American Legion Post 541 restaurant relies on SMS: “If you want to reach your target audience immediately, this is a good service.”
In the small village of Continental Ohio, American Legion Post 541 members and other community residents can often be seen at The Canteen, the Legion’s full-service restaurant. Whether they’re tucking into a three-egg breakfast or a chicken strip dinner basket, guests at The Canteen aren’t just getting a great meal … they’re helping raise much-needed funds for the American Legion.
The challenge: Slow communication was hurting fundraising efforts
Big or small, many restaurants face the same problem: getting people in the door. Todd Bidlack, who runs The Canteen, needed a way to quickly drum up business before closing time. The usual communication channels – email, word-of-mouth, and social media – left too much of a lag. By the time people got the message, it was typically much too late – resulting in wasted food inventory and lost revenue.
The solution: Business SMS – with no character limit – gets the word out quickly
Looking for a speedier way to get the word out about restaurant specials as well as other American Legion member events, Todd Bidlack did some online digging for mass texting services. After working with a platform that didn’t meet all of his needs, Bidlack signed with MessageMedia. He was thrilled to see no character limits, which was an issue he had with past services. This made it even easier for Todd to advertise discounted meals at the end of the day, notify Legion members about important updates, or quickly send any other time-sensitive messages.
The results: Lightning-fast outreach and a brighter financial outlook
Today, the lines of communication in Continental are faster than ever, and Todd couldn’t be happier with how easy and effective it is to use business SMS. Not only is he able to keep American Legion members organized and informed, he’s also able to help the organization raise funds while sharing food with the community. In fact, Todd has noticed a marked increase in attendance on days when he sends out text ads.
It has a definite impact on our income. I mean, people are constantly looking at their phones and if I can reach them by text message, then it goes immediately from their hand into their head. They don’t have to open an email. Most of the time they’ll at least read it. And then maybe they’ll delete it, or maybe they’ll just go past it. But at least they are aware.
MessageMedia also has integrations with over 85 platforms, including Hubspot, Salesforce, Shopify, BigCommerce, and Zoho, creating a seamless turn-key customer engagement solution for small and medium-sized businesses.
“It has a definite impact on our income.”
Todd Bidlack, of the American Legion Post 541, says adding text messaging to his outreach arsenal has resulted in improved attendance (i.e. increased income), plus, more organized and informed members. Ready to give it a try?
