Offering dine-in services is no longer enough if you want to build a lasting restaurant brand that attracts a variety of new clients. Most customers want the option to order food at home from their favorite restaurants. In the article below, we’ll show you what you can do as a restaurant owner to boost your online sales without much effort.
How to Sell More Food Online as a Restaurant Owner
1. Optimize your menu for delivery
If you’re just getting started with online food ordering, you should know you can’t just use the same menu you use for dine-in.
First, not all items on your menu will travel well, and you don’t want customers complaining that the food arrived cold and inedible.
Second, having a more compact online ordering menu helps customers decide faster since they’re not overwhelmed by the options.
Instead of offering many menu items, allow clients to customize the existing items with extras, toppings, and a variety of add-ons. This will increase the average order value and ensure customers get exactly what they crave.
2. Get a website designed to convert
If you’re going to sell your food online, your website is the best place to do so. That way, your brand will be top of mind. Plus, you will get access to vital order information to find constant ways to improve your service, just as a POS system collects information about your dine-in orders.
But not just any website will do. You need a website that can help you convert visitors into customers and persuade them to order.
A food ordering website’s most important feature is the ‘See MENU & Order’ button. This needs to be visible at the top as soon as customers access the website.
Moreover, it needs to always be easily accessible no matter where customers are on the website. Make sure you include other vital information too, such as the areas where you deliver, your opening hours, contact information, and social media links.
Converting potential customers into paying customers is vital for the longevity of your restaurant. Unless customers understand how to order quickly, they will take their business elsewhere.
3. Offer regular promotions
Another thing that will persuade customers to order is the chance to take advantage of an irresistible promotion that will help them pay less or get more food for their money.
The key to adding promotions to your online menu is to place them at the very top, before the menu items, so customers can’t miss them.
Make it easy for customers to apply these promotions to their order and you will gain loyal patrons that will come back to order from you again and again.
4. Allow customers to schedule orders in advance
The modern consumer wants the convenience of ordering anytime, anywhere. Browsing your menu and seeing you’re outside of opening hours might dissuade customers from coming back to place an order later.
But you can prevent that by allowing them to schedule their orders 24/7, even when you are closed.
This will boost orders for you and increase convenience for the customer who might want to schedule their lunch in advance, so they don’t take time out of their busy day to do so. Win-win!
5. Customize your menu with mouthwatering photos
Photos are an extremely important part of any online menu. While physical menus don’t really need to rely on photos, when people order online, they want to see what they’re ordering.
Not to mention a professional-looking photo might tempt them to order items they might have not ordered otherwise, like adding a dessert to the cart just because it looked impossible to pass over.
6. Add allergen and nutritional information to the menu
Restaurant patrons these days like to be informed about the food they consume, whether it’s allergens or nutritional values.
Adding those to your online menu will give you an edge over the competition because customers will see that you are making an effort to ensure their experience is perfect.
Make sure every item on your menu contains a complete list of allergens and nutritional values at the bottom, so customers can make an informed decision.
7. Consider getting a branded mobile app
What is the best way to enhance your customers’ ordering experience? Getting a native app that they can download on their smartphones and access whenever they want to order from your restaurant. That way, your food will be just a tap away.
Having an app displaying your logo and slogan can work wonders for your branding. It will make ordering more convenient and secure more loyal customers who repeatedly order from your restaurant.
Final Thoughts
You don’t have to spend a fortune to increase your online food orders. Implement the tips and tricks above to attract more customers to order from your website and boost online sales long-term.
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