6 ways bars & restaurants can use SMS

75% of customers like to receive offers via SMS, that’s a lot of people wanting to have offers sent to their mobile phone. And more and more businesses are fulfilling their customers’ wishes by using SMS to communicate with them and sending them special offers.

Getting customers through the door and leaving with a smile on their face is vitally important to retain customers and keep them coming back. With hundreds of bars and restaurants in every city, it is important that these places get customers returning, and a great way of doing this is using SMS.

Sending a text message about your new menu or that has an offer in, may mean those customers stop by your bar or restaurant rather than your competitors, and that could well be the difference between a successful night, and a bad one.

Below are 6 great ways that bars and restaurants can use SMS to increase sales and customer satisfaction. We have also created an infographic if you prefer that instead of lists.

1. Send special offers via text – Send special offers that have to be used within a certain time frame, by the end of the week, means the customer has to use them quickly or miss out.

2. Message customers when they have made a reservation – Thank them for making a booking and provide them with the details and information how to cancel or change them. This could also include the special of the day.

3. Send text messages from inside the bar during an event – During an event send a mass text to everyone who has attended asking customers to show the text to the bartender to get a free drink or special offer.

4. Use an SMS loyalty program – Allow customers to sign up to an SMS loyalty program. Send them exclusive drink and food offers that they can only get through the SMS loyalty program.

5. Send marketing messages about events – Want to promote an event? Send a message to all customers telling them about the event, how to get tickets and what they can expect.

6. Send an SMS survey after their meal – Instead of filling out a feedback form, send them a text an hour after they have finished, ask a couple of questions about the food, service, and environment.

If you think SMS can help your business, be it in the food & drinks sector or another, you can set up an account with us completely free. We will also throw in 10 free credits to test the account with and with our amazing Double Credits offer, SMS has never been cheaper.

6 ways SMS can help restaurants and bars infographic