Measuring the Revenue Generated by Your Marketing Campaigns

Every dollar spent on marketing needs to be justified. But how do you know if your latest SMS campaign actually brought in money, or if it just filled tables with a low-margin offer? Tracking reservations is one thing, but linking those actions to a specific revenue figure is the real challenge for any restaurateur.

To calculate a reliable return on investment (ROI), you need a bridge between customer engagement and its monetary value. That's where our measurement tool comes in, built around a key metric you control: the Average Price per Meal.

This article explains it all: how this metric turns "generated covers" into concrete revenue, how to adjust it for special offers (like a holiday menu), and how to use it to forecast a campaign's success before you even send it.

What is the Average Meal Price per Person?

The Average Meal Price per Person is the typical amount a single customer spends during a visit to your establishment. This value is essential for your analytics, as our system uses it to estimate the total revenue generated by customers who engage with your marketing campaigns.

You have two options for setting this value:

1. Custom Average Meal Price: A specific amount you manually enter, which will be used for all marketing-related revenue calculations.
2. POS Average Meal Price: An amount automatically calculated from your real sales data in your Point of Sale (POS) system.
   • Note: The POS system analyzes invoices from the last six months to calculate the average meal price per person.

The Benefits of an Accurate Average Meal Price

Setting an accurate meal price is the key to understanding your marketing performance.

• Calculate Accurate Revenue Estimates: By assigning a dollar value to each customer visit generated by a campaign, you can move from counting "visits" to estimating real revenue.
• Measure True Return on Investment (ROI): When you know how much revenue a campaign is generating, you can confidently determine if it's profitable and worth continuing.
• Make Informed Marketing Decisions: Comparing the estimated revenue across different campaigns allows you to allocate your budget to the strategies that work best.

How to Choose Between the POS Average vs. Custom Price

Your POS data is excellent for understanding your typical customer spending. However, some marketing campaigns aren't typical. For these, a custom price ensures your analytics are precise.

When should I set a custom price?

You should set a custom price when a campaign promotes an offer with a specific value that doesn't match your POS average.

• Special Events: Holiday menus, prix-fixe dinners, or special tastings.
• Targeted Deals: Lunch specials, happy hour promotions, or combo offers.
• High-Value Packages: Wine-pairing dinners or large party bookings.

Example in Action

Imagine your POS shows an average meal price of $50.00. You launch a campaign for a New Year's Eve fixed menu costing $100.00 per person.

• Using the POS Average ($50.00): Your campaign analytics would under-report the revenue generated, making it seem less successful.
• Using a Custom Price ($100.00): Your campaign analytics will accurately reflect the true revenue from this specific offer, giving you a clear picture of its success.

Note: Your campaign statistics are locked in when you send a campaign:

• Modifying the price setting will not affect past campaigns.
• You can confidently switch between your POS average and a custom price for different campaigns without losing the accuracy of your historical data.How to Set Up Your Average Meal Price in the Back Office

How to configure the average meal price per person

1. Navigate to your Back Office.
2. Go to My Restaurants, then select "General Information".
3. Locate the Average Meal Price section. You will see two fields (if a POS is connected to your account):
   • Average Meal Price per Person: This is the editable field for your marketing value.
   • POS Average Meal Price Per Person: This is the non-editable value calculated from your POS.
4. Choose one of the two options below:

Option A: To use the value from your POS system:

• Simply check the box labeled Use POS Average Meal Price.
• The value from your POS will automatically be used for all calculations, and the custom field will be disabled.

Option B: To set a custom value for marketing:

• Ensure the Use POS Average Meal Price box is unchecked.
• Click into the Average Meal Price per Person field.
• Enter the custom value you wish to use for your marketing analytics.

Click Save at the bottom of the page to confirm your new setting.

How This Number is Used in Your Campaigns (Before Sending)

The primary place you will see the Average Meal Price in action while creating your SMS Marketing Campaigns. Here, the system uses your set value to calculate the Projected Revenue of your campaign, giving you a powerful forecast of its potential financial impact.

This allows you to assess the potential return on investment before you even send the message.

How is Projected Revenue Calculated?

The projection is based on a formula that combines your settings with system data:

Projected Revenue = (Number of Campaign Recipients) x (Projected Conversion Rate) x (Your Average Meal Price)

Note: The conversion rate measures the percentage of your campaign's reached audience that resulted in a booked seat. We use this metric to estimate the 'Projected Revenue' for your future campaigns. To ensure this projection is personalized to your restaurant's actual performance, you must have sent a minimum of 3 SMS campaigns within the last 6 months. Otherwise, the system will use a default 2% conversion rate for the estimate.

Reviewing Estimated Revenue in Your Campaign Report (After Sending)

Once your campaign has been sent and your customers have started to make bookings, the system transitions from showing Projected Revenue to tracking actual performance. You can find this data in the detailed report for any campaign in your "Sent" tab.

In this view, the system calculates the Estimated Revenue based on the real-world conversion data your campaign has generated.

How is the Final Estimated Revenue Calculated?

The formula is straightforward and is based on the actual number of guests your campaign brought in:

Estimated Revenue = (Total Generated Seats) x (Your Average Meal Price)

This final Estimated Revenue figure is your key indicator of the campaign's success. You can compare this directly against the Campaign Cost to determine your precise Return on Investment (ROI).

Tracking Your Overall Performance on the Statistics Page

While the campaign report is perfect for analyzing a single campaign's performance, the Statistics page gives you a high-level overview of your entire marketing strategy's financial impact over time. It helps you identify trends and understand the big picture.

How to Access Your Statistics

1. From your Back Office, navigate to the My Restaurants section.
2. Click on Settings, then select the Statistics tab.

Understanding Your Key Metrics

Under the Marketing Campaigns section, you can track these powerful metrics:

• Revenue Generated by Your Last Campaign: This provides an immediate look at your most recent results, helping you quickly gauge its success without opening the full report.
• All-Time Generated Revenue: This is your cumulative grand total. It shows the total estimated revenue your marketing efforts have brought in since you started, demonstrating the long-term value of your campaigns.
• Average Revenue per Campaign: This crucial metric shows your typical return for a single campaign. Use it to set performance goals and benchmark your campaigns. For example, you can easily see if your latest promotion performed above or below your average.