“The Superbowl commercials from the third-party delivery providers were infuriating. They do NOT support local restaurants. They are continuing to perpetuate this false narrative. The reality is they are predatory vultures – and it goes beyond the fees.”
– Kyle Inserra, Restaurant Growth Strategist and Hospitality Thought Leader
US-based UBS Evidence Lab reported that online sales for restaurants and hotels increased by almost 60% by the end of November 2020. The staggering figure was an eye-opener for restaurateurs with dine-in business models. The findings prove that there is a viable approach to keep food sales up despite the pandemic pains: implementing a commission-free delivery system.
To take advantage of the boom in home delivery, restaurants need to partner with third-party delivery apps. While companies with deep pockets can afford their service charges, the tight margins of small and medium-sized restaurants do not allow them the luxury of tapping into this market.
With the advent of direct online ordering systems for restaurants, the delivery landscape is up for a transformation. Innovative software solutions are allowing restaurants to implement a commission-free delivery system. Such a system enables restaurants to grow rapidly, stay affordable, improve business management, and increase productivity without being squeezed by food delivery services.
Lunchbox, a digital savior for restaurants and the creator of NotGrubHub, states, “Most restaurants actually LOSE money to third-party apps. Ordering directly from the restaurants you love is the number one way to actually help save them.” Click here to view our delivery commissions calculator to see how much restaurants pay over the course of a year when using third-party delivery marketplaces.
Adopting new technology is a challenge for any business, and online ordering system for restaurants is no different. So, let’s break the process down into practical, actionable steps. Starting with online pickup orders, we will discuss choosing the right online menu solution, menu optimization, and social media marketing.
Alex Canter, chief executive at Ordermark, offers valuable insight when he says, “Oftentimes, the restaurants weren’t set up for delivery — they don’t really have menus that are designed for takeout or delivery.”
By implementing a commission-free delivery solution for restaurants, every restaurant can curate its online menu to enable streamlined ordering for customers while also highlighting top-selling or high-margin items.
Dynamic ordering applications such as Orderlina, lunchbox, Square POS, and ChowNow provide seamless order customization to restaurateurs and hotel owners. By partnering with these digital applications, direct delivery restaurants have the flexibility to change their menu options whenever they desire. Moreover, this system provides the opportunity to manage in-house delivery and pickup without paying hefty commissions to third-party food delivery platforms.
One such platform challenging the third-party delivery model is LoCo Co-ops. The online ordering software service starts at less than half the commission of third-party solutions. It then distributes the net income back to the restaurants, which reduces the effective commission even further.
In the words of Jon Sewell, President & Founder at LoCo Co-ops, “The best delivery solution for independent restaurants, one that provides the most cost-efficient, highest customer service product while also protecting their customers’ data, is for the restaurants to develop their own delivery co-operatives.”
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Jen from @harvestbrooklin comments, “Ninety-five percent of all our guests have adapted to online ordering for dine-in and takeaway.”
Start small if you are worried about guests and staff adopting the new technology change. Move curbside orders from over-the-phone to online. Start by choosing a web-based ordering solution designed for restaurants and made for mobile.
Let your staff know that this will eliminate – or at least reduce – the time and attention required for manually entering phone orders into the POS. Factor in the insights from your staff while setting up your online menu. They know your most popular pickup orders and understand the nuances of punching in discounts, special requests, and more. When the online menu is in place, your staff’s time can be better utilized.
When the design is ready, post your menu on social media and let your guests know that they have the option of ordering directly from your restaurant over the web. Explain how this supports you directly. It is vital to move to an in-house, commission-free delivery model.
Your guests will also appreciate the online menu feature and prefer to order from their phones using it. If you typically use an answering service during peak periods, consider adding an automated message to inform guests that they can more quickly order via your restaurant’s online ordering system before transferring the call to the answering service. Eventually, you can get rid of the answering service entirely.
To encourage adoption, offer a discount or special menu option for direct orders. Gradually, when the regulars start to use the online system for orders, the restaurant can permanently remove the phone order option.
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Will Shu, CEO of Deliveroo, has a famous scene in the Netflix series Million Pound Menu where he tests a restaurant’s meals to see if they are delivery-ready. He pops the meal in a heat bag and rides it around on his bike for seven minutes, the average delivery time.
Every restaurant needs to ensure its dishes travel well.
Grubhub revealed their most-ordered menu items from January to June 2020. Surprisingly, there is no mention of the delivery of hot beverages despite tea and soup being common appetizers that customers order when they dine in. At the back of these insights, they go on to share these factors to consider while drafting a delivery menu:
Commission-free delivery and pickup restaurants should optimize their online menu by promoting top picks and specials. Or, as Scott Landers, co-founder of Figure 8 Logistics suggests, “Offer an experience [guests] can’t get anywhere else.” This also has the effect of moving customers off third-party delivery apps to direct orders.
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Restaurants often consider the default option of hiring in-house delivery drivers. Most restaurants will find taking on logistics difficult, although many restaurants have successfully converted serving staff to delivery staff.
While planning the logistics for a new online ordering system for restaurants, restaurateurs should know that restaurant staff is not their only viable option. Many “last-mile” delivery solutions are entirely compatible with direct online ordering systems.
Drive Yello is one of the key players offering last-mile delivery solutions in Australia; it connects businesses to drivers. With the help of platforms like Yello, Lyve, and Relay that use advanced technologies for same-day deliveries, venues are able to pass the cost of delivery to the consumer and the problem” of logistics to a company that perhaps does it better. This allows the restaurant to retain control of the ordering, payment, and feedback process while outsourcing the actual logistics.
While third-party delivery apps might be an easy, convenient solution for outsourcing, they’re also a race to the bottom. Forcing restaurants to compete with other local restaurants in a time of shrinking margins.
Direct ordering with an in-house commission-free online ordering system allows your restaurant to grow its brand and have direct control over products and customers while not giving away customer data to a delivery marketplace.
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Hotels, restaurants, eateries, and the like all use social media to promote their brands. The best way to grow a social media following is to have your guests do it for you!
Ensure that you are using an online ordering system for restaurants that integrates with social media. This should provide the option for guests to share your menu as well as take orders directly via social media with limited clicks.
The easiest place to begin is to add the Start Order button on Facebook and a link to your menu (e.g., link in bio on Instagram). Additionally, a good online restaurant ordering software should provide the flexibility to allow guests to immediately place an order and process their payment.
See how we’ve used our menu on our Instagram. Also, check out our complete guide on connecting your QR menu to your social media.
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An interview with a chef-turned-eatery-owner published on Restaurant Confessionals explains how demotivating it is to read unjustified criticism of a venue. To quote him directly, he says, “Our restaurant has received plenty of good press but, at this point, it’s been a little while since we’ve been reviewed. So, some Yelpers are responding to a dated review from a few years ago and expect that exact same meal.”
Google reviews and Yelp have public reviews of direct delivery restaurants from around the globe. But, we all know that not all reviews are based on unbiased experiences. Some result from preconceived notions from other guest reviews they read before ordering from the restaurant. Little do people realize that one bad review destroys the image that the business built over so many years.
To remedy this, an online ordering system for restaurants should provide a closed loop for feedback: Comments go directly from the guest to the restaurant manager. This allows the restaurant to deal with the issue directly. At the same time, the customer can be honest about their review without the guilt of taking down an establishment on a public platform. Restaurants may still opt to post their best reviews on social media.
Include options such as a feedback button or emails asking, “How can we improve?” Remember to respond to every feedback positively to keep that feedback loop effectively closed.
Sending a tactfully crafted email requesting feedback after every online delivery can convert a detractor into a promoter. The guest feels important, and their probability of ordering again increases.
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Scott Landers, co-founder of Figure Eight Logistics, a consulting group for food delivery, gave the best insight in an article published in QSR Magazine, “If a restaurant does not currently have a branded online ordering channel, now is the time to build one.”
Partnering with a third-party delivery app seems feasible for big players who generate enough profit. However, combining a commission-free delivery platform such as Orderlina and lunchbox with last-mile delivery solutions is a lower-cost, reliable online restaurant ordering software for small-scale and medium-sized eateries. So, you are taking the right step by planning a move to in-house, commission-free delivery and takeaway.
In the words of Kyle Inserra, “If you really want to ‘save restaurants,’ next time you order food, call the restaurant directly or check their website and see if they have their own delivery.”
