4 Reasons Why Your Restaurant Needs to Offer Online Ordering Today
“Build it, and they will come” is just a line from an old movie. It certainly doesn’t apply to the modern restaurant industry. It is simply not enough to exist and serve great food. To be successful with today’s consumers, you must offer great food and an exceptional customer experience. The good news is that by offering online ordering, a restaurant can differentiate and immediately see the rewards. Here are four reasons you should add online ordering today for instant results.
1. Online Ordering Converts Searchers to Regulars
Restaurants that generate a lot of organic traffic to their website have an excellent chance of seeing an increase in business once they have implemented online ordering. This is because internet searchers are looking, not only for great food but convenience. They enjoy browsing a menu with no pressure and making an order when they are ready to do so. The ability to schedule their order for a later pick up of delivery is one feature that busy professionals and even busier soccer moms adore. Once a new guest has had a favorable experience, they are more likely to make ordering from you a regular habit.
2. Online Ordering Enables Real-time Tracking of Inventory and Performance
Restaurant operators find that simply by adding online ordering they save thousands of dollars in food costs, a result of being able to track their inventory better. They can easily spot items that are a drag on the bottom line and quickly remove them from the menu. Integrated systems that automatically update the online ordering menu can save several management hours each week. But that isn’t even the coolest part. Online ordering systems allow you to add new items to the online ordering menu for limited test runs. You can easily add short-runs of items as daily specials and track the success or failure of the dish before making it a part of your dine-in menu. Make sure to indicate that it is a limited run and exclusive to online ordering and promote this on social media to increase engagement. People love knowing that they are the first to experience something new.
3. Online Ordering Can Help You Break Through That Sales Plateau
Have you reached a point that no matter what you try, you just can’t seem to increase sales? Online ordering could break your sales plateau on day one. The single most important strategy that will help you in this area is to offer customizations and up-sells. Include pictures of the food items and yes, even the add ons. Allow for multiple custom options and the all picky eaters out will return time and again. If your restaurant has the capability to receive large orders or catering, the increase in ticket prices can become significant — as online ordering is favored by these customers.
4. Online Ordering Can Improve the In-store Customer Experience
Fortune 500 companies understand the value. Customer experience management (CEM), a sector that didn’t even exist ten years ago, is currently beating out all other projects including product innovation and new product development, in terms of receiving funding. Customer experience is improved with online ordering due to several factors. The first, is through increased productivity. This byproduct of online ordering has been reported in many studies. Its effect will be seen as an immediate improvement since you no longer need to dedicate a cashier at the POS terminal for phone orders during peak hours. Having more staff available for dine-in customers can dramatically improve the in-store experience. Moreover, it decreases the stress on your staff members facilitates better workplace satisfaction. This, in turn, will be felt by the customer and improve their perception.
Other factors contributing to improved all customer experience include:
- Fewer mistakes
- Faster service
- Greater convenience
- Improved satisfaction — through add-ons and custom ordering
Despite all of these online food ordering system benefits, you may find that it isn’t enough to simply offer online ordering at your restaurant. To get the most ROI, the successful restaurant operator will need to implement a plan designed to inform, educate, and incentivize guests to utilize your system. There are many approaches to take to accomplish these goals. Increased buzz from social media, paid advertising, gamification, and mobile compatibility are all ideas for consideration. To learn more about these ideas and many more visit Orders2me today. We can’t wait to show you how to implement, integrate, promote the perfect online ordering system for your restaurant