Let me say upfront that I know I write alot about Venue. This post, however, is not going to be about how much I love their blackened tilapia or how my mouth waters at the thought of Hot Damn Shrimp. Instead, I’m going to address their social marketing.
I signed up to receive Venue’s text messages when they launched this program back in December. With the promise of receiving special discounts via text message, I thought I would find myself there a lot more. Of the ten or more texts I’ve received since early December, I have yet to take advantage of any offer I’ve received. To illustrate my point, last night I received a text offer at 7:45pm to come in despite the winter weather and receive $15 off my order, plus I could enjoy live jazz in the lounge from 7-10pm.
So you know, Venue, 7:45 is too late for most people in Lincoln to make last minute dinner plans on a Thursday night. And here lies the problem–they seem to have no sense for timing these special offers. It’s great to make the offer, but to keep people engaged, you’ve got to give them something they can use because if you don’t, they’ll stop responding to your offers and you lose them.
I’m hoping their endeavors on Facebook are better managed. And in relation to this, I became of fan of Roja Mexican Grill in Omaha last weekend because pre-Christmas they offered free guac to their fans. It’s paid off because I was able to secure reservations for two next Friday night. Normally they only take reservations for 4 or more on Friday and Saturday, but they posted their Valentine’s menu and instructions to make reservations now. Good use of social marketing!
February 6th, 2010 at 12:00 pm
Thanks for your nice comments about our Facebook page! We strive to reward our customers with good deals and specials that will keep them happy and returning. We hope you enjoy your Vday meal at Roja! If you like Roja, you might also like our sister restaurant, Blue Sushi. -Megan
February 7th, 2010 at 11:08 pm
I like the Venue also. But have to agree with you. I will say this also…it you happen to be on the alltel/verizon network…sometimes you will get text messages that were sent several hours earlier. Example…I have had messages show up that were days late. I would call the person and say…didn’t we already address this…uh, yeah, I sent that three days ago! So maybe just maybe they are using some service to send these out and that service is just a little slow to get the news out. They probably just need to send out the notices a day earlier. Or it could be that this is by design…ie, trying to find couple bored at home and immediately put something in their head to go do. meaning that if they sent it out the day before…maybe it would be forgotten about by the time dinner the next day came around. That sounds like me…I don’t usually plan on what I am going to eat the next day.