Food & Beverage: SMS Use Cases & Playbook

1. Owner or manager confirms the new product is in stock (or a calendar date fires for known seasonal items).
2. Segment the list by past purchase category to target relevant buyers.
3. Send an MMS with food photography, the availability window, and an order link.
4. Track click-throughs to the ordering or directions link.
5. Follow up with buyers and refine the segment for the next seasonal drop.

Best Practices

• Use high-quality, mouth-watering product photography (bright, well-lit, professional)
• Include an availability window to create urgency without being pushy
• Segment by customer past purchases; a wine buyer may not care about produce
• Send during peak shopping times (e.g. Wed 10am–12pm or Thu 5–7pm)
• Keep the text under ~160 characters and let the photo do the selling

1. A renewal-date trigger fires 21 days before the subscription renews.
2. Send a reminder with a value highlight and an engagement prompt.
3. Wait for a reply; if engaged, send a preview of the next box.
4. At day 10, escalate with a limited-time incentive and a confirm prompt.
5. 3 days out, send a final reminder with a clear PAUSE option, then update the contact's renewal status.

Best Practices

• Upload a renewal-date custom field for each subscriber (import from billing)
• Reference the specific renewal date in each message; personalization lifts response
• Time an incentive (e.g. a small discount or free add-on) for the final escalation
• Provide a clear PAUSE option to reduce cancellations
• If paused, set a re-engagement workflow 30–45 days later
• Test the workflow on a small group before full rollout

1. A date-based trigger (or a TASTING keyword) starts the sequence 4 weeks out.
2. Send an MMS teaser; replies of REGISTER capture guest count and status.
3. At 2 weeks out, send a tasting-menu preview MMS with the registration link.
4. Send a countdown with logistics (venue, time, parking, what to bring).
5. Route dietary or logistics questions to the Team Inbox, then send a day-of reminder.

Best Practices

• Segment by purchase history: send wine tastings to wine buyers, beer to beer buyers
• Give your best customers an early invitation before the public announcement
• Use MMS strategically (2–3 times per sequence) to avoid visual fatigue
• Include clear venue address, parking info, and time to reduce friction
• Set up AI Reply auto-responses for common questions
• Route dietary-restriction replies to the tasting room manager via Team Inbox
• Send a thank-you follow-up within 24 hours of the event

1. A POS/e-commerce webhook fires when an order is marked ready for pickup.
2. Send a confirmation with the pickup window, location, and a CONFIRM prompt.
3. If there's no confirmation, send a 24-hour reminder noting perishables.
4. Offer a RESCHEDULE path for non-perishables; escalate urgency for perishables at 48 hours.
5. On pickup day, send an hour-before reminder, then capture post-pickup feedback.

Best Practices

• Map custom fields: store location, order type, and perishability level
• Set realistic pickup windows and communicate them clearly in the first message
• For perishables, escalate urgency at the 24-hour and 48-hour marks
• Route inbound issues directly to the store manager via Team Inbox
• Use consistent order numbers so staff can locate orders quickly
• Capture post-pickup feedback via SMS to catch fulfillment issues early

1. A LOYALTY keyword, sign-up form, or POS tag enrolls the customer.
2. Send a welcome message with the entry-tier benefit and a DETAILS prompt.
3. Set the contact's loyalty tier, enrolled date, and progress fields.
4. On a fixed monthly date, send a tier-specific status update and exclusive offer.
5. When a customer crosses a tier threshold, send an immediate celebration message.

Best Practices

• Set tier thresholds that are achievable based on natural purchase patterns
• Send a fixed monthly tier-status update so members track their progress
• Make tier-ups feel special with an immediate celebration message
• Keep exclusive offers meaningfully better at higher tiers
• Track loyalty tier, progress, and last-purchase date to drive segmentation
• Limit to ~2 messages per month per member; quality over quantity
• Post a QR code in-store to make enrollment frictionless

1. Segment customers by purchase frequency and product-category preference.
2. Day 0: send an exclusive pre-launch MMS to the VIP segment.
3. Day 1: send the pre-launch MMS to the broader core-customer segment.
4. Day 2: send the public launch announcement to all subscribers.
5. Track click-through and orders by segment to refine future targeting.

Best Practices

• Segment by relevance: only send wine pre-launch to wine buyers
• Give VIPs 24-hour early access to make loyalty tangible and create FOMO
• High-quality product photography is essential for MMS to perform
• Include all key details in short form: name, key attribute, link, deadline
• Use scarcity language sparingly and save escalation for later sends
• Time sends strategically (e.g. Thursday–Friday evenings for weekend planning)
• Coordinate with other channels: send SMS before the social post goes live