All in on Social - is it the right strategy?

The other day I was looking thorough my restaurant marketing email folder and came across an email from a restaurant company that has decided to close their email communications channel for good.  Yes that is right for good, shutting the doors on the loyal customers that trusted them enough to give them their address.  I have seen this a few times from restaurants that for what ever reason don't really see the value in the email channel.  I understand in some ways but  I guess I am a little bias in that I see plenty of restaurant groups that are able to balance the social and email world together and in fact help each other with content development.

I have mixed emotions concerning these decisions that marketers make like not continuing their email program.  I do think that marketers do things for a reason and some are better business decisions then others.  Why get rid of the  a loyal customer base that is established and likes to hear from you (this was not verified based on open rates for this mailing but at one time they did raise their hand and said they wanted email from your business) then why not just set different expectations if email is to cumbersome instead of pulling the plug.

What could they have done differently instead of choosing to stop email communication in one swelled swoop.

1. Communicated to the email list that they would only be sending an email once a month or every quarter.  That is if it was time consuming.
2. If it was open rates and traffic based on email it is quite possible they where not being engaged enough with their customers.  Here is a great indicator that they should setup a preference center that asks customer what they want out of a email communication.
3. At the very least have triggers setup for special occasions.  It is proven that with some up front work in the beginning email triggers with the right call to action can drive traffic year round with minimal effort to manage the program.

With that being said any decision about your restaurant marketing need not be taken lightly and all aspects should be well thought out before you pull the plug on a program.  This is why it is super critical to have a digital marketing partner to help advice you on all the variables that are impacting your business.  Don't get caught in the dark because you did not ask the question.