While you might think that the success of your restaurant lies in its kitchen, the marketing strategies you adopt for the promotion of your business play a critical role in its expansion. It is extremely important to understand the various marketing channels prevalent in today’s world, and whether investing in them will be a lucrative deal or not.
Ever since the advent of the mobility technology, a major chunk of the population turns to the mobile apps for all of the every day requirements. For those in the restaurant business, it has become increasingly imperative, to have their own personalized mobile apps, through which they can ensure a steady customer attendance. Although a majority of the restaurant business owners have plunged into the amazing world of mobile app technology, there are still quite a few of us who are not very sure of its utility.
Let’s have a look at how a mobile app can be beneficial for the growth and expansion of your restaurant business.
Mobile apps eliminate unnecessary friction
More often than not, a customer searching for your restaurant’s website on their mobile browser has to go through on an average of 10 to 15 keystrokes. And, to say that hopefully the customer does reach your website, he needs to enter his locality and area, to zero in on the outlet closest to his neighborhood. The exercise can be quite time taking and frustrating for a potential customer, who might get distracted in the middle of his search by some other restaurant website that might be easier to reach. A mobile app eliminates the friction generated by tedious mobile browsing, and delivers a seamless user experience to the customer, who can now reach the destination in just one click.
Mobile apps enable online food ordering
The online ordering technology is gaining enormous momentum in the world of today, where everyone is in a perpetual rush. A mobile app is a great channel for your customers to place their take away or home delivery orders, simply by opening the app and making their food selection. It is an enormous convenience for the busy professionals who wish to grab their meal on their way home.
Mobile apps provide the facility of table reservations
Despite the fact that most of the restaurant websites nowadays offer a facility for table bookings and reservations, the mobile technology makes it even more convenient for the people on the go. Most of us do not always have an access to our computers, and make use of our mobile phones for a majority of our everyday tasks. A mobile app offers your potential customers the luxury of making their dinner reservations right at their fingertips.
Mobile apps enable push messaging
The push notification technology, offered by the mobile apps, helps send alerts to your customers regarding your one time deals, special offers, happy hours and other specific events at your restaurant. The technology helps you make casual announcements regarding any changes in your menu or any special onetime offerings, which might lure the customers into trying them out. Furthermore, you can also send coupon codes to your customers’ mobiles via push notifications, and encourage a call to action in your favor.
Mobile apps help in spreading the word
The mobile technology is an efficient and economical method of announcing any specific events or celebrations that might be happening at your restaurant. You can send messages or notifications regarding a new chocolate making class or a wine tasting tour that your restaurant might be hosting. Considering the fact, that the customer has already shown a significant interest in your business by downloading your app, you can rest assured that your notifications will not be met with a blind eye from him.
Mobile apps offer a click to call facility
Apart from the regular food ordering and table booking tools, your mobile app further offers a click to call facility to your customers. Many a times, a customer might be having certain queries regarding the offerings on your menu, the restaurant timings and even the location. By facilitating the one touch calling system that connects the customer to the restaurant directly, you can eliminate the unnecessary time wastage of searching the Google for your contact details.
Looking at the bigger picture, you can easily determine that by 2016, a mobile app development has become more of a need for your restaurant business, rather than simply being an added perk!