What makes managing a restaurant, bar or grill exciting?
The people, of course!
There’s nothing like a room full of people having a great time eating delicious food and enjoying a few drinks. Staff are happy because the tips keep coming and the kitchen is running like a high performance race car.
It’s a thing of beauty.
The trick is to keep those people coming in even on slow days – and to keep the place packed on the weekends.
Smart managers have turned to using mobile friendly websites and automated text messaging systems to keep the people coming in during all days of the week and to create a predictable jump in visitors right when they want it.
Mobile Friendly Websites Get New Customers
You may have already seen and heard all the talk about people using their mobile phones for everything. They’re used for playing games, texting with friends, browsing the web, and even making the occasional phone call.
The point is that people do not leave home without it.
So where do they do when they want to find a place nearby to eat? Right to the mobile, of course.
And when they find the website for your restaurant, what do they see?
Do they see a site that is hard to navigate and read on a small screen? Or do they find an easy to use site that highlights menu items, gives directions from their location, and even gives mobile-only coupons?
If they find the site that is hard to navigate, they’re going to leave that page and find another. And they will likely never visit your site again.
But if they can find out what kind of food and drinks you have, plus get a coupon just for using their mobile phone, they will beat a path to your door!
Text Messaging Systems Keep Customers Coming Back
How do you create traffic to your website on demand?
You send out a coupon to your customers’ mobile phones!
People love discounts and freebies. You can get people to come in for lunch on Monday or dinner on Tuesday just by sending out a simple coupon for a free appetizer, free drink, or some other discount.
Your customers already love going out to your place, they just need a little nudge to get there. Discounts give them that nudge.
When you set up your text messaging system you get a way to let your customers sign up for your special deals. They do this by sending a short text message (which they do with their friends every day) to a special number. The system automatically sends out a welcome message and you can even include a deal right there.
Then you can send out coupons designed to bring in traffic for any time you want. The system will let you schedule messages and even include photos with the text so you can show how great the food looks! The eyes are the path to the stomach.