Why Every Food Business Must Be Active On Mobile In 2017 đ˛
- Why every food business must be active on mobile in 2017 đ˛
- Simple mobile or keyword advertising just doesnât cut it any more, but donât rush out to build an app
- If you own or manage a coffee shop, restaurant or food truck youâve seen it for yourselfâthe smartphone is now a vital part of most consumersâ lives.
- According to Yahooâs Flurry analytics, 89% of mobile time is spent on apps and browsing, rather than calls and texting. In addition, mobile app usage is growing at a massive 69%.
- Source:Simon Khalaf, SVP, Yahoo, January 12th, 2017
- This phenomenal growth is in large part due to Social and Messaging apps, which grew by an astounding 394% over the last year. Mobile use is eclipsing desktop use too, as this graph shows:
- Source:Smart Insights, April 2017
- Bottom line: Smartphone usage, which has been playing an increasingly important role in consumersâ digital lives over the past several years, now accounts for almost three-quarters of all Americansâ time spent online.
- The high usage of smartphone apps compared to other media touchpoints shouldnât come as much of a shock when you think about your own daily online behavior. Chances are when you want to know whatâs happening around the world, or in your friendsâ lives, your first move is to reach into your pocket and open one of the social apps on your phone.
- But what does an increase in mobile app usage mean for your business? Does that mean you should rush out and develop an app?
- The short answer is a definite no, but the answer requires a bit of an explanation.
- The single biggest reason I am convinced it makes no sense for a small to medium business to build their own appâdespite the rapid rise of app usageâis because youâd have to convince a user to download yet another app. The competition for space on a smart phone is just too high. Facebook already owns the consumerâs attention. Trying to steal some of that attention away simply doesnât make sense.
- But what if you could engage with your customers directly within Facebook?
- Iâm not talking about getting likes and posting updates to a Facebook page. If youâve tried that before, you know how ineffective this approach is.
- Iâm talking instead about letting customers âchoose their own adventureâ with your content. Instead of posting content that goes into a ânewsfeed river,â what if it were possible to give your customers just what they want and only when they want it? What if they could inquire about your opening times, ask what specials are on today and interactively navigate your menuâââall without leaving Facebook? And what if they could do this in an engaging, conversational tone, as if they were chatting with one of their Facebook friends?
- Turns out, this is all already possible in Facebook Messenger.
- Who else is using chatbots in 2017?
- 1. Taco Bell
- The soon-to-be-released TacoBot already allows a handful of companies to order tacos using Slack, a messaging app.
- Phat Thaiâs interactive chatbot in Messenger
- 2. Wingstop
- In November 2016 Wingstop went live with a chatbot on Facebook Messenger and Twitter. Using platforms that already have high levels of engagement seemed like a smarter bet than banking on every customer to download the Wingstop app on his or her already-crowded phones.
- 3. Dominoâs
- In December 2016, Dominoâs launched a service to allow customers to place and track orders using voice commands through Google Home. The process is similar to how a consumer would set-up an order from Amazon Echo.
- 4. Pizza Hut
- Also in December, Pizza Hut allowed customers to place carryout and delivery orders using voice commands via Amazonâs Alexa.
- 5. Chipotle
- Chipotle announced in February 2017 that its restaurants will begin using a new âSmarter Pickup Timesâ system to fulfill online orders, allowing the restaurant to automatically set pickup times based on their current demand.
- Brands choose chatbots because they cost far less than call centers. In addition, their conversational engagement lends itself to a simplified path to ordering.
- Clearly chatbots are going to become the future of ordering, but what about more standard use of social media. Are there any brands who have achieved dominance using social media? And should you be concerend at all about Facebook?
- Visually, hereâs why you absolutely must be on Facebook:
- Source:MarketingProfs, October 2016
- Facebook dominates mobile app usage, and here are a few brands dominating Facebook engagement:
- Cupcake Royale has over 60k Facebook fans and counting;
- Franktuary fans love the engagement of their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram;
- With over 63,000 fans, The Grilled Cheese Truck gives their followers exactly what they want.
- The takeaway?
- If youâre not on mobile and donât have a social media presence in 2017, your food business runs the risk of disappearing into the noise. With more than 200 million posts tagged #food and 23 million with #drinks, food and beverage photos are easily some of the most popular types of content on social media. Itâs very likely that your customers are posting with or without your interaction.
- When 88% of people are influenced by reviews and online comments, having an intentional digital strategy is important to your restaurant or bar.
