Quick wins for your SMS marketing campaigns
Summary
Four SMS campaigns time-strapped hospitality operators can run: promotions, targeted offers, text-to-win competitions and feedback requests, plus wording tips.
SMS suits busy operators: quick to set up, fast to read and easy to act on.
Running a busy venue leaves little time for marketing. SMS campaigns suit time-strapped operators: the setup is simple, messages are shorter than email, and customers respond and engage more readily with them.
Here are four SMS campaigns you can run in your venue to reach and retain customers.
1. General promotions
Text messages get read within minutes, which makes SMS the fastest way to promote last-minute offers or fill empty tables left by cancellations.
The same applies to upcoming events. Promotions like these work well alongside email: send the detailed event information by email, then use SMS to follow up a day or so later with a timely reminder, and a final flash-sale nudge when there are only a few spaces left.
2. Personalised and targeted promotions
Personalised messages resonate most with customers. Split your customer list into targeted campaigns for better conversion rates and revenue, and build those groups from customer behaviour.
Birthday offers sent in advance should be a no-brainer here, but instead of the usual email campaign, try SMS.
Re-engagement offers and special deals can also bring back customers you have not seen for a while. Build a group from "last seen more than X days ago" and give them a reason to return.
3. Competitions
Text-to-win sweepstakes are popular contests in SMS marketing. Customers enter the draw by replying with a keyword.
Extra tip: promote the contest on your socials and your website too, and you can collect new customer contact details along the way.
4. Feedback
SMS is a two-way conversation, and customers reply to texts far more readily than emails, which makes the channel well suited to feedback requests.
You might want inspiration for your next special drink or event, or reactions to your latest menu changes. Surveys and polls are quick and easy to set up over SMS. Text-to-vote ("a or b?") is one common option, and including a URL that takes customers straight to a survey works well too.
Bonus: get your wording right
Text messages have a character limit, so the right words matter if you want the message to generate action.
Think of the first few words as the subject line of the phone notification
Use attention-grabbing language: last chance, limited offer, special offer for you
Use capitals only to highlight key elements
Lead with the offer
End with a clear call to action
Do not overdo abbreviations to stay within the limit. They make the message hard to read
Stick to what, where, when, how: "Get 10% off this Friday, simply show this CODE to our staff"
Send your first campaign
Ready to set up your first SMS campaign? Stampede sends SMS alongside email from the same guest data. See email and SMS marketing, or book a demo and the team will get you set up.
See it running on your venues
One unified guest record across Wi-Fi, bookings, reviews and loyalty, and the marketing that acts on it.