Mobile Marketing for Restaurants

Updated September 26th 2013

Mobile Devices are the biggest companions of adults with one device for every second person in the world’s population. The number of sold tablets has surpassed the number of sold PCs in August 2013 for the first time.

For the past 8 years, experts forecast the take-off of mobile marketing and it seems to remain stuck in its beginnings. Marketing everyone in its pocket seems like the next big hit in the advertising industry but how can you get ready for it?

New gadgets in the tech world usually lead to spending money and time to get involved, understand and use it. Unfortunately we spend often so many resources on a new technology that the time saving factor of it in the future is minimal. The general recommendation is to really know what you want and why you need it.

Mobile devices let you view websites using mobile browsers, use applications or be connected through social networks or sms. Shall I use Facebook on my browser? Download the application? What other applications do I need to download to make full use of my smartphone and Facebook? These are the regular questions that arise when you are a ‘connected’ user and know what options are available.

While this seems confusing for the user, the confusion was actually built up by the businesses going online. Old websites are not responsive, meaning they do not adapt automatically to various mobile device platforms, so either are advised to create a ‘mobile.’, or ‘mob.’ or ‘m.’ alternative of the website for mobile device users. And some recommend to develop a mobile application for iOS or/and Android, which is the most costly solution of all.

So here is my advice:

1. Check out the option of having a mobile responsive website before you engage into spending more money on applications when you do not even know if you are an interesting service provider for the mobile world.
2. If possible do not engage into mobile version ‘mobile.’, or ‘mob.’ or ‘m.’ Google does not like it and splits all your SEO efforts among your online presences as logically Google will not promote both your online presences with the same weight. But if you have to, there are tools like bluetrainmobile.com or dudamobile.com that simplify a mobile adaptation of your website.
3. From Google Analytics you can find out how many people are visiting your website from their mobile device. If the numbers are significant enough then you should consider developing a mobile application that would be suitable for your clients. The more complex your service is offering, the more costly the Mobile apps can become. So make sure you are fully aware of all development costs and the time required.

 

Now that you are set up with your own presence on mobile devices, let us look into mobile marketing opportunities. Here are three categories to incorporate into your restaurant’s mobile marketing efforts:

Social Media

With millions of active accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare, restaurant owners now have the ability to directly access their customer base on a daily basis. Social media outlets provide an ideal way to share tantalizing information that will get mouths watering. Reach your customers on your choice of social media outlet by sharing any of the following information:

• Announce daily specials
• Offer 20% off coupons to the first 5 Facebook followers who comment on your profile
• Reward the first Twitter profiles who tweet about your restaurant with a free meal
• Offer free drink rewards to those who “check-in” to your restaurant using FourSquare
• Spread the word on any special events occurring at your restaurant
• Define a strategy for online tools like Yelp or Tripadvisor. For Tripadvisor, you can reach 250 million travellers with your offerings so pay attention to your profiles and engage into communicating with people that have made time to review your business.

 

Online-Ordering

The power of mobile technology being used for online ordering will continue to increase. Restaurants that offer online ordering are averaging $2,000 to $10,000 of online orders each month, therefore proving that online ordering is effective and advantageous to have.  Creating an online ordering tool is a relatively simple operation that can be set up through third party companies, such as Merosys or Compel Cart. Restaurants with online ordering systems offer customers the ability to jump online and place an order for pick up via their mobile device or computer.

Apps

In the USA, the National Restaurant Association has recently discovered that 26% of chefs have ranked smartphone applications as the hottest tech trend of 2012. Among some of the most popular apps on mobile devices are Urban Spoon and Foodspotting. Urban Spoon is a restaurant review destination complete with links to restaurant websites, menus and reservation systems. Foodspotting is an app that gives customers the ability to share uploaded photos of their food, giving other viewers a look at what awaits them at any given restaurant.

While these apps are largely customer driven, you are not left completely helpless in creating a positive presence. Here are some suggestions to use these apps to your restaurant’s advantage:

• Offer guests a discount if they uploaded a review on Urban Spoon
• Reward uploaded Foodspotting photos with a free drink or small dessert
• Encourage spreading your name through any other food-related app with rewards for positive customer activity
• Embrace app-happy customers and develop a strong reputation with tech-assisted word of mouth marketing. Keep a positive presence in the app world and translate shared information into a larger customer base.

 

Reach your customers effectively and stay actively engaged with mobile media opportunities. Marketing techniques in an era of digital information includes utilizing social media accounts, developing online ordering capabilities and creating a presence on popular food apps.

Written by Daniel Grossmann