As we find ourselves amidst a pandemic, the advantages of an online ordering system for restaurants have come to fore and have never been clearer.
The introduction of restaurant aggregator apps such as Zomato & Swiggy kickstarted a trend of online food ordering amongst customers, and the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in rapid and widespread adoption of this technology. With restaurants shut for dine-in thanks to the social distancing limitations, takeaway and deliveries via online ordering systems for restaurants emerge as the only permissible option for customers to enjoy their favourite foods.
The new normal, online ordering systems for restaurants aren’t optional anymore but essential to the business. Given the changed scenario, customers have developed an expectation of the ability of restaurants to allow them to order their food online. Hence, if your restaurant doesn’t accept this trend and implement this technology, it is bound to be left behind competition. In order to succeed, it is critical to meet the needs of customers.
However, it might sound daunting to set up your own online ordering system, assuming you’re already using and are familiar with existing third-party aggregator solutions. But if implemented, it promises an opportunity to grow your restaurant business exponentially. Thus to help you adapt to this new normal without any difficulties, we’ve introduced Thrive, an all-in-one and the only online ordering system for restaurants that ensures repeat orders.
It enables table ordering, takeaway and delivery; and the in-built loyalty program and marketing CRM bring your customers back!
I’m sure you’re looking for more reasons. Here are the benefits of implementing your own online ordering system for restaurants:
The first and most important benefit of your own online ordering system is that you receive complete details of the customers ordering from your restaurant. Unlike third-party restaurant aggregator apps like Zomato and Swiggy, all your customer data is shared with you. It is yours to own and use today or in the future as and when required. This data is exclusively your property and is not used by or for anyone except you. It is available for you to send campaigns, upload as social ad audiences and even exported data files if required.
Orders received via restaurant aggregator are subject to exorbitant commission rates which cut into almost a third of your revenue. Using an online ordering system of your own costs a meagre fraction compared to third-party aggregators. Fairly and transparently priced, Thrive costs just 3% for deliveries and pickups and fixed flat Re.1 for dine-in orders. Hence, you stop losing large commissions to aggregators, keep your profits and maximize revenue.
As opposed to restaurant aggregator apps, you have the exclusive focus of your customers on your own online ordering system. There are no other promoted restaurant options, featured offers, deep discounts, doctored ratings or reviews to get distracted by.
Also, without the pressure of holding up a line, finishing a conversation quickly or worrying about asking for too many details, customers can peruse through your customized, pictorial and well explained digital menu at leisure and find the impulse required to add that item they’re in two minds about. Hence, on an average resulting in almost 20% higher order sizes when compared to offline orders!
Like in orders placed traditionally over a call, or even via staff during in-store dining, there is a high probability of mistakes with respect to the food, cooking instructions, delivery address, pickup time, etc. Apart from the wasted time, effort and food, such incidents result in poor experience and increase the risk of losing these customers for good. This is unaffordable compared to any other losses.
Implementing an online ordering system eliminates these thanks to a customized menu that highlights your offerings, the ability to take cooking instructions and accurate delivery or takeaway details. This simplifies ordering for customers, and provides clarity to the staff and enables them to execute orders quicker and hence improves efficiency significantly.
Go beyond the dining table and the confines of your restaurant by giving customers the ability to order directly from you, anytime and anywhere, right from their smartphones or any handheld device! Implementing your own online ordering system for restaurants, enables you to exist where your clientele is. Moreover, it also gives you complete control over the order and delivery process and hence you can compensate for the lack of dine-in experience and the guests’ missing personal interaction with your staff via simple gestures such as adding fortune cookies or anything else that underscores your brand’s identity and personality.
Firstly, an online ordering system directly linked with your point of sale allows you to seamlessly manage orders from the existing PoS dashboard itself. Hence, thanks to a familiar system and no deviation from existing process there is no retraining required for your staff. Secondly, complete details of every transaction and the customers who conduct them are captured, thus allowing you to build invaluable insights.
Who are your customers? What are their preferences? Where do they come from? What items are your bestsellers? What are your restaurant’s busiest and the most idle hours? These are just some of the many questions that a powerful Marketing CRM can answer. Along with that, it also gives you the ability to conduct targeted and personalized campaigns to customers to keep them coming back for more. It gives you analytics, trends and actionable insights so as to improve your business performance.
A customer loyalty program helps you build long lasting, meaningful relationships with your customers by enabling them to earn points on their orders and use them to redeem rewards on subsequent orders. Apart from a sense of gratification, a loyalty program motivates customers to spend higher and earn more points to work towards rewards.
Therefore, it is highly beneficial to implement your own online ordering system that has an in-built Marketing CRM and Loyalty Program.
By ensuring good online presence, you can improve organic traffic and hence generate orders from new as well as existing customers. Leverage social media to promote your own online ordering system by showcasing your products to customers by posting engaging and visual content regularly, and pushing them to order directly from your restaurant. Apart from organic reach, you can use paid advertising on social media to exponentially grow your business instead of traditional marketing which has linear growth. Highlight your brand’s personality and identity, be human and connect with your customer community in a positive manner. This will prove to be a good investment that will keep giving dividends as it matures.
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This pandemic is the right opportunity for restaurants to become self-sufficient, reduce dependency on aggregators, and take back the control of their destiny. Implement your own online ordering system for restaurants and make it available to customers at their fingertips.