There are 2 very important things that a restaurant needs to do in order to increase its revenue and that is to reward it's regular customers and to ensure every customer becomes a repeat customer. This may seem obvious however the question is how does one go about this when every day is hectic and it's impossible to become an overnight advertising specialist
Many business analysts agree that mobile marketing (SMS) will indeed become the mass advertising of the future. According to forecasts, mobile marketing and advertising spends will increase from only a few one hundred million U.S. dollars in 2008 to $ 3 to 5 TRILLION by 2012. The so-called 'Gen Y' generation (people aged 18-29) have already made it clear that their mobile phone is the most important device that they own (Smallbiztrends.com March 3, 2010).
What does this mean for the hospitality industry? Reduced marketing cost, targeted group communication, immediate availability of the customer, personalization, interactivity, user friendliness, and rapid implementation.
The applications for the hospitality industry are far reaching. For example, imagine it's going to be a quiet evening in your establishment with very few reservations. One mobile marketing campaign message sent to your customers can change that. Customers all over the catchment area receive your message just at the time they are thinking about what they may have for dinner.
Alternatively you may wish to target those who have already made a reservation and immediately increase their antisipation of the evening ahead, sending them details of your appetizer menu or tonight's specials
You can even send coupons to selected restaurant guests that can be redeemed on quiet evenings. Your guests take this coupon around with him in their mobile phone and are constantly reminded of you ensuring that your establishment is always at the forefront of their mind when considering dining out. The success rate of mobile coupons is above average, especially in restaurants and cafes with an increase in success of 5-15% over that of its traditional paper coupons. (Marketingrestaurantonline.com, March 3, 2010).
Another way in which mobile marketing can successfully influence your restaurant, Bistro or cafe is to announce any special nights you may have eg movie nights, theme nights, live music and other special events. You can then accept advanced reservations via SMS.
The possibilities of mobile marketing are endless, but how easy is it to implement?
Of course, you could do all of this by sending your mobile marketing campaigns from your own mobile phone, however, this is not only expensive but also very time consuming due to the many contacts it would need to be sent to.
There is software available to do this bulk sending for you. GraphicMail offers its customers a compact, user-friendly e-mail and mobile marketing solution.
And here all the advantages of GraphicMail's SMS at a glance:
- Graphicmail is a web-based software which means there are no installation or advanced computer skills required
- Mobile Channel ID: You select the sender's number. Your mobile marketing campaigns are sent from your chosen mobile phone number which means that the recipients can easily identify your organisation and can reply directly to this mobile with their response/reservation
- If you already have existing address books held in other applications such as Outlook,Hotmail, Gmail etc these can be imported very easily and very quickly
- There is functionality and statistics available to analyze the campaigns sent
- The prices of bulk SMS are significantly lower than that of standard Network Providers.
