Increasing sales with restaurant mobile marketing
Restaurants that have realized how mobile marketing provides higher returns for their advertising dollars are reaping benefits hand over fist. Restaurant and bar owners who still haven’t taken advantage of targeting mobile customers may want to soon jump on the bandwagon as their competition most likely has.
Interestingly, almost 90% of smartphone users conducting food-related searches on smartphones convert within the day, due to the fact that hunger requires immediate gratification. Also, mobile searches invariably are location-related. Restaurants, therefore, are perfectly suited to take advantage of the above attributes of mobile searchers. But how? Primarily through mobile apps.
Restaurant Mobile Apps
Mobile apps are central to the concept of marketing to a mobile audience. They enable restaurants and bars to achieve a number of objectives that directly or indirectly deliver more sales. These include:
- New customers
- Loyalty management
- Audience engagement and conversion
- Brand management
Restaurant Mobile Marketing
Push messages sent to smartphone users should be used to run restaurant mobile marketing campaigns. Discounts on food items are most popular, delivering high returns on every dollar spent. Initiating a sustained SMS campaign with the objective of building brand recall is a good idea. When discounts are offered, participation rates increase. Restaurants and bars that have invited app users to sign up for e-newsletters using their email addresses have reported an appreciable increase in the number of subscribers. Such subscribers not only regularly open emails but also take advantage of the coupons included. Restaurants and bar owners should target high value customers who place large orders with enticing offers.
Loyalty clubs offering exclusive perks to members should also be implemented, with an easy signup via an email response.
Since restaurant mobile marketing works wonderfully for local audiences, it can be used with other local media such as radio stations, flyers, and newspaper ads. Another avenue for cross-promotion is the joint use of social media and mobile apps. Restaurants and bars should incorporate social media to encourage app downloads. Mobile ads and apps on social media sites are excellent for gaining likes, follows, and subscribers, accomplished through linking restaurant mobile marketing promotions to a “like” for a Facebook page or a “follow” for twitter.
You may also want to ensure that your website is listed on the top restaurant review sites such as Yelp and Zagat that pull up reviews of restaurants, as well as maps for directions. Their apps user base runs in the millions. To also increase your chances of showing up on results for local searches, create a Google + page for your restaurant to engage with potential customers.
It is worth noting that for a restaurant’s mobile app to provide useful and relevant information, its profile on the internet has to be current and accurate. Apps are like messengers relaying information. Ultimately, it is the marketing message that will pull in customers.
The ideas provided above should yield significant results to your bottom line. There are also a number of case studies available online presenting insights into how restaurants and bars have returned impressive figures and gained repeat business through mobile marketing.
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