As a business, following modern trends like automation and online migration should be priority as these can play a significant role in your growth. Ordering online makes it easy for end users to get what they need without stress which is the primary drive behind its high adoption.
If you’ve never given much thought to an online ordering system before, you probably should do now! Irrespective of what’s happening in the world today, there’s one thing that remains constant – people will always need to eat and what’s more? People like to eat good food.
Offering convenience to your customers through an ordering system will give your business a competitive advantage over restaurants that only offer traditional dine-in purchases.
The easiest and most cost-effective way to set up your ecommerce operations is to register with a third party delivery marketplace rather than worrying about setting up a system from scratch. This is also a means to give your restaurant or cafe the visibility it needs.
Let’s explore relevant tips that can aid you in setting up your ordering system
Find Your Fit In The Marketplace
When venturing into digital trade, it would be best to join more than one marketplace, it would give more traffic and visibility to your restaurant, it will also help you understand the best fit for your business in terms of conversions.
There are many ways to do this, and making the right choice for your restaurant is important to your success. Here are two things you should consider:
- Does it integrate with my Point of Sale (POS)
- Does it integrate with courier services such as Waive
Once you’ve chosen and set up your online ordering system, it iss essential to optimize your pages for discovery. Add a direct delivery link to all your social media profiles and display it on your website loud and proud.
Proper Delivery Packaging
Steam is your worst enemy when it comes to takeaway food packaging, even the crispy fries get mushy and lettuce, unrecognizable.
There are several ways to work around this issue.
- Use vented containers
Small vents allow steam to escape, yet retain adequate heat, keeping hot food hot.
- Drain the styrofoam completely
While styrofoam packs retain heat well, they trap steam.
- Maintain temperatures separately
This may mean many bags or even packaging burgers separate from toppings.
Logistics and delivery
While some marketplaces like Waive – have mobile applications that showcase your restaurant dishes in the pictorial display, ready-to-go dispatch riders and also promote your restaurant, not all marketplaces provide logistics services.
Depending on what you want, you need to choose a reliable and efficient delivery process for your customer
Don’t stop marketing!
Setting up an online ordering system is of no use to you or your customers if they don’t know it exists. When using a third-party delivery service, ensure you brand the packages they are delivered in as a form of out of home marketing, this will help remind customers to order from you again, also run social ads that link back to your private platform.
Ask for feedback
The best way to get better is to listen to what your customers are saying. The first part of this is toget their feedback organically, work with your marketplace or POS provider to see if they have an integration with a feedback service or some way of collecting this on the order receipt.
Conclusion
Third-party platforms are easy—and they help make your restaurant instantly discoverable to diners.