How to Increase Restaurant Bookings SMS Marketing

Increase table bookings and get returning customers

Text messaging allows restaurants and cafés to engage on a personal level with customers at any time. Businesses are able to target consumers with specially tailored deals, providing customers with the best value for money possible, while increasing their loyalty to the brand at the same time. When used wisely, your customer data can help you create exciting ways of reaching your customers, from sending offers to them on their birthday, to updating them as to when their favourite seasonal dish is back on the menu; the options are limitless!

We’re full of ideas of how to stand out from the crowd and help increase bookings with SMS marketing for restaurants.

Send a great incentive to fill quiet periods and increase restaurant bookings

Either it is a particular day of the week or specific times of the year, restaurants have to face quiet periods. Those are the times you should concentrate your efforts on bringing people in. And the effort can be as little as sending a text to your customer to offer them a bottle of wine of a free dessert for a booking.

Send PDF menus via text message

The Business service allows you to use attachments. Create PDF’s, Words docs, images and PowerPoint files and put them in your text. There’re no additional costs for creating this great content in your text message and you get full reporting so you can see who opened and clicked on the links.

Encourage repeat bookings

We all like a good offer! Invite your customers to text a keyword to a short code to receive a unique mobile discount voucher or offer for use on their next visit

Automatic reminders/confirmations

No-one likes a no show. – they can cost you money in lost revenue. Integrate your CRM or booking system with your text messaging account to send automatic, tailored and well-timed messages about bookings and reservations.

Reward your loyal customers

Having encouraged customers to come back once, you need to keep them coming back. Mobile vouchers can be created and used for loyalty programmes. One off discounts and offers or multiple use vouchers are a great way of rewarding loyalty.

Get instant feedback

Want to know what your customer think? Send a mobile survey to customers after they have dined with you to get fresh and honest feedback about their experience. You may event want to give them an offer as an incentive to complete the survey

Continually grow your customer list

Use every opportunity to grow your list. By using a keyword texted to a short code, encourage to join your mailing list to receive future promotions, mobile vouchers and menu updates. As you can track the data of who is opting in, you could consider offering a monthly prize draw as encouragement to opt in. For some tips on how to build your opt-in list, read our article.

Generate more website traffic

Do you have extensive, seasonal or special offer menus? Show them off by including short links to your website in your text messages. You’ll be able to redirect customers to your website where you can give them more information. The reporting data means that you will know exactly who has clicked on your link

Run your text messaging from anywhere

The platform is easy to navigate and data can be uploaded easily via your mobile phone meaning you can co-ordinate your text message campaigns while on the go.

A key strength of the SMS business service offered by our partner Textlocal is that it can be highly targeted and so is unobtrusive. Customers need only receive offers that are of particular value to them. They are able to peruse marketing materials as and when they want to and because the business service offers more than just a basic 160 character text message you can enrich your messages with great content and links to keep your customers coming back.

For more insights on how you can use text marketing for your restaurant, you can access our library and download a case study from Shelly’s Restaurant, and our Free Business Mobile Marketing Guides;