In the fast-paced world of restaurant operations, management turns to a variety of different marketing channels to increase order volume and acquire new business. 

Social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, are important marketing tools and a perfect choice for sharing operational updates and delicious new menu items. 

However, customers can miss your announcements if they are not actively logged on and tuned in.  

Email marketing has also been a mainstay in the restaurant industry for reaching out to potential patrons.

But as the years go on and inboxes get fuller, is there a better way to grab your diners' attention?

There is. It's called SMS and MMS marketing.

Luckily, Menufy's digital marketing specialists know the ins and outs of text marketing. Learn how restaurants can use the power of texting to benefit their business.

Answers To Your Text Marketing Questions

What do SMS and MMS mean?

Short message service (SMS) and multimedia message service (MMS) are two ways to send digital text message communications to mobile phones.

There isn't much of a difference between SMS and MMS message marketing. 

SMS refers to text-only messages, while MMS messages can include text, pictures, gifs, or videos. 

Either way, text messages remain a popular way to connect with customers, with 70% of consumers saying that text marketing is the fastest way to reach them. 

"Text marketing will directly connect you with your customers when and where they need to see your message,” explains Nikki Finley, a Menufy Digital Marketing Specialist.

How is text marketing different from other marketing channels?

We have all been guilty of letting emails pile up in our inboxes, never to be read and eventually deleted. But when people receive a text message, there's a 90% chance that they will open it within the first three minutes.

Our digital specialists are excited about sending a message straight to someone’s phone instead of an overflowing mailbox.

"We are living in a mobile-driven world these days, and almost all of us are attached to our phones one way or another," Finley suggests.

Restaurateurs who utilize text message marketing have a huge advantage in reaching their target users as these messages have 98% open rates. This engagement rate surpasses every other marketing channel available, which means more bang for your buck.

How will my restaurant benefit from text campaigns?

• Re-engage previous patrons 
  It’s easier to identify and reconnect with past patrons than to attract new customers. Sending old patrons a targeted text offer with a clickable order link is an effective strategy for luring them into ordering online.

• Drive traffic to your restaurant’s website
  Most people want to order directly from the source instead of a third-party service. Keep more profits in your pocket by sending SMS or MMS messages with a direct link to your restaurant's online ordering site.

• Leverage your consumer data
  Using personalized and automated text messages, management can send targeted campaigns that take into account previous ordering activity. This ensures that your customers receive the right message at the right time.

• Get more cash out of coupons
  Coupons and special offers are effective at motivating your customers to order. Text marketing can harness the power of coupons by sending incentives right to your diner’s favorite device, their phone!
  
  

How can Restaurant operators send text messages to customers?

At this moment, and for the foreseeable future, texting is king. 

But this doesn't mean restaurant operators should use their own devices to send mass messages to their patrons. No one wants to be a part of a 50-person text thread.

Instead, enlist the help of an automated and targeted text campaign program that can send strategically timed messages to your customers.

Does Menufy have an SMS and MMS marketing program?

Menufy's newest digital marketing service, HungerRush 360 Marketing, uses real-time order data to automate mobile text message campaigns. And best of all, it is fully integrated into the Menufy online ordering ecosystem.

"My favorite thing about our new HungerRush 360 Marketing tool is the automation of targeted campaigns. We're not sending texts to customers just to send them. A text can prompt a person who's just made their first order to remain loyal, or it can lure back someone who hasn't ordered in a while," Finley says.

Marketing specialists like Nikki Finley will take care of everything for you, from creating images and gifs to sending targeted campaigns to your customers. Restaurateurs no longer have to handle contact lists, email scheduling, and text messaging on their own.

"It's constant and thoughtful marketing and one more thing that we can take off our restaurant partners' plates so they can focus on their customers' plates," Finley adds.

What are customers saying about their experience with HungerRush 360 Marketing?

Nikki Finley, who speaks with clients on the regular, shares that "many restaurant partners say they are impressed by the variety of campaigns that are included with the service for only $99. Some clients who have been enrolled for almost three months now say it's a no-brainer because the service is paying for itself and then some.”

However, if you're looking to attract new business to your restaurant," Finley says," a great way to do so is by “using Menufy's FREE coupon tool to create a coupon for new customers only."

Dorian Gomez, the owner of Xtreme Pizza, explains that “juggling our front-of-house responsibilities while also trying to create engaging marketing promotions was taking a lot of bandwidth from my staff. HungerRush 360 Marketing, with its automated text and emails, is just what we’ve been looking for."

The Last Bite

Texting is most customers' favorite way to communicate, and it is a highly effective method for providing enticing coupons and offers. 

As a consumer herself, Nikki Finley describes that “it’s incredibly convenient to go through my text messages to find a direct link to a website and use the codes included for a discount. I'm more likely to remember that I got a text from a restaurant or company than if they sent an email."

Busy restaurateurs who want to promote direct online ordering should consider using targeted and automated SMS and MMS campaigns.

It's now easier than ever to reach customers wherever they are with text marketing.

Want to know more about how Menufy's newest text and email marketing service can help your restaurant? Visit our digital marketing page or The Menufy Blog!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Melissa Dimmitt, Marketing Communications Coordinator

Melissa began her digital marketing career nearly a decade ago at a restaurant group. She worked with restaurant managers and executive chefs while coordinating seasonal menu releases, executing photoshoots, and creating fresh digital content.