SMS marketing is the most intimate form of connecting with your target customers in digital communication.
Think about it!
When smartphone users interact with their phones more than 2600 times a day and read more than 90% of their SMS messages within 180 seconds of receiving them, you can’t probably expect any other marketing channel to do better than your text marketing campaigns.
Text messaging is an incredibly powerful tool for reaching customers quickly and effectively. By leveraging automated text messages, businesses can ensure timely communication and engagement. With such high interaction rates, text messaging stands out as a superior method for direct customer engagement, making it an essential component of any modern marketing strategy.
According to the AdTheorent/Harris Poll Consumer Survey, 70% of customers use mobile phones for food purchasing journeys, 42% look for coupons/deals, and 38% look for menu items.
That pretty much sets the base for this article, which touches upon the benefits of text message marketing platforms for restaurants, guides on launching successful SMS marketing campaigns (basic and advanced), and educates on different types of SMS marketing for restaurants to easily meet the targeted sales and conversions.
Exploring restaurant text messaging and strategies to boost customer engagement through SMS marketing is crucial for any modern business. Whether it’s devising an effective SMS marketing strategy or brainstorming creative SMS marketing ideas, leveraging this powerful communication tool can yield significant results in driving sales and fostering customer loyalty.
Benefits of SMS Marketing for Restaurants
Let’s take a look at some important benefits of adding SMS campaigns to your existing digital marketing strategy.
1. Quick delivery
Text message marketing cuts to the chase and gets your restaurant’s promotion directly into customers’ hands faster than any other marketing method. There is no pain in writing lengthy emails or creating visual posters (unless you want to try MMS marketing) that require hours of teamwork. You can quickly make a pack of hungry customers read and react to a last-minute offer within five minutes.
2. High Read Rates
Test messages land with a notification, making them impossible to miss. No other channel can promise 98% open and read rates. Based on this data, imagine sending at least three to four SMS daily and easily keeping your customers connected to your restaurant.
3. Immediate customer engagement
Most people keep their phones with them all the time, so they’re most likely to see your message within minutes of sending it. You can use SMS marketing to answer questions about menu items, take orders for pickup, or even run polls to get feedback on new dishes- all in real-time. There are even various statistics to support this claim. For instance, over 83% of millennials open their SMS messages within 90 seconds of getting in their inbox. For email marketing the figure is surprising. Only 21% of emails are opened within the first hour of sending.
4. Personalization
Just like email marketing, you can personalize SMS messages based on a customer’s demographic, gender, purchase behaviour, birthday, and other highly specific details. This allows you to send targeted offers, like a “Happy Birthday! Free slice of cake with your meal!” message.
5. Loyalty Building
A text message feels more direct and intimate than a generic email or social media post. 75% of customers like to receive promotional messages with special offers. In this regard, if you effectively run SMS campaigns, they can promise you a whopping 45% response rate on average, far better than email marketing (6%) and other channels. When you have a daily conversation with your highly engaged audience in their pocket, it makes them feel personal and loyal to visit your restaurants more often.
Setting Up Your SMS Marketing Campaign
Here is a straightforward process to set up and start your SMS marketing for restaurants.
1. Build a List of Opt-in Subscribers
There are different ways in which you can acquire subscribers for SMS campaigns, such as:
In-store promotions: Advertise your SMS program to your dine-in customers in exchange for a discount offer or freebie for signing up.
Digital sign-ups: Add a signup form on your website or social media pages with a clear incentive.
QR codes: Add QR codes to your menus, table tents, or loyalty program flyers to quickly redirect to your SMS sign-up page.
However, there is a catch.
SMS marketing happens through phones that customers use for their personal lives more than their professional matters. So, before you send customers promotional SMS, they must permit you to do so. This is per the US Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) to safeguard consumers from unwanted spam texts. Even after getting the consent, every text you send should include a simple “STOP” or “UNSUBSCRIBE” reply option for customers to opt out of your marketing funnel on their will.
2. Craft Messages that Customers Love to Read
According to a study, people between 18 and 24 send/receive 110 text messages daily. So, make yours count! Here are some tips to stand out of the crowd:
-
Short and sweet: Keep your restaurant marketing message direct and brief, max under 160 characters.
-
Mention your proposition: Highlight your USP (e.g., a special offer, a new menu item, or a reservation reminder).
-
Call to action: Add a CTA text with a URL shortener to make visitors take the desired action.
3. Mind Timing and Frequency
How many is too many?
You must learn the “sweet spot” for running your SMS campaigns without forcing your customers to click the “Opt Out” option.
As per a study, customers don’t mind receiving up to three to four messages after the initial point of contact as long as each one of these texts is relevant and valuable. This can increase the conversions by as much as 328%.
Timing is also essential.
Send texts during weekends or weekday evenings instead of peak hours, as people are most likely to check their phones during these times.
4. Keep Texts Engaging
No one likes to get bored in their free time.
When your SMS checks in your customer’s phone, it should entertain them as best as possible. For even better output, it should be a dialogue rather than a monologue. One of the best ways to do that is to add a pinch of personalization to the texts and close them with a compelling CTA button.
For example, you can:
Run polls and ask for customer feedback on new menu items
Offer exclusive deals to your loyal customers on new items
Spark excitement with a text-based contest where customers can win free meals or merchandise
Here are some sample texts for inspiration:
“Craving Pizza? Text ‘PIZZAPOLL’ to vote for your favorite new topping. Top Vote wins a Free Pizza!”
“We loved having you last night, [Customer Name]! Text ‘YUM’ or ‘NEEDS WORK’ for your experience and stand a chance to win a 10% discount!”
“Happy Birthday, [Customer Name]! Treat yourself to a FREE slice of cake on your next visit. Just show this text to your server!”
5. Optimize Your Campaigns
Just launching the campaign is not enough. You have to constantly tweak, test, and analyze your efforts to see what works and what does not.
There are two elements for optimization: delivery and messaging.
For optimizing texts, here are some advice from industry experts:
Run A/B tests on different versions of your texts to see which gets the most responses or sales.
Track open, click-through, and unsubscribe rates to find the weak spots for improvisation.
Don’t be afraid to ask your customers for feedback on how you can improve their experience with SMS support.
6. Measure Your ROI
After launching campaigns, check if the text promotion leads to increased online orders, phone reservations, or in-store visits. If they did, it’s time to calculate your ROI. Here is a simple formula to help you quickly realize your ROI against your restaurant text message marketing efforts:
ROI = [(Revenue generated – Campaign Cost) / Campaign Cost] *100
Start with small investments. Consider scaling your budget according to your supply capacity once you see a continuous healthy ROI over a predefined SMS marketing blueprint.
Types of SMS Campaigns Used by Restaurants
Let’s look at different marketing messages for restaurants that are trending these days.
Welcome Message
These are welcoming texts for your new customers or subscribers. You can take this opportunity to introduce your restaurant, or potentially offer a discount for their first order. For instance, when customers sign up, they will receive a “Welcome Amanda! Get 10% off on your first order with Code FIRST10” text. Keep the first message short and sweet. Do not forget to use their first name to make it highly personal for your customers.
Promotional Texts
Promotional texts aim to spark customer interest by promoting your latest deals or new menu items. They highlight your restaurant’s USPs, like “BOGO Tacos all day Tuesday!” or create FOMO with phrases like “Today only!” or “While supplies last!” to encourage immediate action. To maximize click-through rates, try sharing a personal code instead of a generic offer and adding a CTA link to help customers with faster checkout.
Confirmation SMS
These texts are for confirming online orders, reservations, or delivery pick-up times. So, these are supposed to be informative rather than promotional. For pick-up orders, mention the estimated wait time or any specific instructions.
For instance, consider this example.
“[Restaurant Name] Your order is confirmed! Pick-up is ready at 7:15 PM. Reply Y to confirm, to Opt Out Reply Stop.”
It is important to allow customers to reply with questions or concerns.
Event Alerts Notifications
Restaurants are not just places to dine or order food from. They are perfect hotspots for social gatherings and weekend relaxation through events like themed parties and live music nights. You can set SMS reminders for customers to book reservations for such occasions and to avail of early bird discounts. Here is an example:
“Calling all music lovers! Join us for a jazz night at [Restaurant Name] this Friday! Enjoy live music & delicious food. Avail 10% Off with Code JAZZ10. Reserve Your table now. [Checkout URL or Phone number]”
Loyalty Program Alerts
Loyalty SMS alerts encourage repeat visits by reminding customers about reward points, special offers, and birthday incentives under loyalty membership programs. However, you can also offer exclusive discounts or early access to new menu items to your repeat customers without any loyalty membership to build even stronger retention. For instance, you can personalize messages to celebrate customer milestones such as birthdays and anniversaries.
Example:
“Happy Birthday Drake! Enjoy a free meal on your next visit with your loyalty membership. Just show this text at the checkout.”
Secret Menu Promotions
If your restaurant has some high-value customers who love to come back for more, you can send texts to try “secret” menu items to make them feel like they’re part of a special club. Change the secret item regularly to keep your customers guessing and returning for more.
Here is an example:
“Psst! Feeling adventurous? Text ‘TACO TUESDAY’ to your server to unlock a special off-menu taco option! Limited time only!”
Holiday Specials
Holiday specials SMS can help restaurants stand out from the competition during busy holiday seasons. You can send promotions about holiday menus, themed events, and limited-edition dishes. All you have to do is focus on what makes your customers’ holiday special with your unique offerings like,
“Skip the turkey! Get our exclusive Lobster Mac & Cheese this Thanksgiving.”
Improve Customer Experience
Show your customers you care and use their feedback to improve using SMS. Instead of a generic “How was your experience?”, ask “How was your burger? Reply YUM or NEED WORK.” You can even offer incentives (like free supper on their next visit) to earn their genuine feedback. However, it is also important to thank customers for their feedback and highlight positive responses on social media.
Advanced SMS Marketing Strategies
SMS campaigns are powerful when you know how to enhance their potential with advanced strategies as discussed below.
1. Multi-Channel Marketing
When you sync your restaurant text marketing with other channels like email, social media, and loyalty programs, you see increased conversations and drive better ROI. Texting customers only after the initial contact through another channel can increase conversion rates up to 112.6%.
How does multi-channel marketing work?
It requires the right tools, like restaurant SMS marketing software, to manage multi-channel campaigns and track results under one cloud platform. Such tools can seamlessly collect data from different integrated marketing channels (emails, social media, PPC, etc.) and break down customers into different categories for easy targeted marketing.
Here is a typical example of how marketing automation looks from the surface level.
Announce the launching of a new menu item on your social media handles. Follow up with your high-spending customers with a targeted SMS offering an exclusive discount coupon for trying the new dish. Analyze the result and use the feedback to fine-tune your next campaign.
2. Gamification
Marketing doesn’t necessarily have to be direct and forceful. What if you can make it fun and engaging for your customers?
One of the best ways to do this is by adding points, badges, or leaderboards to your SMS campaigns to boost engagement. For example, reward customers with points for signing up, referring friends, or placing orders via SMS. And, allow them to redeem earned points for order discounts, free menu items, or exclusive event passes. However, keep the rules of the game (or challenge) clear and transparent. Otherwise, you might end up losing more than just customers.
For example, you can run a “Taco Tuesday Text Challenge.” Customers who text “TACO TUESDAY” every Tuesday for a month earn points towards a free taco dinner.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, SMS marketing is completely legal provided you follow the required regulations. For instance, in the United States, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) requires you to get express written consent from consumers before sending promotional text messages to avoid hefty fines and penalties. A written consent means customers opt-in to receive your marketing texts.
First, you need to build your subscriber list through sign-up forms, in-store promotions, or social media campaigns. Then, group your customers into different categories based on attributes such as demographics, food interests, and order history. Create separate SMS campaigns for each category based on the nature of the group (e.g., secret menu texts for frequent visitors). Run campaigns and integrate them with other marketing channels for a uniform customer experience. Lastly, track performance analytics to improve results in future campaigns.
Yes, SMS marketing still works. Text messages have a 98% open rate and a 10.66% click-through rate, which is significantly higher than email marketing.
In SMS marketing, the aim is to prompt customers to take a desired action quickly in limited words. Tell customers about your offer in simple words under 160 characters, using a sense of urgency followed by a clear call to action.
It is not practically feasible to send texts to customers manually every day. That’s why restaurants use an ideal restaurant text message marketing platform or an SMS marketing platform to automate the entire process and reflect on the campaign performance- all from a single dashboard.
