Marketing By Texting: Sell Hot Pizzas Using Cellphones -- Part 1

Aug. 25, 2009 - PRLog -- Part 1: Marketing By Texting: Sell Hot Pizzas Using Cellphones

Sell Pizzas By Cellphones? This Can Be A Great Marketing Tool!

Now more than ever, people are turning to their mobile phones for Internet access. From pancake house tables to New York subways, many people are using their iPhones, Blackberries and other mobile devices to locate places they wan to visit, from laundry cleaners, boutiques to sweets shops.

While many businesses around the globe has an online presence, they neglect the potential business value of a mobile internet. Throughout the world, even small businesses that has mobile Web sites receives an advantage over to those who do not.

However, it's still not that simple as it seems to create a mobile website. The small size of a mobile phone's screen and the expensive cost of transmitting data, for instance, create a number of stumbling blocks to transacting business by mobile phone.

The good news is that it’s easy and affordable to establish a presence on the mobile Web and to begin attracting customers on the go. And the best part is that it needn’t cost much. Here are a few guides that can help you get started:

Create a mobile site

Mobile web sites are designed for viewing the internet using small devices like cellphones and PDAs. When creating a mobile version of your Web site, ease of access and usability should be key.

Unless you're a multimedia programmer, chances are you're looking for a quick and easy solution. You can start off with Ubik.com, an online service that provides free mobile web site creation and publishing. Providing an easy to follow step-by-step procedure, just within 15 minutes you can set up your own mobile web site.

By removing the clunky, mobile-unfriendly components of your traditional site, create a simplified version that can adapt to the parameters of small mobile phone browsers. If you're thinking of coding mobile web sites for thousands of mobile devices with varying screen dimensions and resolutions, it'll probably take you years. Using Ubik, you can easily do this just by providing text, images and menus!

Dozens of scenarios could be used to demonstrate the usefulness of having a mobile Web site. Here's one good example: A group of friends exit a movie theater one night with an urge to splurge on a pepperoni deep dish. They wonder if your place is still open, one of them flips open a mobile phone and finds out. Here, having your mobile site ready to reassure them that they can satisfy their cravings until 11 p.m. is key to closing the sale.

Keeping it simple

Avoid over loading your mobile web site with text and slow-loading pictures. Mobile shoppers are looking for simple solutions that they can act on quickly, so keep your messages short. Even today with the "all you can eat" data plans, users are still paying for every byte they download.

Mobile customers need something far simpler than the average PC Web site. Say they are craving pizza while running errands. You can adapt your mobile web site to highlight information that's key for hungry and busy people on the go, such as the menu, store hours, directions and contact info. Make it simple, consistent with your brand's theme/look, while keeping the navigation simple and directly provide the right information. If you focus on quick and convenient access to pertinent information, you’ll help drive more customers to your pizzeria and not to your neighboring competitors.

Market by text

Treat your customers as your community. SMS marketing is designed to generate an immediate response from them. And since people always carry their mobile phones with them, you can keep in touch with them by simply sending a text message to let them know of your special deals and new menu items.

You can even send out electronic coupons. Most people are more likely to respond to a text message than any other forms of communication. Increase your chances further by sending a text message to notify customers when their offer is about to expire and that if they act now, there will be an even greater reward.

According to Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), an international non-profit industry trade group which represents over 600 agencies that focuses on marketing via the mobile channel, 89 percent of companies used text and multimedia messaging to reach their audiences in 2008, with nearly one third spending more than 10 percent of their marketing budgets on advertising in the text message marketing medium.

To give their business establishment a boost and an edge over their competitors, many restaurants are now opting for mobile ordering service through text messaging. Typically, your customers can create an account on an online form at your web site and activates the text message ordering service when they enter their mobile number and chooses a list of their favorite orders, such as “large cheese.” The favorites list corresponds to an online customer account, giving you a buzz when to cook that large cheese when the “FAV” text message arrives.

Map your way to success

The latest handsets come with location-based capabilities and mapping software. How do you make sure your business is listed when someone nearby is searching for what you can offer? Google Maps for mobile would be a good answer to that, one of the most popular applications for use on smartphones.

This free, downloadable application puts your business listing, maps and location directions directly in the hands of mobile users. Google’s local search engine allows people to search for your businesses by name – such as "Joe’s Pizza Shop" - or by type – such as "pizza." They'll be able to search for your business address, working hours, menu, contact info, payment method, ratings, pictures of your establishment and even be able to contact you through text messaging or calls.

You can also link directly to your Google listing from your Web site.

To be continued... watch out for Part 2: Marketing By Texting: Sell Hot Pizzas Using Cellphones

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With over 20 years of experience in restaurant point of sale the author of this article is the Customer Relations Vice-President at http://www.pos-for-restaurants.com -- helping you use your Restaurant POS technology to be more more efficient and more profitable.

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