Italian Again?

Should your E-Newsletter present a buffet of choices?

Did you ever notice how hard it is to pick a restaurant when you're going out to dinner with several couples? We have a group of friends that we've known for 9 years and we face this challenge regularly. You would think that picking the restaurant would be the easy part of getting together. We all get along so well (it would be much more entertaining for you if there was just an ounce of controversy, mystery or madness). I always vote for something flavorful - like Indian or Thai. However, I have to respect that Jayne is not a friend of fish. Mary Beth might just take us to court if the menu selection was exclusively spicy. And her husband, the sergeant, would sooner lock us up then let his little woman be dissatisfied over dinner.

We usually end up at a (nice) Italian restaurant or in some cases an American restaurant. I guess at the end of the day, this is fine because as my friend Nasser has taught me, it truly is about the company and not the restaurant.

However, a girl can dream, can't she? Imagine a restaurant, centrally located with an eclectic mix of entrees and a collection of old family favorites. A place where mashed potatoes can mingle with massaman curry; where pasta plays with pad Thai. I haven't found this restaurant yet (ok - the food court doesn't count) but I do love to invite this group of friends to an annual event called the Flavors of Bedford.org. It has 25+ restaurants from Café Luigi to Margaritas, from the Bistro44 to Bamboo. The menu includes all you can eat: lobster foie gras fricassee, risotto cakes with roasted chicken, butternut squash bisque, flatbread pizza, Memphis dry-rub ribs and more. From appetizers to desserts, this one event has something for everyone.

Choices matter for marketing too. As a consumer, I like to have choices. As a business, I like to give people choices in their E-Newsletters. If you are signing up for E-News Jewels, you get to let me know if you are working to create your first E-Newsletter or if you need some help to get people to read and respond to your existing E-Newsletter. You get to choose what sort of information suits you best.

I spoke with a hotel recently that wanted to provide different information to three groups: hotel guests, event planners, and customers of the restaurant. Each person will be part of a list that gives them exactly what they want. So rather than rather than trying to create one communication to all speak to all three groups, we chose to be more specific and speak directly to each audience. It's so much easier to speak and write directly.

For your e-newsletters, you don't have to create an enormous buffet of categories, but it really does benefit your readers to provide some choices. It lets them pick from a varied menu rather than just one style of cuisine. Choices matter.

If you would like to sample many choices, and if reading about Asparagus wrapped tenderloin, Asian glazed salmon, Tiramisu, Tart d'Amande de Chocolat makes you hungry, then Flavors of Bedford is all for you. It's coming up this weekend on Sunday, Nov 5th from 4-6 pm.

A buffet of choices is important whether you're planning a single menu's restaurant, a Taste of Bedford, or your E-Newsletter.

As we like to say at our house - Bon Appétite!