Adapting to the effects of the current situation and with all the new protocols being practiced, it is natural for every restaurateur to check ways on how to maintain their sales in online ordering systems and stay ahead of the competition.
One service has been observed to be steadily increasing in popularity – Takeaway Orders. This is one of the most useful types of service if you want to provide convenience to your market and at the same time dealing with the restrictions given to the Restaurant Industry.
In order to stay at the top of your game, here are some tips in increasing your Takeaway Orders on your online delivery systems or mobile app for takeaways:
1. Special of the day
Having a pick-up special of the day gives you an allowance to provide reasonable discounts, it is because these types of meals are usually prepared in bulk – resulting in less cost in labor and use of utilities, but increase in efficiency. People tend to mass order these types of meals as they are promoted in bulk as well, just make sure you’ve developed a takeaway order strategy according to your capacity and ability to meet such a market.
In order to maximize this tip, make sure to observe the following:
- Pick the right day of the week to implement this promotion. It could be during Monday night or Thursday lunch. Check on your restaurant’s and in-house staff’s capacity to meet the target without overtaxing your resources.
- Promote for different types of audience. You can have a pick-up special for dinner which usually addresses families, and have one for lunch which gives you an access to the business/working audience.
- Give them options for pricing. A restaurant is a fast-paced business. Offering a menu that’s pre-grouped (Good for 2, for 4, or for 6) is one way to slim down the options of your customers thus making them do the sale faster but making it more convenient for them.
- Be simple but witty with your title. Your service should just not look special, it should also sound special.
2. Online
We belong now to a Digital Era and customers seek for businesses that could make their lives easier. Making your service available online gives people the impression that you can provide them convenience. If you have a website, make sure it’s mobile friendly or, if you plan to focus on being online, you can have your own application.
It is effective to give them an option to schedule their pick-up to meet their best available time. Also let them customize some group meals according to their liking. Making them feel that they have a sense of control over their food gives a surge of satisfaction relating to your service.
3. Advertise
Now that you have your concept for your new promo and you also made it available online, it is now time to let the world know about it. Make use of Social Media in order to market your restaurant and its services. It is the simplest, quickest, and cheapest way that will help you not just in promoting your new service but also in customer engagement. Post your daily specials, make use of User Generated Content and GeoTag, and get the community share and talk about your post.
Consistency in posting gives your restaurant a strong presence in the market. You also have to make sure that you just don’t post photos about your services, but you have to include your staff as well. Social Media is also one way to humanize your business. Use a consistent tone and ensure it matches your restaurant’s brand.
Use Google My Business to its highest potential. GMB shows reviews about your restaurant, it could also display your restaurant if somebody searched for “Takeaways”, so make sure to fill-out all its attributes and make it easy for customers to find you.
Last thing you might want to consider is to come up with a recurring special. A weekly pick-up special that could build an audience that is returning to buy from you every week.
4. CRM and Email Tool
Utilizing a CRM and Email tool could give your restaurant the proper support it needs. Email is still one of the effective ways to relay your message to an individual. Have a tool where you can send your promos to a huge audience on email consistently and make your customers take action on email. You can also promote events, or anything that’s going on with your restaurant. Make sure you let them subscribe to this feature.
Tips :
- Schedule the emails to send during the early morning. Your promos would be part of their morning routine as people check their emails thoroughly first thing in the morning.
- Be concise. Not everyone has time to read long emails, so if you want to ensure that people read through your promo, make it direct and exciting.
- Engaging subject line. A boring subject line will leave you unread, you may use emojis for your email to stand out.
5. SMS Alerts
The main advantage of subscribing to SMS alerts is that it delivers your message real-time. They may have an idea of going into your restaurant when they saw your email early this morning then they got busy just before lunch, there’s a huge chance that they won’t remember going to your restaurant anymore. Make sure to remind them by sending an SMS alert just in time for lunch or dinner. You may also want to check out Push Notifications.
6. Free Giftcards
Nothing is more enticing in this world other than the thought of something free. This might be a bit of an advanced move, but if you want to see a boost of customers and a rush of excitement and engagement, you might want to consider this tip.
Giving a free $5 gift card gives contentment to customers. Make it simple to use, transferable, and exclusive to your takeaway orders. It’ll be no time to see a good flow of business with your takeaway service.
You may also try to partner up with companies to offer a good deal. Having them share the offer to their own audience will be a great help for you to cultivate potential customers.
7. Right Tool and Talent
Now there are plenty of options to choose from if you want to achieve all these tips. Make sure you’re using the right one and you have the right people to manage it. With the proper tool, website, email, and sms marketing will be like a walk in the park. Hire and train your people well for them to manage your campaigns properly.
Takeaway orders are definitely on demand and another way to ensure customer’s delight, is to use the best packaging there is. Packaging is an extension of your brand and, since we’re talking about Takeaway orders, there’s a huge chance of your product being displayed outside. It needs to be eye catching enough for people to notice it, thus garnering potential customers. Let your packaging do some additional work for you, include your contact information, menu, and flyer (if you have one) for their future reference.
