| In our economic slump, restaurants are finding it | | | | way home from working, thinking about dinner. His |
| harder and harder to market themselves. The fact is | | | | phone goes off and it is a coupon for your |
| that people are going out to eat less, and spending | | | | restaurant offering an incentive to come in for dinner |
| less when they do. This has placed a heavy burden | | | | (ex: "PizzaPlanet: Family Night! 25% your entire food |
| upon restaurant owners to get people into their | | | | bill with a party of 3 or more. Valid tonight only! Tell |
| restaurants without spending a lot of money. | | | | your friends!" ) His decision is practically made for him! |
| Conventional means of advertising (Print, TV, radio) | | | | An hour later he shows up at your door with four |
| are extremely expensive and have limited response | | | | hungry customers. |
| rates. However, there is good news. A new from of | | | | For a very low cost, restaurant owners can send |
| marketing is sweeping the marketing world by storm: | | | | SMS messages to their prospective customers with |
| text message marketing. | | | | an incentive to come in, with the imperative call to |
| This method of mobile marketing reaches the user | | | | action to show up today. With very little effort, a |
| via standard SMS (text) messages. This creates a | | | | text message coupon service for restaurants can |
| very personal medium that is always a "vibrate | | | | send the text message coupons for you. |
| away" from the consumer. In order for the consumer | | | | So why look into text message coupons? Studies put |
| to receive these messages, they must opt-in (sign | | | | text message advertising response rate at 20% with |
| up) for the service. This means that they have | | | | some response rates up to 75%! (Carrabba's Italian |
| shown enough of an interest in the service to be | | | | restaurant recently ran a promotion and got a 62% |
| willing to receive further information from it on their | | | | response rate on their promotion!) At a time where |
| cell phones. This brings us to the world of text | | | | people are spending less at restaurants, you have to |
| message coupons for restaurants. | | | | be different and implement new and creative ways |
| Text message coupons give you the benefit of being | | | | to market yourself. For restaurants, text message |
| able to send your discount or promotion instantly at | | | | coupons are the best alternative to tired and worn |
| the exact time you want. Imagine this: a dad is on his | | | | out conventional advertising. |