• Texting can close the gap between you and your customers by allowing them to text you when they have questions, want to place an order, or follow up on an order.
• Use text message marketing to generate hype and urgency around your food and offers and encourage your customers to buy more pizza from you.

By Jessica Ayre, TextRequest

Pizza shop owners need more ways to increase orders and keep customers coming back, and a direct line of communication can drastically help. Business texting can close the gap between you and your customers by allowing them to text you when they have questions, want to place an order, or follow up on an order.

Texting enables you to effortlessly communicate with your customers, ultimately helping you increase your pizza sales. Text message marketing is also a cost-effective way to promote your specials and entice new customers to try your pizza.

Wondering how exactly you can implement texting in your pizza marketing strategy? Here are five ways to do it.

1. Allow customers to place and track orders via text.

Hungry customers don’t always want to go through the hassle of calling your pizzeria or signing up on your website to place an order. Instead, allow them to text your business to cut through the clutter. For instance, a conversation between the customer and your pizzeria can go something like this:

“Hi, I would like to place a carryout order for a large pepperoni pizza, pan crust. Extra parmesan on the side! – [Name]”

“Thanks, [Name], for reaching out! Your order should be ready in 20-25 minutes. Please pay when you get here. See you soon!”

By implementing a business texting solution, your customers will be able to text their orders directly to your business and then track its progress, giving your customers the convenience and peace of mind they need.

2. Text patrons about special deals and upsell them on offers.

If you’re running an amazing promotion, there’s a chance that your customers might not know about it. If you want your promotions to be seen, you’ve got to be texting. In fact, 75% of people prefer to receive offers over text, giving you more reason to promote your deals.

For starters, you can generate hype and urgency around your food and offers to encourage your customers to buy more pizza from you. For example:

“Be sure to try our seasonal Arugula, Prosciutto and Pear pizza before summer is over! Share this pizza with your loved ones and enjoy while it’s still here!” [Pair this message with an image]

“Hey, [Name]! Did you want to add a beverage or a dessert to your order?”

With texting, you can meet your customers where they are—which is on their mobile devices. At least 97% of smartphone owners text regularly, further driving the point that texting is the quickest way to communicate with your customers and get them interested in your deals.

Related: Direct mail meets digital in the new pizza marketing paradigm

3. Encourage customers to refer their friends.

You need to find a way to get new customers, and your most effective marketing asset is your happy customers. Why not use your them as a way to leverage your pizzeria? A great way to obtain new customers is by rewarding current customers. What do I mean by that? After a customer purchases from you, you can shoot them a text like this:

“Hey, [Name]! Thanks for your purchase. If you refer a friend to our pizzeria, you both can redeem this code PIZZA30 for 30% off your next order!”

You can also consider starting a loyalty program to convince your customers to stick around. A loyalty program is great for customer retention, turning your patrons into loyal regulars. For example, customers can text in a keyword, such as “PIZZA,” to join your VIP rewards group to start collecting points.

By rewarding your current patrons and giving new customers a chance to try your pizza, you’ll double your support and increase your sales.

4. Use texting as a way to drive demand during slow hours.

Texting can help you drive more traffic to your business during an afternoon slump. How? You can start by offering specials through texting, such as free delivery for a limited time, or advertise menu items to entice customers and get them thinking about your food.

By compiling a list of your customers who have signed up for your marketing texts, you can easily shoot a mass text out to your customers’ phone numbers. Here are some ideas:

“Thinking of lunch for your team? Go big with our XXL-sized pizza! Choose up to 3 toppings for only $17.99!”

“Too busy to pick up a pizza? We’ll come to you! With a purchase of $15 or more, take advantage of our free delivery! Offer expires 6/1.”

Related: 7 simple YouTube content ideas for pizzeria owners and operators

5. Get customers to leave you more reviews by asking them over text.

Customers have a difficult time putting the effort into writing positive reviews for your business. In the moment, they care most about getting their pizza and eating it, but, afterward, they’ve moved on with their day. How do you get them to keep your business in mind?

You can encourage your customers to leave you more reviews by texting them direct links to your Google, Yelp or Facebook review page. As a business owner, you need reviews to boost your reputation and increase your sales, and texting is the perfect way to nudge your customers towards leaving a review.

You can even incentivize your customers to leave reviews by offering a discount or free delivery on their next order!

“Hey, [Name]! Thanks again for your order. How’d we do? We’d like to hear your thoughts and offer you free delivery on your future order for completing a review. Follow this link: [Link]”

Texting your customers a direct link to your page can speed up the review process and direct them to where they need to be.

Jessica Ayre is a content marketing specialist at Text Request, a business texting solution. If your business wants to start texting customers, Text Request can give you all the tools and resources you need to create a successful text messaging strategy.