5 Ways to Increase Restaurant Sales with Online Ordering

A recent study says that 59% of customers prefer takeaway/delivery over dine-in. 60% of restaurant operators have found to have incremental sales due to their takeaway and delivery services. With changing times, dine-in is taking a backseat and takeaways/deliveries seem to be driving the restaurant business. 

Having no or limited access to takeaway/delivery options for customers seems to be a lost opportunity for restaurants. While there are many third party solutions that work with restaurants to reach a wider audience for delivery orders, they tend to eat more part of the profit due to hefty commission. Many restaurants prefer to have their own Mobile App or website ordering solution to establish a loyal group of customers as well as offer their food at affordable rates.

How Online Ordering System Increase Sales of the Restaurant

Here is a list of ways you can gradually increase the sales numbers with online ordering services at your restaurant: 

1. Choose the right service provider to partner with

Many takeaway/delivery service providers do help you get more sales but they also eat up a major chunk of your earnings leaving the entire association quite meaningless. If you are opting to have a third-party for takeaway/delivery, make sure to choose the right partner that are commission free or charge minimal for their services. 

There are often many other factors to consider like their credibility, reliability, experience in the sector and the support they offer. It is also essential that you have entire control of your branding throughout the process and also get access to the customer data for marketing purposes.

2. Launch your own website ordering

Having your own website ordering system will help you get rid of paying third party commissions altogether. It will offer you the flexibility of managing the time-slots, menu updates or delivery charges easily as per your need. 

Having a third party solution provider makes your restaurant quite dependent on them which is a drawback considering some urgent support needed at your end. Since such vendors work with many restaurants, it takes time for your concern to get addressed. This entire situation is completely eliminated with your own Voolsy’s website ordering solution.

3. Offer a Mobile Ordering app as well

Revenue from Mobile App ordering is set to reach in billions by the end of 2020.Having a Mobile App to manage takeaway/delivery orders will ease out a lot of things for your customers. They can place the orders in a few taps from their phones. Instant notifications about their order status will ease out a lot of things.

Easy access to the menu, prompt payment options and food at your doorstep in a few mins make Mobile App ordering even more a to go solution for customers. This service in a way is like a contactless ordering making it more safe.

4. Connect with masses through Social Media

Social media stays one of the best mediums of reaching out to people easily. The best thing is that it is easy to manage and reaps numerous benefits. Introduce your online ordering services on instagram and facebook and let the message spread.

Instagram is gradually becoming a widely used platform of choice for restaurants. With the visually appealing feed posts – more followers and hence more customers can be grabbed. Live stores on food being prepared at your kitchen or sharing passion for the kind of food you serve at your restaurant will help you connect and build relationships with customers which will indirectly impact your online sales.

5. Promote online ordering through signage and email marketing

Allot a signage at your restaurant letting your diners know that you now also offer online ordering to encourage them to order online. Place the digital signage at a location where a passerby crowd notices it. That way, if they might plan to order from your place in case of takeaway or delivery. 

Email marketing is underrated but still proves to be a great way to stay connected with your customers. By dropping newsletters on online ordering, you can grab sales slowly. This tactic also helps your customers know what is going on with your place and stay connected, especially the loyal ones. The customer data on hand can be used in a lots of ways to market your restaurant.

Offering takeaway and delivery services through online ordering can help you pull through difficult times. It also is a proactive step to service the current needs of the customers that in a way helps you stay in the forefront of competition. Restaurant business is evolving and online ordering is definitely a reigning formula to grab more sales and stay profitable.