Text Marketing for Restaurants: All You Need to Know

The ability to acquire new and repeat customers is the most valuable resource that any restaurant has. Great food and fantastic service create a strong connection with customers and help you bring them in, but customers’ wants and needs change often. Getting and keeping their attention at the right times is how you create a sustainable group of loyal customers who support your restaurant on a regular basis.  

Text marketing for restaurants is one of the most effective ways to market to your customers. Not only are your communications likely to be seen, but they’re also likely to spark engagement with your customer base. Because of this, restaurant text marketing is a powerful way to advertise that all restaurants should try. 

In this article, we give you all the information and SMS marketing examples you need to understand how to use text marketing for restaurants to maintain and grow your business. When done well, text message marketing with a weekly SMS message turns a stagnant customer base into a vibrant and lively source of growth for your restaurant.  

What is Text Marketing for Restaurants? 

Imagine your guest is about an hour from getting off work on a Friday. They don’t want to go home and cook. They want to go somewhere fun for dinner. 

Their phone beeps, and they see a message from Jerry’s Pub and Restaurant, their favorite place to go with their spouse to unwind from the workweek. They haven’t been in a while, but the message says Jerry’s has a special two-for-one special on burgers and beers tonight.  

One text message at the right time with the right offer convinced your customer to commit to visiting the restaurant tonight. This is how text marketing for restaurants works. It could be all it takes to fill empty seats in your restaurant.  

Text marketing for restaurants is a highly versatile and customizable form of advertising. Your text messages may include images, coupon codes, QR codes, text, and just about anything else you want to include. Primarily, it directly targets customers on the device they use the most: their phones.  

More people have access to phones with messaging included in data plans than ever before, making it possible to reach a larger audience than in most other forms of advertising. The best part is customers opt into the program, so you are free to send as many messages as you want. As long you keep them happy, you’ll always have a direct line to your customer base.  

Why You Need to Consider Text Marketing 

According to the Pew Research Center in 2024, 98% of people in the U.S. have a cell phone of some type, and about 91% of those are smartphones. This isn’t just Americans either—about 90% of people globally own a cell phone. 

No matter where you are, your customers are almost guaranteed to have cell phones to receive text messages. Text messaging is also the second most-used form of communication.  

This level of performance outpaces other digital marketing channels, like email lists and newsletters. With such high usage, your customers are very likely to receive, open, and read messages you send to them, especially if they opt into the program.  

Setting Up Your Restaurant's Text Marketing Campaign 

Getting started in SMS marketing is easier than ever since there are systems in place to help you manage it throughout the process. All you have to do is follow a four-step process to set up SMS marketing campaigns for your restaurant: 

1. The first thing to do is choose a text marketing platform. Similar to an email marketing platform, the one you choose gives you access to a wide range of campaign management tools for creating and sending texts. Some popular options include Mailchimp, Simple Texting, and Twilio. Compare the features each one has to ensure it includes everything you’ll need to manage campaigns that drive growth. 
2. The next step in your SMS marketing strategy is to start building your list of subscribers. Set up a way for customers to opt into the program in your restaurant or in other forms of advertising. The more you build your list of subscribers, the more customers you engage with.  
3. Once you have a list for your text marketing, begin designing your messages. There are plenty of content options to choose from. Surveys are particularly popular, as are discount ads. However, make sure your text messages consistently provide value to your guests rather than asking for something. As you build a stronger connection, there will be opportunities to request engagement from customers in certain ways, such as loyalty programs or surveys.  
4. Finally, schedule your SMS campaigns and promotional messages to go out and have steps in place to monitor performance. It’s important to know how your campaign is doing in terms of opened messages, interactions with customers, and any other actions taken because of your ads.  

Throughout the process, it’s important to make sure you comply with the regulations for market outlined in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. It puts certain limits in place to make sure you’re marketing to customers instead of harassing them. Alternatively, you can set up a way to collect information on customer preferences, so you don’t exceed those guidelines and turn them off from the program.  

Text Marketing Strategies for Restaurants 

If you can gain access to your guests’ text messages, then the next step is to provide value. People don’t like getting marketing messages with no meaning to them, especially if they’re not texting with a friend or family member. It’s up to you to make sure each message you send provides value to each guest.  

Do this by offering discounts, creating a rewards program, and making your messages entertaining (especially if it’s your brand). If your customers see value in those messages, even if they’re not cashing in on the offers every time, they’re likely to continue to read them and not unsubscribe from your list.  

The value you provide can be more than just discounts and sales. One of the best SMS marketing examples is reservation management messages. 

Upscale restaurants require reservations to manage this process through text messages. In its simplest form, a customer sends a message to a specific number asking for a reservation at a time and date. 

The manager can respond to incoming messages with a confirmation text or coordinate the reservation if changes need to be made. You can also use the system to send reservation reminders. The convenience of not having to call, come into the restaurant, or go online to book a reservation is very appealing to busy customers.  

Best Practices for Text Marketing Content 

It’s easy to think receiving unsolicited messages from a business will just drive customers away. However, text messages drive guest engagement forward by offering value. Text marketing outperforms nearly every other form of marketing when done well.  

Text messaging has a high open rate. Nearly everyone who you send a message will open and read it. More than this, most of those readers respond within a few minutes of opening those messages.  

Many of the messages restaurants send are themed for a holiday or to the brand’s customer focused messaging. More often than not, they are designed to be entertaining as well as informative. Customers don’t mind getting messages when those messages make them smile and provide value related to what the restaurant has to offer.  

Alternatively, make sure you don’t send too many messages, no matter how valuable they are. You don’t want to bombard your customers with texts or send them too infrequently. The best thing to do is to send no more than one per week unless there’s a special reason to send more. This will space the messages out while still showing up when you need them to so they’re effective.  

Integrating Text Marketing with Other Marketing Channels 

As effective as restaurant text messaging is, it shouldn’t be your only option. Combined with email marketing and other methods, you’ll get better engagement from your customers. Text marketing works best as a short-form, quick burst of information.  

Other marketing channels give you more flexibility regarding length, content, and information you include. Social media, for example, lets you send out more generalized content while email marketing feels more personalized and intimate when done well. You need multiple methods of marketing for your restaurant to see the best results.  

3 Advanced Text Marketing Techniques 

Text marketing is still evolving. There are some newer techniques to use to advance your program, such as: 

1. AI Text Bots 

AI text bots are becoming an effective way to automate interactions with customers. Many companies use AI to set up systems like reservations or customer service, giving guests 24-hour access to the services they need. 

2. A/B testing

Take advantage of testing methods to find the best ad design and content for your customers. A/B testing is commonly used to try out new ideas by deploying multiple versions of messages to see which one works better.  

3. Segmenting and Personalization

Segmenting your audience to target specific groups with specific messages is highly effective. That’s if you gather the information you need to segment your audience effectively. With this strategy, the right message goes to each audience.  

3 Ways to Measure Text Marketing Campaign Success 

The only way to measure your success is to measure specific key performance indicators (KPIs). Three of the most important metrics to watch are: 

1. Click-Through-Rate (CTR): How many people click into and through the messages you send.  
2. Churn: The rate at which your subscriber list grows or shrinks. 
3. Conversion Rate: How many people follow through with a service or purchase because of the message. 

Learning to measure KPIs gives you the ability to see what efforts are working and which ones are not. You’ll be able to make changes to the system you’re using based on the input from guests.  

Frequently Asked Questions About Restaurant Text Marketing 

There’s so much to unravel when it comes to restaurant text marketing. For additional insight, check out the FAQ section below. 

How Do You Do Text Marketing? 

Simply sign up for a platform to make it possible. Then, design and send your messages using whichever platform you choose. Make sure you monitor your restaurant text marketing campaign to see what works and what doesn’t. Then, adjust your strategy as needed.  

How Much Does SMS Marketing Cost Per Text? 

SMS marketing usually costs no more than 5¢ per text and usually costs around 1¢ depending on how many characters are included in the message. If you’re sending international SMS marketing messages, then the cost may be as high as 50¢ depending on what the carrier charges.  

What Are the 4 Ps of Local Restaurant Marketing? 

The 4 Ps of local restaurant marketing are used to help people understand how to position their restaurant. They stand for product, placement, pricing, and promotion. There is sometimes a fifth P referring to People. If you focus on these 4 Ps in your SMS marketing efforts, it’ll position your restaurant for success.  

Launching Your First or Next Campaign 

With the ability to reach customers in a way which not only is convenient for them but also easy to manage, text marketing could be the thing to take your business from good to great. Use tools like text marketing to remind them of why your restaurant is the one they should go to. 

Ready to launch your first or next text marketing campaign? Schedule a demo now to learn more about how our marketing automation and restaurant solutions will help you embrace technology and innovative revenue generation.