Pizza Hut introduced new cell phone services that let customers order from any of its 6,200 outlets nationwide via either text message or the mobile Web. As part of its bold strategy to tap into the mobile generation, the Dallas-based company aims to earn half its revenues from orders originating from computers and mobile phones within five years.
It is worth noting that Pizza Hut is not the first pizza place to offer mobile ordering services, but the company says its service is the broadest and most comprehensive.
All the top U.S. pizza delivery chains — Domino's Pizza, Pizza Hut, and Papa John's International — have invested in online and mobile ordering as a way to boost sales in one of the restaurant industry's most competitive segments.
Papa John's spokesman Chris Sternberg is in agreement with the direction that the market is heading. He said, "Online users are the sweet spot now." Sternberg notes that text messaging will be the next big thing. "We definitely think that's where folks are heading. We think we're on the front end of the text wave."
At my workplace, I have put a text messaging system in place that will automatically send out pick-up instructions to the local team of more than 100 courier dispatchers. Some telcos in Singapore are also sending payment reminders via text messages, which is certainly more cost effective than making a call.
Does your company implement text messaging in any of its ERP or CRM sub-systems?