Marketing automation for restaurants
Loyalty programs, reservation reminders, review responses — built for operators who'd rather be cooking than fighting with marketing tools.
The restaurants marketing problem
We've worked with restaurants operators. Here's what keeps breaking.
Hospitality is high-touch and you don't have ops time
Restaurants don't hire marketing managers. The owner or GM runs marketing in between expo and lunch service. They need everything to run on autopilot.
Review platforms charge $300/mo each
Birdeye, Podium, ReviewTrackers — each $200-$400/mo. Conduit handles review request automation natively, links to your Google / Yelp / Tripadvisor.
Loyalty programs need their own tool
Most loyalty platforms (Toast Loyalty, Square Loyalty, Punchh) are POS-tied. Conduit handles SMS-based loyalty across any POS via integration.
How Conduit fits restaurants
Inbox automation
Auto-respond to reservations, takeout questions, hours-of-operation Qs on IG DMs / Yelp / SMS.
Outreach (loyalty + reactivation)
SMS-driven loyalty (birthday discount, anniversary, slow-night specials). Reactivation for lapsed regulars.
Publisher (menu + events + food photos)
Schedule food photos, weekly specials, event promos to IG, FB, TikTok, Threads from one queue. Branded templates.
Flows (review automation)
Auto-text guests 4 hours after reservation with a Google review link. Different links by location for multi-unit operators.
Link-in-bio (menu + reservations)
Branded link page from IG bio: link to menu PDF, reservation system (OpenTable, Resy), order online, Google Maps.
Analytics (per-location ROI)
For multi-unit operators: per-location dashboards comparing review velocity, social engagement, loyalty redemption.
Why restaurant marketing tools fail operators
Most restaurant marketing tools were built by people who've never run a restaurant. They assume the operator has 4 hours/week to learn the platform, plan campaigns, design templates. The reality: a restaurant operator has 15 minutes between lunch and dinner prep to think about marketing.
Conduit's restaurant playbook is built around "set it once, run forever" automations. Reservation confirmation → reminder → review request → birthday return offer — each is a 5-minute Flow setup that runs autonomously for the next 5 years.
The multi-unit playbook
Multi-unit operators (3-15 locations) live in a particular pain: each location wants autonomy on marketing (local events, neighborhood specials) but ownership wants brand consistency and rollup reporting.
Conduit Atelier handles this cleanly. Each location gets its own workspace — its own IG account, its own sender domain, its own loyalty list. Ownership has a rollup view that sums across all locations: total review velocity, total loyalty redemptions, total revenue attributable to marketing. Per-location branding stays per-location; brand consistency stays at the rollup level.
Composite scenarios
Hypothetical agency scenarios drawn from real engagements. Names are illustrative.
Composite: single-unit neighborhood restaurant
60-seat dinner-only restaurant in Sacramento. Owner runs marketing solo. Stack was Mailchimp ($50/mo) + Yelp ads ($300/mo) + Hootsuite trial.
Conduit Growth ($397/mo) replaced 3 tools and added loyalty SMS. Birthday revenue alone covered the Conduit cost. Net positive month 1.
Composite: 4-location pizza chain
Family-owned 4-location pizza chain. POS-tied loyalty (Toast Loyalty) at $99/location/mo + Birdeye ($250/mo) + manual social scheduling.
Conduit Atelier ($997/mo) replaced Toast Loyalty + Birdeye + social tools. Per-location Conduit workspaces with rollup dashboard.
Composite: fine-dining group, 2 concepts
Tasting-menu restaurant + casual sibling concept. Reservations on Resy, loyalty on Tock. Marketing on Mailchimp + Hootsuite.
Migrated marketing to Conduit Growth. Resy / Tock kept as POS / reservation system. Conduit auto-responds to IG DMs ("Can I get a tasting reservation Saturday?") with reservation link.
Right-sized pricing for restaurants
Single-unit restaurants: Growth ($397/mo). Multi-unit (3+ locations): Atelier ($997/mo) for unlimited per-location workspaces. Typically replaces Mailchimp + Birdeye + Hootsuite + loyalty tool — net savings $200-$600/mo.
restaurants — FAQ
- Does Conduit integrate with my POS (Toast, Square, Clover)?
- Toast: webhook integration for order events. Square: native integration via Square API. Clover: webhook integration. Other POSes: most can push events via Zapier or generic webhook.
- OpenTable / Resy integration?
- Both push reservation events via webhook. Conduit triggers reminder SMS the morning of the reservation and post-meal review request.
- TCPA compliance for SMS?
- Yes — opt-in capture at reservation (with explicit consent language), STOP / HELP auto-handled, audit log.
- Can I run a loyalty program?
- Yes — SMS-driven loyalty. Customer texts a keyword to opt in, points / visits tracked in Conduit, milestone rewards (free dessert at 5 visits, free entree at 10) auto-triggered.
- Review request automation?
- Yes — post-reservation or post-takeout-pickup, Conduit fires SMS + email with direct review link to your Google / Yelp / Tripadvisor profile. Per-location links for multi-unit.
- Birthday / anniversary marketing?
- Yes — capture birthday at intake (or via SMS keyword), Conduit triggers birthday-week discount text + email annually.
- Per-location social branding?
- Yes — each location has its own workspace with its own IG / FB connection, branding, and post queue. Owner sees a rollup view across all locations.
- Migration timeline?
- Single-unit: 1 week. Multi-unit: 2-3 weeks for full setup.