How Rich Media Messaging and SMS Solutions Can Help Restaurants During and After COVID-19

With bars and restaurants reopening in many countries, new safety measures are being implemented. Businesses are required to make a number of adjustments to their operations, and with certain establishments seeing an 87% decrease in capacity, many are concerned about their financial circumstances. However, there are a number of ways in which Rich Media Messaging (RMM) and SMS can help restaurants to promote business, reduce costs, and operate more efficiently during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Deliver Rich Media Messaging Reservation Reminders

Due to new guidelines, many restaurants may now only be able to operate by reservation. In times like these, with premises facing a large reduction in occupancy, having no-shows and last minute cancellations can be extremely detrimental to businesses financially. However, with Rich Media Messaging reservation reminders, restaurants can automate their booking confirmations, reduce costs, and optimize their staff’s time. VoiceSage’s RMM solution allows restaurants to send rich media content via a simple message, to remind customers of their table booking ahead of time. This gives customers the ability to amend, cancel or reschedule their booking directly through the message, which can then automatically update your booking system.

Our Rich Media Messaging Campaign Builder even provides a ‘Save the Date’ feature, to further help ensure that customers do not forget about their table booking. This feature allows them to quickly add their confirmed reservations to the calendar on their mobile phone.

By automating this process, restaurants can save time, reduce the number of no-shows and cancellations, and free up staff’s time so that they can focus more on providing exceptional dining experiences for their customers.

Send Food Delivery Status Updates to Customers via SMS

With more limited amounts of seating available in restaurants, reopening doors doesn’t make financial sense for many establishments, and some rely solely on takeaway and delivery services for business continuity. You can improve your customer’s experience of your delivery service by sending them SMS messages. With Interactive SMS, restaurants can reduce missed food deliveries, provide real-time delivery updates to customers, and decrease business costs. You can easily inform your customers of:

• When their food order has been confirmed
• The estimated time it will take to arrive
• Unexpected delivery delays
• When the order has been collected and is on its way
• When your delivery order is at your destination
• To request customer feedback

You can even provide contact details via Interactive SMS so that customers can reach out to the delivery driver or restaurant if they are having issues with their order. By updating customers at each step of the delivery process, you can significantly improve the customer journey and boost satisfaction levels, which greatly increases the likelihood of customers ordering again.

Promote Your Restaurant with Mobile Marketing

Mobile marketing is a great solution for promoting your business, and sending promotional offers to your customers via SMS is one of the fastest and simplest ways to advertise your restaurant. For example, you could send customers a limited time offer of 20% off their next food delivery, as adding a sense of urgency can significantly boost your order volumes. With Rich Media Messaging, you can even send barcodes to customers which they can scan at the restaurant to receive their discount. They can also be used to collect points in customer rewards programs, to help effectively improve customer loyalty.

Notify Customers of Important Information and New Guidelines

Many restaurants may now have to adhere to new protocols due to Covid-19, and it is very important that customers are aware of all the necessary guidelines upon entering the restaurant. With the introduction of new table layouts, one-way systems, hand sanitizing areas, protective barriers, and social distancing measures, customers may feel unsure of what to expect. However, Rich Media Messaging allows you to easily and automatically send this type of information to your customers prior to their dining experience. RMM is fully customizable, so you can include logos, branding, colours, fonts, and more. There are many ways of delivering information to customers via RMM, so you can ensure that your personalized message is getting noticed, and that your customers remain engaged. You can deliver information via rich content such as:

• Text
• Images and image carousels
• Video
• Infographics
• PDFs
• Maps

By sending out important updates, you can help to ensure that your customers remain safe throughout their dining experience. Sending out routine information can also help to optimize your employee’s time, as they may not need to answer as many customer queries and concerns.

Get Started with Mobile Messaging

We would be delighted to discuss more about how Interactive SMS and Rich Media Messaging can help restaurants during and after the Covid-19 crisis. To learn more about how we can help you send table reservation reminders, update customers on food delivery statuses, promote your business, and notify customers of important information, request a free trial with VoiceSage today.