Is the hospitality sector maximising SMS use?

As hospitality venues in England open-up to indoor guests this week, are bar and restaurant brands optimising the use of SMS messaging as part of their strategies in a post-pandemic market?

This week witnesses the biggest changes in the sector for a long time.  Pubs and restaurants are opening their doors once more as the UK takes further steps out of lockdown.

The hospitality sector is one of the leading adopters of mobile messaging. SMS is used widely for various functions that transform the way brands communicate with customers.

An increasing number of people, accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, use SMS to interact with businesses. It was during the UK’s ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ campaign last summer that customers of all ages got used to accessing restaurant menus using mobile phones and QR codes.

But mobile messaging offers many more communication opportunities. These include dealing with basic booking enquiries, promoting offers and even using SMS messaging for customer satisfaction surveys.

Insights

According to a report by card payment company Payment Sense, offering multiple booking options is the best way to get reservations and attract diverse groups of customers.

Their 2020 report, Restaurant Insights, 2020, also found that 21% of customers would like their smartphone to handle all aspects of the restaurant interaction. This includes booking, ordering and even paying for food.

Interestingly, regular take-away users are 60% more likely than average to want their restaurant experience handled entirely by smartphones.

Restaurants can also keep loyal customers coming back for more by reminding them of special events and promotions.

Customer Service

Adults are more likely to purchase from companies that communicate via messaging. That’s according to a recent YouGov study that found 69% of consumers prefer communicating with brands over mobile messages rather than calls.

72% of respondents said they prefer companies that communicated travel plans, reminders and updates through text messages.

Future Use

Hospitality brands would be wise to consider the future use of mobile messaging as part of their communication strategy.

Mobile now accounts for around half of web traffic worldwide. In the first quarter of 2021, mobile devices (excluding tablets) generated 54.8 percent of global website traffic (Statista).

Usage is increasing across all demographics. As a result, mobile has become a vital channel for digital marketers seeking to engaging their audience.

About MessageCloud

MessageCloud is a multi-award winning mobile messaging technology provider. Its cloud-based SMS and messaging products enable companies to set up and manage one-way and two-way communications effortlessly. Plus, it offers products to analyse phone numbers, verify users and accept payments by mobile.

With its range of products, ‘Send’, ‘Numbers’, ‘Verify’, ‘Analyse’ and ‘Pay’, MessageCloud delivers tools that maximise mobile marketing; from virtual numbers to payment systems for carrier billing. And with more than a decade of delivering messages for diverse markets around the globe, it is a service on which you can rely.