We all know about text messaging - 30 billion are expected to be sent this year in the UK alone. Recently though, a new opportunity has arrived taking advantage of this simple yet devastatingly effective marketing channel - and its making waves in the restaurant and bar trade.

Previously only available to multinational companies, smaller businesses including restaurants and bars are now able to take advantage of Mobile Marketing - sending SMS to customers' phones direct from your computer. It's cheaper than other forms of advertising or marketing, and far more effective. About 95% of messages are opened. And response rates are typically as high as 10%.

One London restaurant owner has seen trade soar since taking advantage of mobile marketing. David Marazzi, proprietor of Kings Cross bar/restaurant Canal 125, sends out around 1,000 messages per month. "We use texting for two main purposes," David says. "Firstly, we keep ourselves in customers' minds by sending them information on new menus, or parties going on in the bar area. Secondly, we devise special offers to help us attract custom through quiet periods. Because texting is instant, we can look at our reservation book at Tuesday lunchtime, and an hour later we can have our customers reading about a free glass of wine if they come along that evening."

Canal 125 obtained their customers' mobile numbers by leaving a sign-up card with the bill. "It's been a big help to our business," David says. "Our turnover has increased something like 25% since we began using the system. But I think the biggest change it has helped bring about is customer loyalty. Texts are very personal, and I think it's helped create a sense of community."

Sugarvine recently launched sugarvine.textalert.com, the first SMS marketing solution specially designed with the needs of restaurants, bars and catering establishments in mind. Having collected customers' mobile phone numbers, users simply enter the message, input the numbers of their customers into an online address book, and click 'send'.

Users of sugarvine.textalert.com can send messages to all their customers, or 'filter' their address book according to various criteria such as whether the customer is a wine enthusiast, for example, or a seafood fan. Sugarvine.textalert.com also features a detailed marketing guide full of specific information to help owners market their businesses using SMS. The service operates on a pre-paid credits system and there are no sign-up or subscription charges. No additional software is required to use the system, which can be accessed from any internet-connected PC.

For more info, go to sugarvine.textalert.com,