Perhaps more so than any other consumer-based industry, restaurant owners know that it is important to stay abreast of current marketing trends. Successfully SMS marketing for restaurants has turned into more than simply sending out mailers with coupons to build your customer base during the day's slowest hours. In today's digital market space you need to employ powerful mobile marketing techniques, such as bulk text messaging, to successfully engage with past, current, and potential customers.

There Are Numerous Benefits To Bulk Text Messaging
Bulk text messaging campaigns can have a wide variety of positive benefits for all types of restaurants. This popular mobile marketing technique can help restaurants to more readily promote special offers via personalized messages. These messages can be sent out at various times of the day to include special meal-specific offerings. For example, a lunch text message might say, "Hurry in for today's lunch and dinner specials. Click here to redeem this 10% off coupon." Additionally, bulk text messaging campaigns have been shown to generate positive responses to contest signups, improve customer loyalty, and achieve higher open ratings than other forms of digital communications.

6 Easy To Follow Bulk Text Messaging Tips For Any Restaurant
If you want to improve your restaurant's bulk text messaging campaigns, than look no further than the following six tips!

Tip #1.) Create SMS coupons. -- Text messages can be used to send your coupons to a wider audience. New guests will appreciate the warm welcome and restaurant regulars will appreciate the discounted services. Customers should be able to easily redeem the coupons in the restaurant or via your online store. Make sure that the SMS message creates a sense of urgency by establishing a short time for renewal. For example, "Redeem this 10% off coupon any day this week at <Insert Your Restaurant Name>! But don't forget, the offer expires Sunday 10/18/15."

Tip #2.) Start a contest. -- Contests are a great way to encourage patrons to come to your restaurant on slower nights of the week. You can send trivia questions about your restaurant. The first 10 people to respond will receive a free menu item. The latter type of customer interaction can help you to improve customer engagement levels, while simultaneously boosting the popularity of your restaurant.

Tip #3.) Survey your customers. -- Bulk text messages allow you to more easily and quickly SMS survey your customers. You can ask your customers what menu items they prefer, what days they like to go to your restaurant, and even what they think you could do to improve their dining experience.

Tip #4.) Alert customers about upcoming deals. -- Do you offer certain lunch or dinner specials on specific days of the week? If so, what better way to alert your past and future customers than with bulk text messages. Research shows that the best time to send an SMS to your customers is around 10:00am, when they haven't gone to lunch and are starting to think about what they should eat for both their mid-day meal and dinner.

Tip #5.) Offer opt-in incentives. -- By law and out of respect to your customers, they need to have the ability to opt-in to your mobile text messages. The initial text message should offer customers valuable insights into the types of messages that they can expect to receive in the future. Let your customers know if they will be receiving special discounts, mobile exclusive offerings, and other perks when they opt-in to your bulk text messaging campaign. By being open and honest about your services from the initial text message, you can greatly improve customer loyalty, while simultaneously increasing the number of positive responses that your campaign receives.

Tip #6.) Always send a thank you reply message. -- Whenever you receive a response to one of your bulk text messages make sure that you send a "thank you" message. This message should be short, polite, and simple. Using an automated SMS messaging system can save you time, will still creating the personalized touch that customers appreciate it.

The above six tips should be a starting point for your bulk SMS campaigns. Remember that the most successful campaigns will adapt to the changing preferences of consumers. Be cognizant of the needs of your customers, elicit feedback, listen attentively, and encourage your customers to engage via mobile text messaging services.