Introduction
The food industry has undergone a significant transformation in the past few years, thanks to the advent of online food ordering software. With restaurants now having their own online ordering systems, consumers can browse the services of multiple restaurants online via the web or mobile app. Consumers can order food online, opening new opportunities for food business owners to attract new customers.
The online food delivery market for restaurant-to-consumer delivery in the US is forecasted to reach $157 billion in 2027.
So, if you still doubt the benefits of an online food ordering system to gain new customers, this blog is a must-read for you. With the increasing popularity of online food ordering, restaurants and food outlets can now reach out to new customers and increase their customer base. This blog will discuss six ways an online food ordering system helps you attract new customers.
8 Best ways an Online Food Ordering System Attracts new customers
The online food ordering system helps restaurants develop stronger customer relationships. With the greater convenience of ordering food online enables them to turn regular customers into loyal ones. But the best part is that it also attracts new customers to the restaurant. Let’s find out how?
1. Customer Data & Insights
The online food ordering system allows restaurants to collect customer data. The data on the most ordered dishes, the average spent per order, customer gender and age, etc., is the game changer.
These valuable insights allow restaurant owners to know their customers better. Once they know their customers’ preferences, they can personalise their marketing strategies to attract and retain new customers for longer.
Restaurant owners can also use this data to personalise marketing messages to individual customers, making them more likely to order from the restaurant.
For instance, restaurant owners can create and run ads for targeted customers based on the data and insights. Secondly, they can promote the menu items or deals that are the most popular to grab more eyes and attract new customers.
2. Convenience and Accessibility
Online food ordering systems offer the convenience of ordering online to customers. They can browse the menu via the restaurant website or the mobile app. The security of online payments plus the comfort of ordering from their homes or offices. Thus, this convenience and accessibility make online food ordering systems very attractive to customers, especially those with busy schedules.
3. Customizable Menus
Whether it is a restaurant or a menu for a catering business, it needs to be customised timely. Online food ordering systems allow restaurants to create customizable menus, which can help attract new customers. Restaurant owners can customise the menu whenever they need, add new dishes, and add discounts and offers to attract eyeballs.
4. No Commissions
Word-of-mouth publicity is still valid and is one of the biggest sources of promoting your brand. People can’t resist telling their friends, family, or colleagues about the discounts or offers they get.
So, you can experiment with different offers and discounts when you have your own online food ordering system. Also, you can try different food deals and know your customers’ responses to the same.
Having your online food ordering system means you can keep your profits to yourself rather than sharing them with third-party aggregators as commissions. Thus, it will enable you to offer bigger discounts and offers to the customers.
A referral or loyalty program works well to attract new customers and also retain the existing ones.
5. Build your restaurant brand
The online food ordering system helps restaurants build and promote their own brand. With your restaurant app, you can showcase and highlight your restaurant branding. In addition, you can convey out loud the best things about your restaurant brand to attract more customers.
Restaurant owners can highlight their restaurant brand by taking care of the small things. For instance, brand colours, font, food packaging, and more to create a memorable brand image. They can use their creative and unique side to stand out from the rest.
On the other hand, if your restaurant is listed on an aggregator app, your chances to showcase your brand diminish drastically. The aggregator app manages and controls the major part of customer experience, including order processing and delivery.
6. Increased Customer Reach
Customers nowadays prefer ordering their food online. Those with busy schedules who don’t have enough time to cook and, thus, like to order food online while on their way back home.
So, if your restaurant does not have an online food ordering system, you lose many customers. To keep up with the pace of modern customer demands, food business owners must adopt the latest trends and technologies to meet the changing customer demands.
The online food ordering software helps your customers to find you easily. They can search for the restaurants in their locality or based on a particular cuisine, and there you are popped up in their search results. However, you need a good SEO strategy to rank your restaurant high in google results.
7. Customer Feedback
With a food ordering system for your restaurant, you can gather customer feedback and reviews. You can also offer some reward or discount to your customers for sharing their feedback.
But why do you need customer feedback, and how will it help attract new customers?
Customer reviews and feedback act as social proof for your restaurant. They help customers know about your restaurant and services and, thus, build trust. Restaurant owners can also ask local foodies to try their dishes and write feedback or an article on their restaurant.
8. Go Social
Social presence is no more a luxury but a necessity for any online business idea. When you have an online food ordering system, customers can order via your restaurant website or the mobile app. However, building a presence for your restaurant on social handles is a good idea.
You can create your restaurant profile on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Customers nowadays rely on social platforms to find or know about any brand. They trust online reviews and feedback more than their peers or family recommendations.
Restaurants can also link their online ordering systems to their social media accounts, making it easy for customers to find and order from them.
You can also enable your customers to place orders directly through social handles for greater convenience. Promoting your restaurant brand on social media helps attract new customers and make them loyal.
You can share pictures of your restaurant menu, cuisines, and behind-the-scenes photos and videos. It is also a good idea to share images and videos of the customers in the restaurant.
What’s more, restaurants can promote specials, promotions, and discounts, attracting new customers on social media platforms.
Conclusion
Online food ordering systems offer several benefits that can help restaurants attract new customers. The convenience of ordering food online, social media presence, and customer data are a few advantages of online food ordering systems.
Faster deliveries and the convenience of ordering anytime make more customers order online. Restaurant owners can easily attract new customers and turn them loyal with many other advantages of online food ordering systems. It helps them stay relevant in the modern competitive market and meet customer demands.
Food business owners can get an online food ordering system for their restaurants in two ways. One is to build a custom food delivery application. However, this approach requires a huge upfront investment and a 3-6 months wait to get the application ready.
The second approach is to go for a SaaS-based online food ordering system. It does not need any upfront investment as the system is ready to launch in 15 minutes with all the essential features. Restaurant owners can use the readymade online food ordering system for a monthly subscription fee. It is a good option for low budgets, like startups or SMBs.
There are many ways to attract onlien customers is amazing to understand. Thanks for the valuable information on this topic.