I recently had the pleasure of joining Rev Ciancio on the Restaurants Grow Podcast to talk about something most restaurant owners overlook every single day: their guest WiFi.
That free WiFi you offer? It’s not just a customer convenience—it’s a marketing engine waiting to be turned on.
Listen on Spotify | Watch on LinkedIn
Why Email and SMS Marketing Still Win for Restaurants
Social media gets all the attention, but here’s the reality: algorithms decide who sees your posts. You’re renting that audience.
Email and SMS? You own that list.
The numbers tell the story. Text messages have a 98% open rate. When you send an offer to your guest list, it actually gets seen. A well-timed “20% off tonight” text can turn a slow Tuesday into a packed dining room.
Rev and I dug into why these “old school” channels consistently outperform flashier marketing tactics when it comes to driving real foot traffic and repeat visits.
The Problem: Guests Connect to WiFi and Walk Out Anonymous
Think about how many people connect to your WiFi every day. They sit down, log on, enjoy their meal—and leave. You have no idea who they were, no way to reach them, no way to bring them back.
That’s the gap VivaSpot fills.
When guests log into your WiFi, VivaSpot captures their email and phone number through a simple, branded login page. That contact information syncs automatically to your CRM or marketing platform—Mailchimp, HubSpot, whatever you use.
No clipboards. No “sign up for our newsletter” cards that get ignored. No extra work for your staff. Your guest list just grows, every day, on autopilot.
Get Started with Free SMS Marketing
If you’ve been curious about text marketing but didn’t know where to start—or worried about the cost—we’ve got something for you.
VivaSpot and Mailchimp have partnered on a solution bundle that lets restaurants launch SMS marketing at no cost.
Learn more and get started here →
Listen to the Full Conversation
Rev Ciancio knows restaurant marketing inside and out, and our conversation covered a lot more ground than I can fit in a blog post. We talked about common mistakes, what’s actually working right now, and how to think about building long-term guest relationships.
Give it a listen:
If you have questions about WiFi marketing or want to see how VivaSpot works for your restaurant, reach out—I’m always happy to talk shop.
Andrew Fox is the Co-founder and CEO of VivaSpot, a WiFi marketing automation platform that helps restaurants turn guest WiFi into a customer acquisition tool.
0 Comments