes, they definitely missed the mark on this email campaign. With so many mobile users, they could have even offered an online coupon that consumers could show when ordering. I see this often with birthday marketing emails as well. Businesses need to understand that there needs to be a strong value added incentive for consumers to take action.
April 22nd, 2010 at 10:53 am
Great post Peter. I’m in charge of email marketing here at my biz and I live to read about what others are doing great and also not so well. Question though, what would have been bad with the “print n’ bring” for discount? Thanks!
April 22nd, 2010 at 11:06 am
Excellent points! A great reminder too that when it comes down to it, the call to action is so crucial to have right. And to @caleb at GW …. it’s earth day – save the paper :)!
April 22nd, 2010 at 11:20 am
“…a call to action must actually [get me to] DO something, not just remind me of you.” — well said. A lot of companies miss this opportunity to creatively engage with their customers.
Pita Grill also had an opportunity to strengthen its brand here (perhaps by noting whether any of their ingredients are locally sourced, or explaining what they are doing for Earth Day other than giving discounts) in addition to giving you an incentive to walk in — showing that they are taking action can often urge the customer to take action.
@Caleb — the print-and-bring would have been not so environmentally friendly for an Earth Day promotion :)
April 22nd, 2010 at 11:39 am
Caleb,
I was about to ask the same question until I thought about it. A lot of people get their email on PDAs and Cell phones. They can’t print the email. How about “Print this email or show us your Blackbery and we’ll take a dollar off your order.”
Peter – comment?
April 22nd, 2010 at 11:53 am
Because printing a coupon isn’t very earth-friendly
April 22nd, 2010 at 11:55 am
I am guessing that printing would not be such a great thing with it being Earth Day and all. Reduce, reuse, etc.
I run a website devoted to discounts and deals, and I can’t tell you how many of these Pita Grill-type messages I get. They go straight to the trash. But the ones that offer a discount or other bonus? They usually get a mention on my site, even if it’s only 10 percent off or a free cookie with purchase.
April 22nd, 2010 at 12:15 pm
Good call Peter. I’ve made similar mistakes in the past and it’s always a good thing to remember that IF you’re going to interrupt somebody with an email you should make it worth their while to have read it.
April 22nd, 2010 at 12:30 pm
I believe the downside to print and bring is that part of the point of Earth Day is to reduce waste, which is what the printout would be.
April 22nd, 2010 at 12:36 pm
Indeed. Using Earth Day as a hook with no more tie-in than “eat outside” and no call to action is, well, useless. And yet another example of how marketers continue to miss the boat on this particular holiday. They could engage consumers, grow their business, and do some good for the world if they treated Earth Day as an opportunity for service and not just another “tent pole event” on their promotional calendar.
Caleb and Merchant 911, Printing the e-mail would have wasted paper, not very Earth Day friendly. ;)
April 22nd, 2010 at 12:39 pm
Print n bring = wasting paper on Earth day! :)
April 22nd, 2010 at 12:41 pm
Caleb and merchant911 –
I think the reference is that it is earth day. Don’t call for something to be printed on dead trees.
April 22nd, 2010 at 1:07 pm
Lara,
Good point! And perhaps another opportunity? “In honor of Earth Day, don’t print this email, but show us your iPhone for a 10% discount.”
April 22nd, 2010 at 1:08 pm
@Caleb, @Merchant911,
Ummm, this is Earth Day. Why would you waste Earth’s resources by printing something short lived on a piece of paper. A simple “mention this email when you come in” should suffice, provided your customer service staff has been prepped for hearing that and giving the discount.
@Peter,
Thank you for a great post!
Eric
April 22nd, 2010 at 1:09 pm
Earth day…paper…got it – (insert sheepish look here).
April 22nd, 2010 at 1:19 pm
Peter, if I were Pita Grill, I’d be over there right now with a deluxe lunch for you for doing a critique and rewrite of the email marketing campaign. What sounds like venting is actually the solution to their problem, and if they are smart, they will follow your advice. This is amazing publicity for them.
April 22nd, 2010 at 1:39 pm
Sigh….lazy marketing.
April 22nd, 2010 at 2:10 pm
David,
Care to elaborate? The Pita Grill? One of the commenters?
April 22nd, 2010 at 4:21 pm
[...] Email Marketing Fail: Pita Grill, New York City Published: April 22, 2010 Source: The Home of Peter Shankman – Shankman.com So I eat at Pita Grill a lot. I love their Steak and Rice Bowl. Their Hummus is quite good, and because it’s Hummus, I’m apt to forget how fattening it is, because it sounds like it’s good for me. However… [...]
April 22nd, 2010 at 4:28 pm
I agree that Pita Grill needs a stronger call to action but I wish you had not used the example of a coupon as a call to action. Most marketers are too reliant on offering a discount/price reduction to entice purchase. It is easy to offer a price reductions/coupons and it certainly works in the short term but it ultimately hurts the brand/business in the long term.
There is a gourmet hot dog place across the street from my office. They tweet price promotions everyday. However, I won’t buy my lunch there unless i have a coupon or a discount. This is a gourmet lunch spot they shouldn’t be building their brand on price but on their unique menu items. Just like Pita Grill should have tempted you with their “healthy” hummus or their awesome steak bowl right around the time your stomach was grumbling for lunch.
April 26th, 2010 at 8:33 pm
You are on the mark, Peter, but you didn’t know Hell’s Kitchen Park? All .58 of an acre for the entire park? It bears the sign explaining the origin of the name Hell’s Kitchen (or at least the legend of the creation of the name) with plenty of benches to choose from with your nobly carried take out lunch.