According to the National Restaurant Association, restaurant industry sales are on course to reach $604 billion before the end of this year – 4 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product. Restaurants remain big business. And where there’s big business, there’s mobile marketing.
In what proves to be the latest success story in the restaurant world, a new mobile-centric marketing campaign by Pei Wei Asian Diner – a chain owned by P.F. Chang’s China Bistro – is experiencing phenomenal success in connecting with customers through Facebook, mobile, Twitter and email.
Powered by ExactTarget, Pei Wei introduced its new Caramel Chicken entree with in-store signs and online promotions inviting guests to join the restaurant’s email list via text, web, Twitter or Facebook to receive a buy-one, get-one free coupon, resulting in nearly 20,000 new email subscribers in just two weeks.
“Given the large volume of guests carrying their mobile phones into the restaurants, adding an SMS element to our social media, web and email channels made perfect sense,” says Jason Miller, digital content and community manager for P.F. Chang’s. “Texting doesn’t just allow us to engage with customers while they’re in the restaurant, it enables us to expand our email and social media strategy so we can continue creating relevant and effective customer experiences even after they leave.”
With nearly a third of all new email registrations coming from text, the multi-channel campaign at Pei Wei’s 173 locations posted coupon redemption rates near 20 percent, and was the restaurant’s most successful new email list growth effort to date.
“Effective marketing requires brands rapidly embrace the new reality of cross-channel marketing and create opportunities to engage with consumers in real time to deliver true customer value,” adds Tim Kopp, ExactTarget chief marketing officer. “Pei Wei’s success using multiple interactive channels to drive engagement underscores the tremendous opportunity brands have to connect with consumers in store, via Twitter and Facebook and through email to build life-time customer value.”