The COVID-19 pandemic brought its own set of challenges for the restaurant industry. As an owner, you can probably recall the thoughts that raced through your mind when you realized you had to shut down your restaurant for a while.

With the elimination of in-person dining, restaurants had to quickly pivot to meet new demands. It was no longer a question of how to stand out from competition, but simply how to maintain as much cash flow as possible, cater to existing customers, and survive. Ultimately, industry sales fell by $240 billion in 2020 from an expected level of $899 billion.

Grappling with pandemic challenges and uncertainty, restaurant owners like you sought out new technological tools like QR codes. Takeout and delivery systems were implemented to continue meeting customers' needs. Email marketing and social media also became an essential method of communicating with customers to update them on new developments.

The big marketing question was this: What tool, tactic, or channel will provide the highest return on investment (ROI)? Today, as restaurants transition from survival to revival mode, the answer remains email marketing!