Why Online Ordering?

OVERVIEW:  This white paper revolves around growing the value, profit, and revenues of your business through the use of online ordering. The premise is that you can install online ordering cost-effectively and lure more customers, get your customers to spend more, have your customers return more often, and significantly improve the efficiency and accuracy of your operations.

It’s a difficult time to be in the restaurant industry.  Fuel and raw material prices are on the rise, an economic recession is tightening wallets, and customers expect more value from restaurants. More and more food industry experts are recognizing the benefits of online ordering, the exciting technology that can increase a restaurant’s top and bottom lines. Online ordering does this by:

• Luring in more customers
• Encouraging customers to buy more
• Generating and retaining repeat customers
• Enhancing operational efficiency

Let’s examine each of these aspects in detail.

1.) Lure in more customers.

Restaurants are constantly searching for new ways to expand their business. Giving your customers the option of online ordering is a great way to lure more people into your store.

• Influence more prospects

Online ordering offers you another sales outlet. People learn about your restaurant over the web, and connect and order from you within minutes.  For example, office employees may be more inclined to buy from a restaurant that responds quickly and accurately to group orders.

• Reel in repeat customers

A statistic from Google reveals 30-40% of your customers have been to your site before.  Also, in a custom research survey conducted by JupiterResearch in June, a study revealed that online retailers can adjust to a weakening economy by focusing on deepening relationships with existing customers. These customers are more susceptible to promotional influences. Also, you have an opportunity to engage those consumers who tend to influence the purchases of others. The accuracy and speed of online ordering keeps loyal customers returning for quality they can count on.

• Level your playing field

A growing number of large restaurant chains have online ordering capabilities: Papa John’s, Outback Steakhouse, Chipotle, Pizza Hut, Subway and Dominos, to name a few. To compete with these chains, smaller restaurants need to offer the same value-adds the big players employ.

2.) Get customers to buy more.

When customers use an online ordering system, all the advantages are right at their fingertips:

• Customers browse at their own pace 

With online ordering, customers don’t have to worry about being rushed through the ordering process.  The customer is able to see the entire menu at their convenience, and order at their own pace.

• Suggestive up-selling

The best online ordering systems have “intelligent up-selling” systems built into the service.  Pro-active engines examine buyer behavior, of both the specific user accessing the system and the restaurant chain as a whole.  Best of all, up selling increases ticket size by at least 25-35%, on average.

• Appetizing and enticing photos

While ordering online, customers are presented with imagery that helps them visualize what their food will look like when they receive it.  These images will support the sales process, as the customer is better able to imagine how enjoyable and satisfying the food will be when consumed.

3.) Get customers to buy more often.

Repeat customers are invaluable in the restaurant industry. Online ordering helps solidify the relationship.

• Convenience

With online ordering, customers log on at any location and their profile is at their fingertips.  Give them the ability to quickly and easily choose their home or work location.

• Easy repeat ordering for target markets

Online ordering systems store previous order history for customers. Wherever they order from, their preferences are stored so in the future ordering takes minutes, even seconds. This is a great feature for target markets such as a group of office employees or a busy mother ordering for her kid’s soccer team. If they buy similar items consistently, they can make repeat orders with a few clicks.

• eMarkeing tactics like email marketing drives more traffic

Email marketing continues to be one of the best eMarketing tactics to drive traffic to your website and help maintain a community of happy customers.  Emailing monthly coupons, special discounts and birthday promotions will make your cash register ring. eMarketing tracks customers who haven’t purchased in a while, and will ‘ping’ them to get them back in the restaurant.

4.) Make your operations more efficient.

Online ordering enhances a restaurant’s profitability, boosts efficiency and helps employees focus on more important tasks.

• Employees spend less time on the phone, more time on service

It’s not uncommon for restaurant employees to ‘get in the weeds.’  The last thing they need is added distractions during your businest times.  Online ordering reduces, even eliminates, the time a restaurant spends taking phone orders.

• Records of customers’ orders are more accurate

Because all transactions are performed online, human error is eliminated from the order.  Orders are passed through to the restaurant without flaws.

• Convenient and more efficient for handicapped or hard-to-understand customers

Language barriers can make the ordering process more time consuming over the phone.  Online ordering bypasses this issue entirely.

4.5 ) Leverage high tech without a high investment.

Over the past decade, the online ordering market has improved significantly. Setting up an online ordering system used to be expensive and time consuming.  Now, restaurants can leverage this technology affordably.

• Low investment, high return

Online ordering systems require a modest investment every year. In return it offers a significant return on investment with a quick payback period.  Unlike building out a new restaurant unit, online ordering requires little or no money to get started. Most vendors do not require a minimum term contract.

• Multiple pricing options

Each online ordering company has a different pricing model based on a monthly licensing fee, a per-transaction cost, or a mixture of the two. A per-transaction pricing model may be attractive because of the small out of pocket expense if the system is not utilized often.  However, if the restaurant experiences significant use on the system, as many quickly do, a flat-fee pricing model may be a better option to keep the investment stable over time.
 
• Only small changes in your current operations are necessary
 
Some restaurants are under the impression that to obtain online ordering, there must be significant changes in operation procedure.  On the contrary, these systems are set up quickly, because orders are streamlined through fax machines, IP printers, or POS systems.

In Closing

Online ordering is undergoing an incredible state of growth. There is no doubt that more restaurants will integrate this technology into their operations in the near future.  Restaurants should perform the due diligence necessary to make an informed decision.  The more thoughtfully a restaurant invests its time, money, and resources into online ordering, the more it will be rewarded.