If you are looking for the best SMS marketing strategy for a restaurant business then,

 

this is going to be the most concise and valuable article you’ll read on the internet today

 

but before then, let’s answer the question ”what is SMS marketing strategy?

 

What is an SMS marketing strategy? 

 

 

Short message service(SMS) marketing is the process of sending short promotional campaigns for marketing purposes using simple text messages. 

 

These messages are mostly meant to communicate time-sensitive offers, updates, and alerts to your subscribers.

 

While strategy is a plan of action designed to achieve a long-term or overall aim.

 

Therefore, the SMS marketing strategy is the process of sending out a short promotional campaign for marketing purposes using SMS.

 

These messages are meant to communicate your offer to your subscribers.

 

Now that you know what SMS marketing strategy is let’s answer the big question. Does SMS marketing work?

 

Does SMS marketing work? 

 

Online marketing channels are on the rise, and choosing the most profitable channel to use to promote your business has become more difficult. 

 

Traditional platforms such as TV and print remain highly expensive and make it hard for small businesses to use. 

 

Using SMS marketing has become one of the most effective marketing channels for businesses due to its high open rates, high conversion and its ability to boost other marketing channels. 

 

The number of mobile phone users has tripled over the past decade, with over 5 billion people using a mobile phone. 

 

With mobile devices in hand, the effectiveness of SMS marketing is on the rise every day. 

 

Consumers spend twice as much time on their phones as they think they are. ask yourself, how many times have you checked your mobile phone today?

 

You can’t count, right? 

 

Now that you know that SMS marketing works, let us look at different types of SMS marketing 

 

What are the types of SMS marketing? 

 

There are different types of SMS marketing, but in this article, we will look at the most common ones. 

 

1 promotional deal and Discounts 

 

This is one of the most commonly used SMS marketing techniques in today’s world.

 

These are messages you send directly to your customers on deals, discounts, clearances, and special sales on products and/or services.

 

In most instances, these promotions create a high-level sense of urgency since they are time-sensitive.

 

2 SMS Coupons 

 

These are messages that are often sent in Multimedia Messaging Service or “MMS”, for short. SMS Coupons are quite similar to promotional deals and discount messages.

 

They include a discount on either a product or a service that is offered by the business that they signed up to receive SMS marketing messages.

 

3 Text-to-Win Competitions 

 

This is a type of SMS campaign where customers have the capability of entering a contest – simply by responding to a text message your business sends.

 

Once the contest deadline occurs, a winner is then selected by a random generator.

 

4 Flash Sales

 

This is the type of SMS marketing you use when having a limited quantity of a service or a product that is offered by your business.

 

This type of SMS marketing holds its activity for only a short amount of time. 

 

5 Loyalty Programs

 

These programs are designed to encourage your customers to make a purchase or to engage in recommending referrals for the purpose and intent of obtaining free products or discounts.

 

What are the benefits of SMS Marketing for restaurants? 

1 It is affordable 

 

If you’ve just opened your restaurant or you already own a restaurant but you can’t afford to spend a lot on marketing right now, SMS is perfect for you.

 

Restaurant SMS marketing is cheaper than most other types of marketing, including printed flyers or ads.

 

2 You help you reach more people. 

 

For people to receive an SMS, they just need a phone, not even a smartphone, and not one that has internet access. 

 

This makes it easier for you to widen the reach of your marketing efforts.  

 

If you limit yourself to, let’s say, email marketing, you won’t be reaching as many people as you could with an effective text message marketing strategy. 

 

That’s because email marketing is dependent on circumstances like internet access, relatively new devices, a data plan on mobile phones, etc.

 

3 Results are available instantly. 

 

Over 90% of text message marketing texts are read in the first 3 minutes of being sent. 

 

Let’s say you send an offer with a 20% discount code to your online menu and a link that people can click to place an order. Someone might open it and place an order in less than 10 minutes.  

 

4 It increases customer loyalty.

 

Craft attractive messages featuring exclusive deals regularly and send them as SMS. They will tempt people to visit your restaurant over and over again to redeem the offers. It’s as simple as that!

   

5 It’s versatile

 

One of the advantages of text message marketing is its flexibility.

 

When devising an SMS marketing strategy, pick and choose what you want to communicate: an exclusive menu item, a discount, a promo code, or even news about your restaurant.

 

Sms Marketing Strategy for Restaurant 

 

1. Only send out messages when you have something important 

 

Avoid the temptation of bombarding your customers with text messages, because that is an instant turn-off for them.

No one wants to get notifications from brands more often than they get texts from their friends.

For messages that aren’t time-sensitive or are longer, use email instead and save SMS for more “urgent” matters like a “get it while it’s hot” offer.

 

2. Get the permission of your customers before sending them text messages. 

 

This point can’t be overemphasised, please don’t send customers promotional messages if they haven’t opted-in to receive them.

 

Moreover, pay close attention to how you phrase the kind of messages they will receive.

 

For example, suppose you say they will receive messages related to special offers.

 

In that case, you’re painting yourself in a corner because you won’t be able to send other types of messages like news or menu announcements. 

 

3. Always keep your messages short. 

 

When you sit down to write a promotional text message, don’t go over the 160 characters per SMS limit. 

 

Even if newer phones can support longer messages, your customers are not looking to read a story when receiving an SMS from a brand. 

 

Always keep it simple, sweet, and straight to the point. Your message will convert more when you keep it short. 

 

4. Personalize your messages. 

 

Just because it’s bulk SMS marketing, it doesn’t mean you can add a bit of customization. 

 

Adding a bit of customization can go a long way to making your customers feel special. 

 

Even something as simple as addressing them by their first name would do. 

 

5. Give Your Subscribers The Option to Opt-out  

 

This may not sound well to your ears, because no business wants to lose customers. 

 

But doing this will make the customers feel that you are not desperate, and needy.

 

Wherever you place your opt-in CTA, you also need to include an opt-out option with clear instructions on how to do it.

 

Additionally, when people receive their first text from you after opting in, also include an opt-out link.

 

Conclusion

 

SMS marketing for restaurants is a simple, affordable, and highly effective way of surprising your customers with unique offers and discounts which will turn them into regular and paying customers.

 

If you pay attention to the SMS marketing strategy for restaurants above and don’t overwhelm subscribers with daily messages, your sales and brand recognition will increase.