Lesson: When using SMS to market a product, it’s best that you use it to engage rather than infuriate. Keep it fresh, short, useful and original.
I recently received this SMS from a restaurant I visited 3 weeks ago:
EL CERDO:
This Week: Crispy Pork Belly with grilled green Asparagus and Butter Herb Sauce, best regards, from Werner! Oink, Oink! T: 03 - 21450511
It’s smart for a variety of reasons:
- It’s fresh (and inviting) because it’s the first time I’ve received a message since my last visit 3 weeks ago - it doesn’t come across as spam. Now, imagine if I received this message a day after visiting the restaurant (too soon, bad pig!)
- It’s short because it’s written in less than 160 characters, and fits nicely on a single screen without the need to scroll
- It’s useful because it has a single call to action, in this case the phone number to make a reservation
- It’s original because it talks to me in its lingo (Oink, Oink!)
- It’s identifiable because the sender appeared as El Cerdo rather than an obscure foreign mobile number
El Cerdo’s SMS marketing campaign would have been even smarter with the following tactics:
- Maximise on the time of day: why not send the SMS a couple of hours before dinner time? Hungry people tend to struggle when it comes to picking a restaurant. Sending it between 5-6pm on a weekday would create a surge of positive traffic
- Offer an exclusive deal: you don’t have to spend money on freebies to make it exclusive. Just imagine if the SMS said: “Only 20 dishes will be prepared tonight”. Find ways to make scarcity work to your advantage
Now, here’s another thought, especially if you’re in the F&B business:
- Make use of inbound callers: convert all those contact numbers on your reservation list into an active marketing database - it’s an immediate captive audience, irrespective whether they show up for dinner =)
