Tulsa Area Restaurants Promote Specials Using New iPhone App

By Dan Bewley, The News On 6

TULSA, OK -- A Tulsa company has found a way to help restaurants stay in touch with their customers no matter where they are.

It's through an iPhone application and its goal is to give customers insight into what's happening at their favorite restaurants.

A typical scene in just about any restaurant: customers spending as much time with their mobile device as the daily special. Now, Tulsa's Anyware Mobile Solutions is tapping into that connection with a new smartphone application called DineInsight.

"There was a real calling from the restaurant industry and the hospitality industry to help drive traffic into their stores because the increased labor cost that they're experiencing and also because of the additional competition that's moved into the marketplace," said Jeff McMains, Anyware Mobile Solutions.

Leon's on the Restless Ribbon and Gaetano's Pizzeria in Jenks are the first Tulsa area restaurants to sign up for the new marketing tool.

"We're not using this application to look for new customers. We're using it for our loyal customers to let them know and keep them in the loop on daily specials, weekly specials, beer specials," said J.L. Lewis of Leon's.

DineInsight can be customized for each restaurant. Leon's has it set up for customers to get weekly specials or beer specials. There's even a comment form to send a quick message to owner J. L. Lewis.

"Anything that we can put in their palm to let them know what's going on is a huge advantage to us and really convenient for them," said J.L. Lewis of Leon's.

Mobile applications is one of the fastest growing technologies on the market. Right now, it's a $4 billion a year business worldwide. In three years, sales are expected to pass $16 billion.

Lewis says mobile applications like DineInsight are perfect to fight the clutter of advertising and get direct feedback.

"It's in baby steps right now. It's in its beginning, but the possibilities are endless on how to use this thing and I'm really excited. I can't wait," said J.L. Lewis.

DineInsight is a free application, so it doesn't cost anything to download. Right now, it's only for iPhones, but it should be available on the BlackBerry and other smartphones by the end of the year.