Mobile Marketing for Restaurants – Does it Go Too Far?
As the whole mobile marketing craze is being scrutinized by privacy groups, the FTC and various other regulatory agencies, restaurateurs need to carefully examine the concept and their customer base. Does unsolicited advertising, forced upon a device you are paying a fee to use and taking your time to remove and/or deal with in some fashion become an invasion of privacy, nuisance or just plain bothersome? According to some marketing experts, the line may be crossed with cell phone ads (follow this link).
Restaurateurs are battling for every customer in this economic turmoil. Grasping for new marketing ideas, many chains and some independents are using mobile marketing as a method to distribute coupons and convey their marketing message. Is it right for your restaurant? Advertising on the Internet in every square inch of screen space is now common place. Is there a difference? What if you throw in the idea that advertisers could potentially get all types of personal information, habits and even your exact location? Would that change your perspective?
Personally, a cell phone is a business tool. I want my business life to remain uncluttered, free of extraneous information and details that may impede my activities. Some may say that the Internet is full of ads done much the same way as cell phone advertising. I think there are two big differences. Number one I choose to use the Internet. I am not forced to see any ad and my privacy is somewhat protected. Second, I do not pay for the use of the Internet like I do a cell phone. I never liked fax machine advertising that came in unsolicited and refused to deal with companies who presumptuously used my machine, paper and phone line to produce their ads. I feel the same about cell phone advertising.
I may be in the minority and a little bit “old school”, but can restaurateurs afford to lose just one customer a week to this form of marketing? It’s time to rethink mobile marketing for independent restaurants.
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Comments
Matt;
Opt-in mobile marketing would certainly be an exception to my theory about mobile marketing. In theory, the same would apply to fax machines, telephone solicitors and email. If you ask for it, you can’t complain when you get it!
Unfortunately, history has shown that ultimately, there is no way to control the nuisance senders or the privacy of an individual’s contact information.
I believe that busy people that use their cell phone as a business tool will regret the time their numbers become public and they start receiving unwanted advertising on a tool they use to earn their living.
No phone list, computer, database or even social security number has been safe. Seems to me that will not change with cell phones. I believe the resentment will be at a much higher level and backfire on the advertisers. As a restaurant owner, in the sit-down casual market segment, it’s not worth the chance with so many other tools available.
As a current employee for a mobile marketing company I have to disagree with you. It sounds like to me you are referring to getting some kind of advertising that you never volunteered to get. So more like spam. In that way yes I do disagree with that and it would be annoying. But in almost every case for most mobile coupons you have to agree to receive these before hand. So for example I work with a Restaurant that puts a sign in their napkin holders that says text the word coupon to our shortcode and receive future coupons or discounts. Now obviously if someone texts this they have no reason to complain since they obviously agreed to get mobile coupons. Otherwise it would be like signing a contract to get a year subscription of magazines but then complaining when you get the magazines.