SMS marketing for restaurants and cafes

Turn SMS into a powerful marketing tool for your restaurant or cafe with Textmagic’s intuitive business SMS platform.

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Schedule booking reminders

Never miss a reservation! Schedule appointment reminders and confirmations to avoid no-shows.

Encourage return visits

Encourage customers to opt into your SMS subscriber list by offering loyalty rewards and discounts.

Inform about exclusive deals

Send your deals as SMS attachments to get customers excited about your new dishes.

SMS marketing templates for cafes and restaurants

Attract more customers and increase sales with our cost-effective SMS templates.

Opt-in confirmations

Hey [name]. Thanks for subscribing to our list! Show this text for 25% discount on any pizza or pasta meal. Offer expires on [date]. Cheers, [restaurant]

Breakfast offers

Good morning, enjoy a free latte with your breakfast by showing this text. Offer is only available Monday to Friday from 8AM to 11AM. [restaurant]

“Buy more” campaigns

Show this text for a $10 voucher when you spend more than $50. Offer expires on [date]. Thanks for choosing [restaurant].

Poll autoresponders

Thanks for the feedback! Here’s 50% of your next lunch. Show this text to redeem the offer by [date]. Happy eating!

Menu changes

Hey [name]! We’re always trying to surprise your senses with incredible meals. We just updated our menu. Our new dishes are delicious! Check them out: bit.ly/new-menu [restaurant name]

Table reservations

Hey [name]. Are you hungry? We have some mean [dish] today. Reserve a table by replying to this text with the time you’ll arrive and the number of people that will be joining you! [restaurant]

Polls and Surveys

Hey [name]! We hope you enjoyed your meal at [restaurant] as much as we enjoyed preparing it for you. Please rate the experience on a scale of 1 (bad) to 10 (excellent).

Reservation confirmations

Hi [name], Thanks for the reservation, we’re looking forward to seeing you on [date] at [time]! [restaurant]

Reservation reminders

Hey [name], your table for [date] [hour] is all set. We hope you can make it! If you need to cancel please reply to this text with ‘CANCEL’. Thanks!

Repeat customer reminders

Hello [name]. We noticed you haven’t been to [restaurant] for a while. We miss you! Visit us until [date] and enjoy free drinks with your meal. Show this text to redeem the offer by [date]. [restaurant]

Key benefits of SMS marketing for restaurants and bars

SMS marketing for restaurants is four times more effective than other forms of advertising.

Reach customers when they’re hungry

With Textmagic you can schedule SMS when your customers are getting hungry! Good restaurant SMS marketing is all about timing.

Better sales and more conversions

Traditional forms of marketing can be ignored, but a well-timed text can’t. According to statistics, 90% of texts are read within four minutes of being received.

Amazing long-term return on investment

For every $1 invested in restaurant SMS marketing, Papa John saw a return of $14. SMS is the most effective strategy for attracting valuable clients.

Obtain positive reviews

Encourage customers who love to Instagram their food to share their photos and reviews with friends.

Encourage brand loyalty

Segment your audience and promote special deals (e.g. student menus, 1+1 deals, etc.) to get more repeat customers.

Streamline internal operations

Textmagic can also help you with staff rostering. Send weekly work schedules and last-minute changes via SMS.

Cost-effective SMS marketing solutions for restaurants

Maximizing restaurant profits through affordable SMS marketing strategies.

Bulk SMS and mail merge

Send personalized offers and discounts to your subscriber lists with SMS messages.

Zapier SMS integrations

Automate your reservation process by connecting Textmagic with your favorite reservation apps in Zapier.

SMS automation rules

Configure automation rules for text inquiries to provide instant support and encourage positive reviews.

Click-to-text forms

Be available to customers through your site 24/7 by displaying messages as SMS chats.

Voice calls forwarding

Make it easy for customers to follow up on your SMS offers and make reservations using voice.

Import mobile numbers

Do you already have a customer database? Instantly Import contacts and get started with your campaign.

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Frequently asked questions

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What is the best way to communicate menu changes via SMS?

One of the best ways to promote new dishes or menu changes is to send a bulk text with the new menu as an SMS attachment. If you have special menu offers (e.g. student lunches, senior menus, 1+1 deals, etc), you can send them to specific contact lists.

Textmagic allows you to segment your audience through SMS distribution lists or Contact lists. Targeting specific offers to relevant lists will help you cut down costs and improve response rates.

How can I measure the effectiveness of my restaurant’s SMS marketing campaign?

Textmagic has a dedicated Reporting section in your account. From here, you can check statistics such as the number of messages sent/received, delivery rate, reply rate, costs, etc.

You can also view the performance of individual bulk texts or monitor the performance of specific campaigns. From the Reporting → Sub-accounts tab, you can check the performance of every team member.

How can I encourage more reviews from customers?

Most restaurants require a customer’s phone number to confirm a reservation. Make sure that you receive consent from customers to contact via SMS after their visit. Use Textmagic’s scheduling and automation features to follow up with a review request.

Here’s a great way to encourage reviews and return visits — offer a nice discount, a token, a “thank you” message, or a special offer after a customer visits or submits a review. You can make it easier for customers to leave reviews by sending easy-to-respond-to SMS templates.

Example:

*name*, Thank you for choosing *restaurant name*! We hope you enjoyed your meal. Your opinion means a lot to us. Please rate your experience on a scale from 1 (bad) to 5 (excellent).

Depending on the customer’s response, you can follow up with more automated questions (for a more detailed review) or simply send a discount code for their next visit.

How can I manage table booking better with voice call forwarding?

While some customers prefer to schedule a reservation via SMS, many prefer to voice call for confirmation. Textmagic has made it easy to connect your number to any landline or mobile number. Here’s how you can provide better customer service through voice call forwarding:

Step #1: Log in to your Textmagic account or sign up for a free trial. Add credit to your account.

Step #2: From your dashboard, navigate to Services → Numbers. Click on the “Activate forwarding” button.

Step #3: Configure the phone number that you want your calls forwarded to. The software will calculate your cost per minute.

Step #4: Click on “Next” to activate the new number immediately. You can also record a personalized audio greeting for your number.

For more information about SMS marketing for restaurants, please visit our recent blog post.