In recent times, the online ordering system has become an essential service in the restaurant industry.
According to Upserve.com, 60% of US consumers order delivery of food at least once a week. This proves that restaurant owners like you need to have your own ordering online facility to gain more profits and improve customer relations.
If you have your own independent ordering facility with branded mobile sites, it will help you in maintaining a bond with your customers, increasing customer loyalty, and gives complete full control on how to function. We have discussed what is an Online Ordering System: How it works previously.
Let’s find out how this can help you grow, evolve in the industry and keep making profits even in pandemic time.
Benefits of your own Online Ordering System
- Increases your Brand Awareness
There is no doubt that food delivery platforms can help you achieve an online presence. However, this service is not exclusive.
These services are affiliated with various other restaurants and thus, increase competition and lead to less visibility of your restaurant unless you pay an extra sum of money for promotion.
You can eliminate this by building your personalized website. This way the customers will know about your restaurant exclusively and form a bond through your website and not see you as another listing on third-party services.
Third-party apps can give you a temporary customer base whereas your own online ordering service can give you a permanent customer base.
- Commission-free Payments
Food delivery platforms takeaway huge chunks of money from your profits in the name of commissions. From the recent Economic Times article, it states that Swiggy seeks to higher it’s commission for restaurants in certain regions.
In-house online food ordering system can provide you commission-free services and facilities to increase restaurant profits rather than losing them to third-party online ordering systems.
- Retrieving Customer Data
Customer data is the foundation for building customer relations.
If you have your online food ordering website, you will be able to contact your customers through various means.
Here’s it allows you to build customer relations:
- Giving regular customers deals and offers
- Informing them about new dishes and events
- Analyzing customer demands
- Online feedback
So, online ordering services help in retrieving customers’ data and give you a chance to increase your customer relations.
- Customer Satisfaction
Customer satisfaction is an important step in the online ordering system. Third-party systems can increase your customer base. However, there are always the chances of technical and human errors from their side which can ruin your restaurant’s reputation.
According to statistics, customers tend to put the blame on restaurants rather than third-party services for any mishaps that happen. Also, 70% of customers prefer to order directly from a restaurant and not a third-party service.
For this reason, your own online ordering system can help you in maintaining person-to-person interactions with your customers and gain customer loyalty with fewer complications.
- Customization
Third-party services offer a basic interface to all its customers. You have no say in any of its designs or customization.
However, in your own online ordering system, you can customize your website and menu designs. The customers will know you through your website and remember you rather than simply ordering from a third-party service.
You can totally customize your website in any way you want, to make it look more appealing. You can also upload customized pictures of your special dishes to attract customers.
- Contactless Menu
The pre-COVID-19 world and the post-COVID-19 world have changed drastically. Your customers are now looking for contactless services and facilities.
In this situation, contactless menus and delivery are the best options. Your customers can simply scan a QR code for delivery or dine-in option and get the menu card without any physical contact.
This ensures safety in the time of the pandemic.
- Full control (You are the BOSS)
Entrusting a third-party service with your online ordering system can leave you with little to no freedom.
You have no control over the delivery once the food is prepared. The commission rates can fluctuate any time and reduce your profit margin. There’s no say in the layout and design of the menu card you want. This can cause complete reliability on third-party services.
If you have your own in-house ordering facility, you can have full control and freedom to change things, the way you want. You do not have to compromise on your specifications.
Thus, your own online ordering system can give your restaurant the independence and uniqueness, unlike any other restaurant.
All this may seem expensive and unachievable. However, that’s not the case. There are certain online food ordering systems like Grubly that offers you all these services and benefits at reasonable rates with a hassle-free set-up.
We recommend you using Grubly for getting online ordering features like:
- Commission-free payments
- Branded website
- Contactless menu
- Online table bookings
- Efficient working
- No dependency on third-party apps
- Easy customization
Thus, an online food ordering system will help your restaurant business touch the pinnacle of success, along with gaining customer loyalty and satisfaction and Grubly is the roadmap to that success.
