We live in a tech-centric era where almost all businesses leverage a mobile-first approach to reach and engage with their target audience. Restaurants and cafes are no exception to this as they constantly try to bring in hungry consumers. SMS marketing restaurants can wonders in this. Although people feel that SMS is decades old, it is still highly effective and relevant. 

It can help restaurants and café owners grab their target audience's attention, foster closer connections, increase foot traffic, and convert their one-time visitors into loyal consumers. Ultimately, it helps owners to improve brand recall rate, trustworthiness, and ROI. 

Keep reading this article to learn how text message marketing for restaurants can improve overall marketing strategy and attract more consumers. Before diving deep into the benefits of implementing SMS marketing strategies for restaurants, let us first understand what SMS marketing is for restaurants and how it works.

What is SMS marketing for restaurants?

SMS marketing, popularly known as text message marketing for restaurants, is the use of text messages to advertise restaurants or café establishments directly to the target audience's smartphones. This method allows restaurant and café owners to send timely updates about dining offers, notifications, reservation confirmations, customer support and special offers. It helps in improving communication with consumers. 

How does SMS marketing restaurants work?

Text message marketing for restaurants is one of the most direct forms of communication. It easily cuts through the other app's clutter. As per the study, SMS has a 98% open rate and 45% response rate. On the flip side, these stats are 20% and 6%, respectively, for email marketing. Besides, various studies show that customers prefer to interact with the business through text messages rather than having a phone call. 

Implementing effective SMS marketing strategies for restaurants can help fortify consumer relationships and skyrocket overall reach. 

As SMS marketing is affordable and well-received, we believe there are no reasons why you should not consider it an effective tool for the promotion and marketing of your restaurant. 

In the next section, we will discuss some more benefits of SMS marketing for restaurants and a few best practices to get the most out of each SMS campaign. 

Benefits of SMS marketing for restaurants

Here are a few advantages you can enjoy using SMS marketing for restaurants. 

1) Expands Reach

Currently, there are 7.21 billion mobile phone users worldwide. This number is expected to reach approx 7.43 billion by 2025. All these smartphone owners are capable of sending and receiving SMS messages. The best thing is that even not-so-tech-savvy persons are also familiar with SMS. So, you can expand your reach by investing in SMS marketing for restaurants. It will provide you with instant access to a vast audience. 

2) Affordability

SMS marketing is one of the most affordable strategies among all advertising channels. It costs the lowest per impression. The ROI will be inexpensive when you do the bulk SMS marketing. When you consider factors like engagement and conversion rates of SMS messages, the cost per engagement is relatively low compared to other channels. 

The average SMS cost is around $0.01 to $0.05. It is more economical than traditional email marketing methods, which cost around $0.10 and $0.30 per email. That's why SMS marketing is the preferred method and choice for reaching and engaging with your target audience. 

3) Easy Implementation

As per the studies, 64% of customers prefer to engage in customer service activities via SMS over traditional phone calls. Text messages are efficient, convenient, and easy to do. That's why restaurants should take advantage of this straightforward marketing option.

4) Higher Open & Engagement Rates

Due to the immediate nature of SMS messages, there is a rare chance that they will be ignored. Usually, most people read text messages within minutes; SMS marketing for restaurants offers the highest open and engagement rates compared to other digital marketing channels. 

5) Improved Consumer Loyalty

Regular communication with your customers fosters a personal bond with your business. Sending them exclusive offer details, birthday deals, or even thank you messages can make them feel valued. Therefore, these personalized messages are vital to increasing customer loyalty to your restaurant over time. They will choose to dine in or order food from your restaurant over your competitors. 

6) Direct Communication

SMS marketing is a direct communication form. If you opt for other mediums, there is a high chance your message gets lost or doesn't reach your target audience. However, the directness of text message marketing for restaurants ensures that your SMS lands in your target audience's hands without any detours or distractions. 

7) Improved ROI

Generally, SMS marketing generates a 29% conversation rate. Combined with the SMS campaign's low cost, it offers high ROI for restaurants. Text messages can directly influence consumer behaviour and be effective and profitable. 

Which Tips And Tricks Do You Need To Follow For SMS Marketing Restaurant?

Here are a few tips that you need to keep in mind to ensure you get the most out of your restaurant SMS marketing campaigns. 

1) Utilize SMS wisely

You should not send too many SMS in a day. Sometimes, when businesses get a positive response from their SMS marketing restaurant campaigns, they try to overdo it. And, here is where they make the biggest mistake. 

However, the issue with this is that too many messages can annoy your subscribers and look like spammy messages. So, go for quality over quantity. Start sending one weekly SMS whenever you have something valuable to share with your potential consumers. Also, ensure you don't share text messages during odd hours like 1 am or 6 am. It can disturb your audience. 

2) Learn to craft attention-grabbing text message copy.

Generally, people open text messages, but if your text message marketing copy is poor, it will not grab your recipient's attention for longer. Therefore, you should follow the 3C's of marketing copy – clear, concise, and crisp. 

Clear – include a proper call to action and tell your potential consumer clearly about your offer.

Concise – Avoid writing too lengthy messages. Try to write effective messages in 160 characters. It will be set in your budget, and you don't need to spend the cost of two messages. 

Crisp – Use the interesting hook and punch lines to bring life to your message. Don't use boring or overused words. 

If you don’t have time or resources to craft compelling text messages, you can use these SMS templates for effective marketing

3) Always follow SMS marketing rules.

You should never message someone who has not given their consent and subscribed. You can send reservation confirmation, holiday wishes, special offers, restaurant news, reminders, etc. However, using consumer's data without their consent is not good. Also, give your customers the option to unsubscribe along with each text message you send. 

Let's Spice Up Your Restaurant Marketing Strategy! 

In summary, in today's competitive dining industry, implementing an effective strategy for SMS marketing restaurants is the key ingredient to success. By effectively using SMS marketing strategies for restaurants, you (restaurant and cafe owners) can easily connect with consumers, experience increased foot traffic, and boost revenue. 

Effectively implementing strategies for text message marketing for restaurants is an instantaneous, direct, and personalized approach. You can utilize it for your targeted ad campaigns, increasing foot traffic, consumer loyalty, and brand awareness. 

So, what are you waiting for? Let's Textdrip help your restaurant business automate its SMS marketing campaigns and enjoy improved sales. We have a ready-to-use SMS template for restaurants that can save you valuable time and help you connect with your audience seamlessly. At Textdrip, we offer a 30-day free trial for restaurant SMS marketing. 

So, connect with us to book a free demo and experience the difference that Textdrip can bring to your restaurant business. Trust us! You and your customers will thank you for it.