In the face of the challenges presented by the coronavirus crisis, restaurants have to find new ways to make sure they are as profitable as possible by reducing no-shows. Here’s how mobile focused appointment reminders can help do exactly that.
With many restaurants struggling for revenue post coronavirus lockdown, few can afford the cost that comes with a customer who doesn’t turn up. Not only is there a lost revenue from the customer themselves, but the restaurant will also have to foot the bill for the staff that they have brought in to serve and cook.
While it’s difficult to accommodate for the customers that choose not to show, steps can be taken for the ones that simply forget to, or miss the opportunity to reschedule. This is where a mobile-first appointment management strategy comes into play.
Will customers want to engage with restaurants via mobile?
- 95% of smartphone users are already using their mobiles to find places to dine
- 75% of restaurant bookings are made through a mobile device
- Customer response rates (e.g. when requesting confirmation of reservation) are very high when targeting mobile devices in the restaurant sector. 30% will do so immediately and 60% will do so within the hour
- 95% of booking reminders sent by restaurants will be opened, with 90% being opened within 3 minutes
Make your customers’ visit an event, with richer booking reminders
If you really want something that sticks in the memory and makes your customers’ visit feel special, a visually rich, interactive booking reminder should be the way to go.
It can include pictures and video of all your great food, and interactive buttons to do things like adding the booking to the phone’s in-built calendar, or link to Google Maps to help your customers find you.
How can mobile-first booking reminders perform for my restaurant?
- No-shows can be reduced by as much as 40% with mobile-focused booking reminders (Source)
- Less than 5% of scheduled booking are cancelled after a mobile-focused booking reminder is sent (Source)
The potential savings made by avoiding no shows can be seen below:
| Number of seats | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 |
| Number of expected no shows per yearBased on 4 servings per day, 6 day week, 60% capacity 20% no-show rate | 1497 | 2995 | 4493 | 5990 | 7488 |
| Total value of no-shows based on average meal cost of £30 | £44,910 | £89,850 | £134,790 | £179,700 | £224,640 |
| Total potential revenue uplift Based on 40% reduction in no-shows, minus the mobile messaging cost | £17,679.46 Messaging cost £284.54 | £35,371 Messaging cost £569 | £53,062.37 Messaging cost £853.63 | £70,741.82 Messaging cost £1138.18 | £88,433.28 Messaging cost £1422.72 |
Start increasing revenues today
Esendex have worked with a wide range of restaurants to more of their customers turn up on time for their reservations. If you’d like to find out how rich, mobile-focused booking reminders can help you, please contact our industry experts today on 0345 356 5758 or email us at [email protected].
