Turn people visiting your website into regular customers

 

Are you looking for effective online ordering systems for your restaurant? When designing a new website to reach online markets or integrating cart processing models to fulfill online orders, these systems can significantly propel your business to the next level, revenue-wise.

Online ordering systems are also very convenient, instantly providing customers with a list of options. For restaurants, these systems provide various features that streamline order checking and tracking.

More customers are using smartphones and online platforms to order food, which is significantly cheaper than commuting to a brick-and-mortar eatery. 

What Is An Online Ordering System?

 

An online ordering system is a system that is put in place to allow restaurants and cafes to take orders and accept payments from a distance - both online and in-person.

Once your customer makes their selection, they submit their order and pay all in one go. Once the order is received on the restaurant’s end, all that’s left is for the order to be taken to the customer’s table or packaged ready for delivery.

With this system, customers simply access an online menu. This can either be done by scanning a QR code or entering a link into the search bar.

As you can imagine, this speeds up the whole online ordering process: everything takes place through a smartphone, instead of constant back and forths with staff.

 

How Do Online Ordering Systems Work?

 

Online ordering systems operate similarly to online takeaway: your customer orders online, completes their payment and can then get their food delivered or decide to pick it up at your store. The ordering process is straightforward:

• Your customer browses your online menu on their laptop or mobile phone. They can do this in front of your store (also called click and collect) or at home

• They pick what they want to order, and add any delivery or meal instructions

• They pay directly through the system by filling in their card details. You can also choose to send them a payment link if you are taking the order over the phone

• The payment is processed securely, and no payment details are stored on any device

• Your customer's order is delivered to their house or they can pick it up at a specific time

 

Here are the 8 Reasons Why You Need An Online Ordering System

1. Online Ordering Systems Enhance Marketing Efforts

 

• Online ordering systems are the perfect place to advertise any promotions or maximize your marketing efforts. Dominos is a good example of this concept. They allow you to choose any of their current coupons to apply to your order online before you checkout. 

• Having an online ordering system is great for capturing emails, and after the capture process, you can remarket these individuals with seasonal specials, events, and creating buzz for particular promotions.

 

2. Online Ordering Systems Increase Revenue

 

• Online ordering allows customers to explore all that a restaurant has to offer, without the feeling of a time constraint that offline dining requires. When people don’t feel pressured or stressed on time, they might have the potential to spend more and even order more menu items. 

• With online ordering, you are giving people more opportunities to order your food. With more opportunity comes more revenue. You can even give customers the potential to order 24/7 while your restaurant sleeps. That way, the customer can plan what they want ahead of time, and stop by your restaurant to pick up their order at their convenience.

 

3. Online Ordering Systems Improve the In-store Experience

 

• When you don’t need employees manning the phones taking phone orders, you can use them for inside restaurant duties. Online ordering improves several factors of the customer experience in restaurants. Restaurants' productivity increases when they are able to dedicate more people to the interior of a restaurant. 

• For example, running food when no one is around or helping fellow employees clean a table quicker when a big party just walked in the door. Even as a lower-level employee, a restaurant’s environment can be highly pressured. 

• Having more people help with day-to-day duties can also alleviate a lot of your employee's stress. Other factors contributing to improved customer experience are faster service, fewer mistakes, and improved customer feedback.

 

4. Online Ordering Systems Get Ahead of Competition

 

• Some middleman host sites for online ordering create bidding wars between restaurants. Websites like GrubHub charge restaurants certain commissions on a per order basis. GrubHub allows restaurants to even pick the commission they want to attribute. 

• There are many restaurants that are still stuck in the dark ages and have been slow at adopting new technology. Every new adoption allows you to slowly inch past competitors. By staying on top of these online ordering advances, you have the opportunity to attract new customers away from the competition.

 

5. Online Ordering Systems Improve Order Accuracy

 

• With phone orders, there is a much higher likelihood that orders can be inaccurate. People talk at different volume levels, and with loud background noise, things can be easily missed or misheard. 

• Language barriers can also be a problem with phone order accuracy. If you put an employee on the phone who is new to the area's language, your customers and your staff could get frustrated.

 

6. Online Ordering Systems Save Money

 

• Every second at a restaurant is money spent. When a customer comes into a restaurant to order, they have the potential to take a long time, especially if they are new to the restaurant and are not familiar with your menu. 

• Switching your concentration to a focused online ordering concept will be less of a hassle on your staff to deal with undecided phone and in-person customers. This diminished hassle will also alleviate any lost time that staff might experience.

 

7. Online Ordering Systems Track Customer Data Easier

 

• In business that is all about the customer, knowing the most you can about the people that come into your restaurant can be an extreme advantage. can be a lot harder to track online menu items from phone orders than directly on an online ordering platform. 

• If you have a POS system you can easily integrate your online ordering system. With that integration, you can pull reports that analyze customer data on which menu items sold more, and even which menu items that people spent the most time on but didn’t purchase.

 

8. Online Ordering Systems Expand Customer Base

 

• One thing about online ordering is that it becomes a habit with people. You find an amazing Chinese restaurant that allows you to easily order online. How likely are you to try a new place? Not very! Implementing an online ordering system is a great way to turn curious online searchers into regulars. 

• If you are already getting a lot of organic traffic from your restaurant website, why not give these visitors an extra opportunity to convert directly to your website. Internet searchers are always looking for good food, but when you mix that with the convenience you easily get an increase in customers.

What Are The Advantages Of Ordering Online?

 

1. Safer and healthier

 

To reopen, food businesses need to set up shop to meet UK government health and safety regulations. Owners must maintain social distancing, use contactless ordering/payment methods and ensure surfaces are cleaned regularly.

Even if you’re a small shop, social distancing doesn’t have to be stressful. Shifting to an online ordering system for businesses means your customers can order and pay from outside the shop or from a table inside.

This makes it easier to maintain safe distances if necessary.

2. Increased customer loyalty

 

Customers will choose your shop over a competitor’s if you give them a reason to keep coming back. Great coffee and cakes may be that reason, but you can also encourage their loyalty with a reward program.

According to a recent study, a personalized digital experience is also a good way to encourage customers to keep coming back. Out of 1000 customers surveyed, 50% said they would switch brands that give them a poor online experience, and 73% expected online personalization.

With a restaurant online ordering system, you can send personalized offers, request reviews to boost your ratings, and receive feedback about your service.

3. Less room for error

 

One of the advantages of online food ordering for customers is that it ensures prices are accurate and there’s less room for error when it’s time to settle the bill.

That’s because customers need to physically pick an item on a menu with a corresponding price, ensuring the correct amount will always be paid.

This has some good benefits for your business; there’s less chance of incorrect charging, less time wasted sorting out mistakes and fewer free coffees handed out to appease customers!

4. More customers

 

As the new normal progresses, online ordering and payments are becoming more accepted and expected. If your menu and payment system are hassle-free your regular customers will be recommending you to their friends and sharing on social media.

You can increase your customers, and your profit, simply by offering a seamless customer experience.

5. Highly customizable

 

Menu apps are highly customizable so you can easily promote your logo, brand colors, or other features that make your business unique. Plus if you want to delete or add an item to the menu all you have to do is log in, make your changes and it’s done!

6. Higher customer spend

 

We know that a larger number of customers are now engaging with digital products and services than ever before.

They’re also spending more when they order online. That’s because studying an online menu is different from standing in a queue.

Customers have more time to make informed decisions. If they want the rich, gooey chocolate cake then they can order it with their skinny latte without fear of judgment from others. Even better if it’s bagged up to take away!

Those with food intolerances can clearly read all the information necessary and take their time. This means customers are likely to place larger orders.

 

7. Reduced costs

 

With a card terminal, you’re looking at a number of accompanying fees that can seriously reduce your bottom line. An ordering system for small businesses is a lot cheaper because it’s all digital, and in many cases, the only cost is a small processing fee on transactions.

Grow Your Brand and Revenue with Travelopro

 

At Travelopro, we focus on providing efficient systems to help you fulfill online orders without breaking the bank. Unlike other systems, like GrubHub and Uber eats, that charge you commission for every order, we offer a custom monthly subscription plan to help you plan for long-term growth while saving more money on online order fulfillment.

Travelopro will deploy your online ordering system on all devices, including Web, PC, and mobile. Contact our support team today for more inquiries, including integrating an online ordering system for your restaurant.