When you own a business, we know how important it is to be constantly innovating, coming up with new and exciting ways to grow your enterprise. The food industry can be a tricky one to navigate. Although the sector has grown significantly to become one of the largest marketplaces of the 21st century, it is not without its pitfalls, and the world of e-commerce is one of them.
Many business owners are naïve to the possibilities of online ordering, and their businesses quickly become stagnant, behind the times, and unfruitful. Restaurant and takeaway owners must embrace a take away food ordering system to fully optimise their profits.
Here are 7 reasons why an online ordering system can benefit your takeaway business, take some notes!
#1: Get ahead of the competition
It’s a growing trend, but currently very few takeaways offer their own online ordering facility. We’re not talking the popular delivery apps on the marketplace here, we’re talking about unique ordering systems and tailored situations, such as the kind offered by companies like Slerp. Make the most of a new opportunity and stay ahead of your competitors.
#2: Simplify your ordering process
The days of picking up the phone or making an in-person order are numbered. In today’s increasingly technological society, online ordering is the way to go. Businesses can make a website, app, or both to make the ordering process easier for customers. Mistakes when ordering are fewer, there’s more accountability for both the customer and the business, and orders can be processed in just a few clicks. Larger orders are also more likely to be made online as customers aren’t anxious about forgetting something or an item being missed. Placing a large order over the phone, for example, can be tedious, time-consuming, and anxiety-inducing. Online orders make the process light and breezy, keeping all parties happy.
#3: Access cheaper marketing
Print advertising is a dying art. Nowadays, having a strong online presence is the best way to get in front of your customers 24/7 without needing to invest in traditional advertisements. Having an online ordering system will automatically boost your company’s profile on the web, enhance your SEO (search engine optimisation) rankings, and lead to more clicks on your website and social media platforms. Make sure your ordering system includes delicious images of the food you’re offering – you can quickly duplicate these images across your platforms and maximise your efforts.
#4: Achieve a greater reach
You may offer a ‘sit in’ option at your takeaway, but it’s unlikely to seat many people. With online ordering, you have the ability to reach thousands of people in your local community at one time. This means that you can cater to a much higher quantity of people without needing to physically extend your business. That is until you’ve grown your profits exponentially through online ordering, of course, as you’ll then need a larger kitchen to accommodate all your orders!
#5: Offer a loyalty programme
Repeat orders are a money-maker in this industry, and you can secure these by offering a loyalty programme. With an online ordering system, you have full access to your customer data. You can track who your most loyal customers are, build meaningful relationships with them, and even offer incentives for future ordering. For example, every order gains a ‘stamp’ and 5 stamp equals £5 off your next order. The rewards can be fully customisable – you may prefer to reward with percentage off spend or free products. This gives your loyal customers a reason to keep ordering and, more importantly, shows them that you value their custom.
#6: Grow the bottom line
Of course, increased profit is at the forefront of most business owners’ minds. We’ve got good news: online orders are on average 20% larger than orders placed in person or over the phone. The psychology behind this is simple – customers who feel they have longer to decide what they’d like to order are more drawn to bigger and better options. Top tip: highlight specific items on your menu (perhaps a new special) to help influence their purchase.
#7: Fewer abandoned orders
When you take advantage of an online ordering system for your business, you also take advantage of an online payment system. Customers pay for their items digitally when they submit their order, which means no risk of fake orders, abandoned orders, or that pesky no-cash-on-delivery mishap. You can rest easy knowing that ordering online equals instant payment.