It is true that the number of SMS messages has increased by 123 percent in the last year. Why? What’s driving this trend? The answer to both these questions is simple: mobile marketing! Mobile devices are becoming more and more common, so it makes sense that advertisers would want to reach out through text messaging. It has been projected that mobile advertising will reach $1 billion by 2015. This article offers some tips for companies who are thinking about using SMS marketing as an advertising strategy.
It discusses 11 things you should keep in mind while doing SMS marketing for restaurants like how much does it cost to send one message, what kind of content should be used, and what type of campaign should be implemented (e.g., e-newsletter, contest, etc.).
1. Think before sending SMS to your customers
One of the biggest advantages of mobile marketing is that it enables you to target people near your restaurant, so they can come in and have lunch/dinner before or after visiting your place. However, you need to be careful with whom you are sending your promotional message since most often users receive way too many messages from their merchants per day. So you need to make sure your SMS marketing campaign is targeted towards the right set of users, for example, people who are more likely to visit your restaurant.
2. Keep your message relevant and short
You should keep your messages relevant and short, especially on mobile where they have a very small screen size. If the user has to scroll up and down many times to understand what you want to say, there are high chances that the user will delete your message before reading it. So make sure you keep your messages short and to the point, so it is easy for users to comprehend them.
3. Make sure your messages are personalized with specific information about users
Send personalized SMS like their names or locations or any other personalizations which can be helpful for them to make a decision. According to one of the industry estimates, personalization can increase CTR up to 400%. So make sure you add personalized information in your message so that it appears genuine and the user is more likely to interact with your message. By doing this, you will automatically have an upper hand on others who are just sending their promotional messages without any personalization.
4. Test your messages
You should test your message before sending them out to make sure they look good on all types of devices and screen sizes. Also, check for any broken links or images which might reduce the impact of your message.
5. Try to use an SMS marketing platform
You should try to use an SMS marketing platform that offers location-based targeting so you can send messages only to those people who are near your restaurant. This will help you in reducing the wastage of your marketing dollars and also improve the response rate from your target audience.
6. Use a catchy headline
Make sure you use a catchy headline for your message which can easily grab the user’s attention. The headline is the first thing the user will see, so make sure it is attractive enough to make use of reading the entire message.
7. Offer Discounts
In order to increase the response rate, offer some incentives like discounts or free food items to those users who respond to your SMS marketing message. This will encourage users to either visit your restaurant or even order food from you through their mobile phones.
8. Test your OFFERS
Test different types of offers and see which one works the best for your restaurant. This way you can get an idea about which messages are working better than others and then you can use it in future to increase your sales.
9. Reply to all the messages
Respond to all messages sent by your customers, even if it’s just a thank you message. This will create a good impression on them and they might use your services again in future.
10. Add your contact number
Include your contact number on all promotional messages, so that users can directly call you if they want to know more about your restaurant or services. This will help you in increasing the footfall at your place and even reduce the no of people who go to other restaurants because you were not able to impress them with your marketing messages.
11. Track your campaign
Keep track of your campaign performance and analyze the results so you can improvise on the areas which are not working well for you. This will help you in making your SMS marketing campaign more successful in the future.
So these are some of the things you need to keep in mind while doing SMS marketing for restaurants. By following these simple tips, you can improve the response rate from your target audience and also increase the sales at your restaurant.
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