Chances are, many of you have opted in to receive automated emails or SMS (push notification) messages from a particular store, restaurant, or frequently used vendor. These messages can make our lives easier—for example, if you have an upcoming doctor or salon appointment, you can confirm and check in with just a few clicks. Or, if you order food delivery, you can receive tracking updates in real-time, so you know when to expect your meal.  

The Power of Transact Mobile Ordering and Automated Messaging

In our modern fast-paced world, mobile ordering has become an essential service for universities looking to provide a convenient and efficient dining experience for their students. However, with the increasing demand for mobile ordering in higher education, it's important for campuses to ensure that their mobile ordering app is equipped with automated messaging capabilities.  

It’s because of this demand that Transact Campus developed its Mobile Ordering solution, which includes flexible ordering features, a campus-wide loyalty and rewards component with rich capabilities for push messaging, automated marketing campaigns, intelligent upselling, targeted inbox announcements, surveys, and user feedback. Each feature was designed to improve the efficiency of meal ordering and delivery service on campus, all of which bring considerable value to our clients. 

Four ways automated messaging saves time 

Automated messaging can help universities streamline their ordering process and provide a better user experience for students. Here are four ways automated messaging can be used in the Transact Mobile Ordering app: 

1. Order Confirmation: As soon as a student places an order, an automated message can be sent to confirm the details of their order. This not only provides the student with reassurance that their order has been received but also helps reduce the number of inquiries that the dining services team receives regarding order status. 
2. Order Ready: Once the order is ready, an automated message can be sent to notify the student that their food is waiting for them. Save time for the student and reduces congestion in the dining hall by allowing students to pick up their food quickly. 
3. Feedback Request: After the student has received their food, an automated message can be sent to request feedback on their experience, providing them with an outlet to express their opinions and concerns. The information gathered from these surveys can help shape future campus communications and services. 
4. Promotions: Universities can also use automated messaging to promote special offers and discounts to students. By sending targeted messages to specific groups of students, universities can increase engagement and drive more business to their dining services. These targeted messages make it easier to upsell, cross-sell, and incentivize student purchases. 

By incorporating these automated messaging capabilities, universities can create a more efficient and user-friendly dining experience for their students. It’s important to keep in mind, though, that automated messaging should be used strategically and not excessively. Overuse of automated messaging can be perceived as spammy and annoying, which can ultimately hurt engagement and student satisfaction. By using automated messaging strategically and in moderation, universities can drive engagement, improve customer satisfaction, and ultimately drive more business to their dining services. Plus, our Mobile Ordering app integrates with the most popular third-party dining apps, so students have a wide range of options to choose from.  

Bonus! More cool automated messaging features 

In addition to the capabilities mentioned above, other valuable features of automated messaging include: 

• The ability to configure messages for specific user segments. 
• Messages can be sent to specific restaurants, for specific item purchases. For example, you can schedule to send a message whenever someone orders a chicken sandwich from a particular restaurant. 
• The ability to automatically schedule a message to be delivered in the future. 
• Messages can be sent when an order is rated with a certain rating (e.g., rate an order below a 3). 
• Automated messages can be scheduled for new registration, user inactivity, and user reengagement.  
• Messages can be scheduled when a user reaches a certain total lifetime spend or a specific order number (e.g., their 10^th order). 

Ultimately, universities need to master the art of sending the right message to the right user at the right time. Campus administrators need to meet students where they live, and where they live is on their phones. A recent university study revealed almost all Gen Z’ers (99%) own a smartphone, more than half spend nine hours or more in a typical day using their smartphones. Since students spend so much time on their devices, they are accustomed to receiving text updates and for the most part, read the messages they get. Automated messages, sent to users who have opted-in, have high open rates, up to 98%.  

Transact’s recently published whitepaper, “Exploring Financial Habits and Technology Use Among College Students,” further supports the need for universities to meet the technology demands of Gen Z’ers. According to the study, students “crave more seamless and mobile friendly options. They expect all of these to be easily integrated into their digital experience and readily available whether they are on campus or engaging through remote learning and off-campus experiences. In fact, we found that 72% of all students say that technology is very important or somewhat important when deciding on which college or continuing education institution they want to attend.” And since frustration with paying for food on- or off-campus was one of the top student complaints, it makes sense to streamline that process using Mobile Ordering and automated messaging. Read more insights by downloading the whitepaper. 

Automated messaging allows universities to send out messages to the masses or a select few, enabling campus dining processes to be faster, more organized, and more efficient. If your campus is not using Mobile Ordering and automated text messaging, you’re missing the opportunity to engage more with your students and communicate with them in real-time. Learn more by requesting a demo. 

Guest blog contributor: 
Jonathan Manna, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Integrated Payments & Campus Commerce