Why Mobile Coupons are getting popular during the economic downturn?
It is apparent that Mobile marketing is the trend in a restaurant industry that is changing our preferences over everything to mobile. It is natural because a mobile device like iPhones, gPhones and Blackberry’s are always with our selves. Since they enable mobile web access, it is more easier for us as customers to opt in for coupons and order pizza via mobile ordering system without ever opening our desk top which might take a minute or two just to reboot. By this time with a mobile phones, we could order the pizza and be done with it may be even before the computer is ready after it reboots.
Lets face it today, due to the economy down turn every one wants to save money on their dinning expenses. Forget about those expensive restaurants for a while now before economy comes back. Customers have cut back on going to fancy restaurants with high priced menu items. No wonder even the high end restaurant have come up with creative marketing ideas to lure the budget oriented customers by offering under $10 price on menu items. Pizza restaurant are no different to them. In order to attract those customers on tight budget, they have to throw incentives in the form of mobile coupons. Pizza restaurants have been known for years for offering paper coupons but not the mobile coupons.
Domino’s rolls out national mobile coupon program. This should indicate that at least pizza restaurants if not all restaurants need to adopt mobile marketing if they want to sustain the business in the age of mobile phones. People have started changing their food ordering habits by purchasing pizzas via their mobile devices like iPhones over computers.
Domino’s have selected Air2Web a company based out of Atlanta to manage their mobile marketing campaigns. It is strictly permission based mobile coupons that is sent to customers who have opted in, via text message. When the customers receive the text based coupons via text message they can use those coupons while placing an order for their pizzas online in English or Spanish by visiting at www.dominos.com or from a web-enabled mobile devices like iPhone or gPhone at www.mobile.dominos.com/ One thing that is attractive about the mobile coupon is that they are trackable and measurable. Since customers don’t have to go through a hassle of clipping the coupons, they are more receptive to these kind of digital coupons. Redemption rate also go as high as 5 to 15 % where as the redemption rate on paper based coupon could be as low as 1%.
It is about time for all the restaurants including other independent pizza restaurants to take mobile marketing seriously and start learning about it at least if not use it.
How Chipotle has been successful in positioning its brand as a leader in the Restaurant World of Mexican Grill?
Brand Positioning is so important for overall success of the restaurant brand that one should not neglect it but more importantly try to position your restaurant brand by being the leader in trying “out of the box” marketing ideas to be the number one in the game of brands race.
Mexican Grill, a fast casual restaurant concept is a hot growing trend in the restaurant industry. It is one of the most promising segment as there is a great potential in this market. No wonder lots of restaurant brands are competing for the maximum share of the pie and the same position and that is to be the number one. Among the numerous restaurant brands that has entered into the race and that stands out are Chipotle-Mexican Grill, Moes South West Grill and Qdobas. Since Chipotle has longer history in the business and looking at its growth rate, it seems clear that Chipotle is leading the race.
Why even being the second in branding race, it is important to be right behind the competitor and not let them leave you far behind?
Though Moes South West Grill and Qdobas and many other similar concept restaurants are behind Chipotle, the question is who is going to take the second position as in every segment there is number one and number two. Hopefully very close to each other. If you look at the burger world there is McDonalds and Burger King, if you look at the world of coffee there is Starbucks and Caribou Coffee. In most cases the number one and number two position in brands is very close to each other. But it is surprising to see in the world of coffee, Caribou coffee is way far behind. In one of the article that I read in the past, if I am correct it stated that Starbucks create one whole Caribou Coffee corporation in a month or two. What that means is that Starbucks opens that many number of coffee shops in couple of months that Caribou Coffee as a whole company has. So in this case the Starbucks has left the Caribou very far behind and I don’t know how long will it take Caribou to even come close to Starbucks. The point here is when you are on the game of restaurant brand race, you try to avoid this situation and try to be as close as possible if not right on top of it’s nose poking at them without letting them to crush you.
Why implementing technology to stay ahead is very critical to the overall success of the your restaurant branding?
When I think of technology in brand positioning it reminds me of two company and that is Fedex and UPS. Fedex most probably is considered the number one in the documents shipping business as it is one of the first company to introduce overnight express delivery in the midst of doubtful cynics. Fedex was also the first company to introduce the first shipping tracking system in the world. So it has been positioning its brand as a leader who understands the importance of technology for efficient tracking of all the deliveries and help customers to have more control over their packages tracking and keeping them well informed at a comfort of their own computer or mobile phones. At the same time, UPS was almost 6 months or so behind the technology. Once they realised that they had to catch up with FedEx they worked day and night to finish up the technology and be up to the speed with the technology. Determined and with hard work they managed to atleast come closer to FedEx and in some areas they have far exceeded. The point behind this story is that same principle applies to the restaurant brands too. I would compare Chipotle as FedEx for now. Moes South West Grill and Qdobas like United Parcel Service (UPS). Chipotle has already introduced it’s mobile ordering system on iPhone for its customers which is like Fedex introducing GPS tracking system with its all deliveries. Had UPS not accepted the technology to introduce it’s GPS tracking system to its deliveries though it was 6 months or so behind of FedEx, I don’t know if I would be talking about UPS. May be I would but the story would have been a sad one. But today when we look at these two brands, they are very close in their ranking. So with this historical example of two brands right infront of us, there is no doubt that implementing technology in your business is very critical to stay ahead in this competitive restaurant market.
Well we will have to wait and see if Moes South West Grill and Qdobas will speed up their technology for mobile ordering systems that is really in demand for the tech savvy customers that have a fast paced life who are not willing to wait even another five minutes waiting in the line to get their burritos. They want to order from their iPhone while they are on their elevator, pay it with credit card online and pick up their food straight at the register counter without waiting in the line. They will show their text confirmation code and cashier verifies the order and voila the customer’s transaction is over within 10-15 seconds. Such demanding the customers have become. If your restaurant can’t keep up with these demands, then they will move on to another brand at a push of a button on their iPhone. So hopefully Moe’s South West Grill and Qdobas and other restaurant brands that are competing for the same share of the pie will speed up their effort in providing easier and faster way of ordering their food especially during the lunch time by introducing mobile ordering system.
Google has been doing online ad for a long time. It is no surprise. However lately with the rise of mobile web users trend Google has introduced their mobile-ad.
So What is really Mobile Ad?
Mobile Ad is an ad program introduced by Google where any business-small or big can place their ad targeting specifically on the go customers with mobile web enabled hand held devices like iPhone, Gphone and many others that are coming to the market everyday.
Why Restaurant Mobile Ad is critical for your business success if you want to win in this digital age of mobile phones like iPhone and Gphone?
Watch the video above and hopefully it will give you a good realization on how important mobile ad is to your restaurant success especially in this new age of digital mobile phones.In the video John who happens to land in London is hungry. The first thing he wants to do is eat. So he makes a mobile search for curry restaurant nearby by using Google Mobile Map. He doesn’t even have to know where he is. The device will automatically recognize the location of the mobile device when John presses the 0 button on his mobile phone. Then Google mobile displays the curry restaurants near by. He selects the restaurant. He makes the reservation if required by calling direct and then goes to restaurant to fill his hungry stomach. It makes John’s life so easier. Now with this scenario, the question is has your restaurant prepared with mobile ad to attract customers like John?
During the recent World Economic Summit at Davos, Switzerland Chad Hurley the CEO of You Tube mentioned that use of mobile web has been growing in rapid speed than any other thing online. That indicates how fast this mobile user base is growing. Take an example of my self. I was not using mobile web browser before. But now since I bought iPhone six months ago, I am loving it. Some times I don’t even open my desktop to do simple search like directions, search for restaurants and so on.There are so many people like me who are joining the bandwagon of internet enabled mobile handheld devices that pretty soon almost all of them will have them. Therefore restaurants should not neglect these mobile userbase who I like to call Generation Y.They are good at multitasking. They can be driving and with the other hand could order pizza online with their mobile phone. They don’t have a patience to wait long in line. So with out waiting they go to the cash register. They show their text order confirmation number which they receive on their phone after they pay with their itune account or paypal account or credit card. Out they go. They are in a hurry. If you can’t manage to be fast enough like them by integrating online or mobile ordering system then they will leave your restaurant never to be seen again at a click of a mouse or push of a button on their mobile phone. If you don’t serve them fast and treat them well, they will tell to the whole world about you on Twitter with a push of a buttons on their iphone or Gphone. Your reputation and survival in this digital mobile age is in their hand. So understanding the change that is coming with this new generation Y of mobile users is very critical to your success in this new environment. More importantly to understand this new breed of mobile customers and changing your self to match the fast paced customer service that they always demand.
Another quick service restaurant chain to watch is Subway which is the leader in Restaurant Industry. It is one of the fastest growing sandwich restaurant chain even ahead of McDonald’s for so many years in a row. They are not just quick at delivering your made to order sandwiches but quick at adopting to new technologies which would enable them to expedite the service even more faster. This time Subway is doing it with their mobile ordering system which is in pilot test phase at some of the stores in New York. It is powered by GoMobo and their main goal is to stream line the mobile ordering process by text message and deliver the sandwiches without having the customers to wait in line for too long when all the New Yorkers order the lunch at the same time.
Hungry customers can order in two ways. One by online and the other by mobile phone. How does it work? Well first the customer goes online at http://www.subwaynow.com and start of by choosing the location and placing the order and then picking up at the store without waiting in the line.
In the online ordering process customer can create their favourites. When they are on the go then the customer can order by mobile phones too. All they have to do is just text ‘menu’ to 466626 for a list of the favourites. Then the customer reply with the number of the favorite they want to order. Customer will receive a text confirmation and pick up time. Customer comes straight to the cash register without waiting at the line, picks up the sandwich and off he goes. It can not be simpler and faster than that.
The results so far is remarkable. Some of the stores have seen their average order increase by as high as 30-50%. It is normal that when people are paying online they tend to spend little more than the regular customer who pays by hard cash.
There is no doubt that once mobile ordering system seems to work out in New York, Subway will be expanding the mobile ordering system to nationwide Subway restaurants. Well this gives us a picture where the restaurant industry is headed in terms of mobile marketing. I believe that every restaurant should be at least educating themselves about restaurant mobile marketing and start getting ready for it. Believe it or not, the total number of mobile phones in the world has surpassed over 3 billion more than the computers. That is lots of traffic which any restaurant should not neglect if you want to survive in the new age of mobile world filled with iPhones, Google Phones and many smart internet enable phones that are emerging every day.
Have you ever been to a new city and wanted to try some popular restaurant. Chances are that you might have asked the concierge for the recommendation. You had to do that because you didn’t want to turn those fat Yellow Pages which you know for sure some of the information is outdated already. Things change so fast in this information age it is scary that by the time the phonebook gets printed and land on your hand, the phone number of the restaurant is already changed or even worst the restaurant has gone out of business. So people don’t trust Yellow Pages Phone book for the up-to-date information. At least I don’t do. It’s been years I have never turned the Yellow Pages for any local information. Rather I would turn on my computer and go online direct for the up to date information.
Now that I have iPhone with internet access all the time I don’t even have to turn on the computer. I go to mobile internet browser and search anything I want on the Google – mobile version. I get the information with few clicks. Lately even Google has introduced its iPhone version of internet enabled mobile device called Anroid in collaboration with Tmobile.
If you were in a new city say New York,suddenly hungry and had a craving for Italian food then all you would had to do in your internet access mobile device, is type Italian Restaurant and Manhattan -the name of the place where you were assuming you were in Manhattan .It would display all the Italian Restaurants around Manhattan.Then you could decide which restaurantwould be the nearest to you and good choice based on the ratings if they had one. You would call the restaurant with one click and made a reservation and then go for dinner well informed about that particular restaurant. It would be that easy without having to searchfor Yellow Pages in New York crowded city.
Now the question would be how would that particular Italian restaurant appear in the mobile device like iPhone or Gphone ?
The simple answer is that the restaurant owner is smart enough to understand the importance of mobile marketing especially in a busy city like NewYork and had incorporated Mobile Ad with his Google Ad word account.
So the next question would be what is a Mobile Ad?
Mobile Ad is another small screen ad that you can control to appear in mobile devices like iPhone and Gphone. Mobile Ad can be solely created for Mobile devices too. At times the desk top ad can be made to appear in mobile devices too. The ad can also be made to appear in both platforms-desk top and mobile device. It can be controlled from your Ad word account the central point where you choose the key words for your target market.For example if youwere a Mexican Restaurant in Long Island, New York, you would choose Mexican Restaurant and Long Island, New York as your keyword to attract the people who were typing that word on their iPhone or Gphone.
Why it is important to incorporate Mobile Ad in your restaurant marketing effort?
In today’s fast paced world every body seems to have mobile phones. To be precise there are more than 3 billion mobile phone users world wide, even more than the computer users. That’s lots of traffic out there that you could tap into and turn some of those potential customers into loyal customers for your restaurant. Mobile Phone has become inseparable part of our body. It moves along with the mobile phone users where ever they move. So it makes logic for the restaurant owners to target their attention through the mobile device which is always with them. The fact that Google has launched the Mobile Ad reflects the increasing trend of mobile ad that is getting popular. Watch the video where Alexandra Kenin,Product Marketing Manager for Google mobile ads, talks about the new option for AdWords advertisers to show their desktop ads on iPhone and Gphone.
It has been more important than ever before for restaurants to get into mobile marketing and have a competitive advantage over your competitors if you want to survive in this mobile age of marketing.
I am sure you have been to Chipotle-Mexican Grill if not similar restaurant where the lines were so long during the lunch time that you had to wait for 10 minutes or even more just to get your lunch.
This has been epidemics for years in restaurant industry. We see these long waiting lines during lunch time not only at Chipotle but almost all the popular restaurants in the whole Untied States. With only 30-45 minutes of lunch break time it makes it more worst. As every office workers to executives from all type of corporations head to their popular restaurants, their half of the lunch break is over as they have to wait in a long line to get their food.
So how is Chipotle using mobile ordering application on iPhone to solve the problem of long waiting lines ?
Technology and innovation has helped solve lots of our modern age problem of speed and efficiency. This time iPhone has been a great open platform for mobile application like Chipotle Mobile Ordering which is the starting point of solving the epidemics of long waiting line at the restaurant by enabling the customer to order through their iPhone or iPod touch before they leave their office. The food will be ready for pick up or dine in through express lane which would take no more than 20-30 seconds.
The customer would come with their text confirmation code. He or she would show it to the cashier andonce verified they are good to go. It would be that convenient, easy, simple and more importantly that fast. No more waiting in the line. No more fumbling the change at the cash register counter. It is like going through the invisible line. The poor guy in the long waiting line who doesn’t have a clue about this mobile ordering might be shocked and little bit annoyed to see you coming straight to the counter and zoop you are gone without even sliding your credit card. Well, don’t worry, he will figure itout later…
The Chipotle Mobile Ordering has been just released as a mobile application on iPhone though the restaurant also has an online ordering available through desktop or laptop. The Chipotle Mobile Ordering system allows iPhone users and iPod touch users to place their favourite burrito, nachos, quesadilla or salads with few clicks on their magic mobile device. It will also allow them to save their favourites on their mobile ordering profile for future orders. It has a built in payment system where you can pay with your credit card. I wish you could even pay with your pay pal or itune account. Once your payment is processed you get the order confirmation. When you reach the store, go straight to the pay counter and all you do is show confirmation code. You get your burrito in your handfaster than the time it would take to flash your credit card. Well that is what I would call food delivered with convenience and faster speed.
I am sure this service will be a great blessing for many of us especially who have limited lunch break time. I will definitely download it today and will try to use it as soon as I can just to see how effectively it works. I will let you know about my experience with Chipotle Mobile Ordering. In the mean time if you have tried this already or if you are in the process of trying this service please do share your thoughts on this by leaving comments. Thanks.
Mobile Marketing is a process of marketing your restaurant or any business using mobile phones by which they can send messages in the text format for coupons, offers, event notification or any information that is usefull to the customers.
Why it is more important for the restaurants today than ever before?
Today almost everybody has a cell phone or some kind of mobile device on their hand whether it is a simple mobile phone, or more sophisticated i-Phone org-Phone with web access. It is one of the most valuable device that people will carry with themall the time. Therefore it makes more sense for the restaurant to use the mobile phone as a means of communication channel to reach their potential new customers or existing loyal customers who are the hard core fans. It is more important than ever before to connect with your potential and existing on the go customers directly to provide the right product with right offer at a right time especially when there is less time and more things to be done.
One of the problem with the paper based coupon is that it is labor intensive for the customers on the go. People have to cut it, and clip it. Most of the times it get lost before it even reaches the restaurant for redemption. That is the reason that their redemption rate is as low asone percent. Where as the redemption rate of the mobile coupons could be as high as six percent or more. The reason is, thatthey are digital and sent to them as a coupon as per their request readilyavailable on their cell phone in the form of text message. Now all the office workers, university students or those American Idol crage teenagers who are always on the go don’t have to clip those coupons instead can come to the restaurant and redeem the coupon by showing the text messages on their mobile phone. The another factor that plays vital role in more redemption is that there is a tight deadline say like 24 to 48 hours before the coupon expires. It compels them to use it or else they will lose it.
Imagine a guy working at the office is on the way driving back to his home. It is almost 6 pm in the evening and will take about 45 minutes to reach his house. At 6:15 pm a restaurant nearby his restaurant sends a text coupon on his mobile phone,for buy one and get the other for half price. He remembers there is no food at the house for him and his girlfriend. Instantly he places his order on the phone. When he arrives at the restaurant the food is ready. He picks it up with out any wait. He is at home with hot food to enjoy with his girlfriend.
What it means to your customer. It means not only good food, but speedy service and convenience to them andmay be little extra time to cuddle with his girlfriend. Today ifa restaurant is there just trying to sell the food, then it is about time to think not only what he is selling but how he should be selling his food. In a fast paced today’s busy life, you should be selling the food along with speed and convenience.
How can your restaurant usetwitter to distribute mobile coupons?
One of the simplest thing you can do is to create a twitter account at www.twitter.com and link it to your website or blog. Twitter is another social media micro blogging tool where one can write limitednumber of characters no more than 140 and send any sort of messages to your customers that is useful or valuable. That means your communication must be short and not lengthy. That is where mobile coupon comes into play. Your mobile coupon has to be short and precise, so that your customers can receive them easily and act on them fast. You can create any kind of coupons and relay them through your twitter account. First of all you will have to create twitter account for your restaurant. Once you get your account you can micro blog to send your coupons or any offers to all your loyal customers at a push of a button or click of a mouse. You could do it when it is rainy day and your restaurant traffic is low and you would like to change the traffic flow with more customers. You can micro blog with a coupon like 20% off your lunch or free soup with the purchase of combo meal and the idea is limitless. Those people who had decided to order pizza might be compelled to use their umbrella to take your great offer.By the way don’t be surprised to see more customers at your restaurant than your competitors. I am sure now you see the power of mobile marketing and more importantly the influential power over your customers to chose your restaurant and not your competitors.
