Most people think that good food is the cornerstone of any good restaurant, but if that’s true, why is McDonald’s the largest restaurant chain in the world?

Because they have effective marketing and rock solid systems for everything they do, plain & simple!

But without a 2.3 billion dollar marketing budget can a local business compete?

The answer is, Yes!

But let’s back up a sec….

Most people now find restaurants by searching the internet, and where are most of these searches conducted?

You might be surprised by the answer….

The majority of searches are happening on mobile devices!(Study by Google)

Simply having a website is no longer enough, too many people are searching on their mobile devices to ignore!

Another recent study showed that 61% of people just go to a competitors site when a page isn’t “mobile friendly”. So simply sticking your head in the sand and ignoring the huge trend towards mobile is NOT an option.

Especially considering that mobile sites are relatively inexpensive this is an easy fix. Not to mention it seems silly to leave that much money on the table, considering 62% of restaurant searches on Valentine’s Day were on a mobile device. In fact this could(and will be) a fatal error for allot of restaurants.

So in other words “Get your a$% to mobile!”

The Hidden Opportunity?

with only 5% of restaurants having mobile optimized websites, you can have a huge advantage in your market place!
Allot of restaurants are still relying on old methods to get customers in the door, but the times they are a changin’ and those businesses that adapt to their evolving clientele will reap massive rewards and market share, while those who don’t…..well.

So if having a mobile optimized site will put you one step ahead of your competition , what will put you two or maybe even three steps ahead?

Apps!!(no not appetizers! 😉

Allot of the big boys are now moving towards Custom iPhone and Android Apps to stay one step ahead.(McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Five Guy’s, Chili’s and a whole slew of others including all of the top 10 on the Fortune 500)

Why, you might ask?

Apps create an easy way for customers to find, communicate, and even buy from you! Many of the Apps I just mentioned give people the ability to order and pay right from their phone. They usually come stocked with tons of other cool features like one-touch calling, GPS directions, and location based coupons that encourage people to come back again and again!

Starbucks recently added 10% to their bottom line by adding mobile payments to the mix. but wait….

The Bad News

App Development can be pretty expensive! The App Angry Birds is rumored to have cost around 170k to develop. which I believe to be about right. With developers usually making around $60-$100 an hour, it can get real costly real quick. Though the Angry Birds App made more than 70 Million dollars, so I would say it was a wise investment to say the least!

The Good News!

There are App development solutions geared towards small to medium sized businesses that keep cost considerably lower! Some of our App solutions for Restaurants start as low as $499 and go up from there.
But even our most cost effective solutions still include allot of the great benefits mentioned above like Mobile coupons, one-touch calling, reservations, and even in App ordering.
The time for mobile is now. Get on board or get left behind, it really is that simple.

Jump over to the section on Apps to see exactly what  we have to offer or if you really like the idea of an App fill out the form below to get a Free Demo App made for your Restaurant.