SpotOn, a leading restaurant software and payments provider, has launched Marketing Assist, an AI-powered tool designed to help restaurants in their marketing efforts.
As the first tool of its kind offered by a point-of-sale (POS) provider, Marketing Assist integrates with SpotOn’s existing restaurant management software, making it easier for restaurants to create and send automated marketing campaigns across email and social media.
As someone who has been following the development of AI tools in the restaurant industry, I’m excited to see SpotOn launch Marketing Assist.
In recent months, I’ve written about Square’s AI menu generator and image creation tools, as well as how Lightspeed’s AI tools can simplify restaurant operations by optimizing menu and staff performance.
With Marketing Assist, SpotOn is taking things a step further by applying AI to restaurant marketing.
By automating the creation and optimization of email and social media campaigns, Marketing Assist has the potential to be very useful for restaurants that struggle to find the time and resources for effective marketing.
Key Features and Benefits of SpotOn Marketing Assist
Automated Email Campaign Creation
One of the main features of Marketing Assist is its ability to automatically create and send marketing campaigns based on your restaurant’s unique needs and goals. By answering a few simple questions about your business upfront, you can essentially “set it and forget it,” letting the tool handle the heavy lifting of creating email and social media content for you.
This can be a huge time-saver for busy restaurant owners and staff, who might otherwise spend hours each week writing emails, designing graphics, and scheduling social posts.
AI-Powered Optimization
Another key benefit of Marketing Assist is its use of artificial intelligence to optimize campaign performance over time. The tool learns and adapts based on data like email open rates, click-through rates, and redemption rates, so it can get smarter about what works (and what doesn’t) for your specific restaurant.
This means that the longer you use Marketing Assist, the more effective your campaigns are likely to become. The AI can help identify the best times to send emails, the most engaging subject lines and messaging, and the types of deals and promotions that are most likely to drive results for your business.
POS Integration
As mentioned earlier, one of the things that sets Marketing Assist apart is its integration with SpotOn’s existing restaurant management platform. If you’re already using SpotOn’s POS system, online ordering tools, or other software, Marketing Assist will fit right into your existing workflow.
This integration also allows for some pretty cool features, like the ability to automatically generate email lists based on customer data from your POS, or to track the results of specific promotions and deals across all your sales channels.
Review Management
Marketing Assist’s review management dashboard allows restaurant owners to monitor and respond to customer reviews from multiple platforms in one place, saving time and effort.
The tool’s AI-powered sentiment analysis provides valuable insights into customer preferences and pain points, while its automated review prompts help boost the restaurant’s online reputation.
Detailed Analytics and Reporting
Marketing Assist also provides restaurant owners with detailed analytics and reporting on their marketing campaigns. You can see things like email open rates, click-through rates, redemption rates, and more, all in one easy-to-use dashboard.
This data can be incredibly valuable for understanding what’s working (and what’s not) in your marketing strategy, and for making informed decisions about where to focus your efforts going forward. With Marketing Assist, you don’t have to guess whether your campaigns are paying off – you can see the results for yourself.
Affordable Pricing
Finally, it’s worth noting that SpotOn has made Marketing Assist surprisingly affordable, especially considering all the features and benefits it offers. The tool starts at just $95 per month or can be bundled with SpotOn’s other software products for even greater value.
For many smaller restaurants, this pricing puts AI marketing tools within reach for the first time. And, instead of having to shell out thousands of dollars for a marketing agency or consultant, you can get similar results with Marketing Assist for a fraction of the cost.
Conclusion
Of course, as with any new technology, there are bound to be some limitations and potential downsides to consider. Some restaurant owners may prefer a more hands-on approach to marketing and may not feel comfortable turning things over to an AI tool.
I think it’s best to use this new tool as an assistant that requires some guidance to capture the unique voice and personality of each restaurant brand.
The launch of Marketing Assist is a significant development for the restaurant industry and one that could have implications for how smaller, independent restaurants approach marketing in the years to come. Tools like SpotOn Marketing Assist could become an essential part of the restaurant tech stack.
More information on SpotOn:
My detailed SpotOn Review provides an even more in-depth look into this POS system.
SpotOn is also featured in this review of the top restaurant POS systems.
