Online food ordering is here to stay. More than 60% of U.S. foodies already order takeout or delivery once a week, and that number is expected to grow. You could sign up on food delivery portals to get more customers, but why would you want to share your profits when you can have an in-house online ordering system instead?
With the rapid spread of COVID-19 casting a dark cloud over the restaurant industry, now it makes more sense than ever to get started with online ordering. Here’s why having your own online ordering system is better for your restaurant business than a third-party platform like Postmates or UberEats.
In-House Online Ordering System Benefits
1. You Keep All the Profits
The most significant benefit of having your own online food ordering system is that you keep all of the profits by cutting out the middleman (third-party delivery apps). They usually take between 15 to 30% of each sale you make. The online ordering system cost won’t be nearly as high if you get an in-house software that you can control and manage by yourself.
While you may pay flat fees for some features, the money from the orders themselves will be all yours. The fees depend on the system you choose. Some companies may charge for optional features, while others also charge for the basic online ordering system. With GloriaFood, you don’t pay for the core product. The system is free, and you only pay for premium optional features.
Take a look at our infographic if you want to learn more about the hidden costs of food delivery portals.
2. You Offer Clients a Customized Experience
With a food delivery portal, you’re just a number in a long list of restaurants. With your own restaurant online ordering system, you can customize every step of the ordering experience – from how the menu looks to the offers you use to reward loyal foodies.
Not to mention you can make changes on the spot. If you’re out of a specific dish or want to change the price, you can instantly update this information. Waiting for a third-party portal to process your request might lose you customers and lead to bad reviews.
3. You Are in Full Control
We can’t overstate how important this aspect is. Full control over the ordering experience leads to consistency, and consistency is what builds customer loyalty. Customers won’t see a different app when they place an order with your restaurant but your own food order website or branded online ordering app.
You might also like: Why you need to use a Free Online Ordering System for College Dining Halls
4. You Gather Vital Customer Data
Food delivery portals keep all the customer information for themselves, so you ultimately don’t know who your customers are. With a restaurant online ordering system, you can get to know your food clients and collect their data. You can also interact with them directly instead of having some other company do it for you and represent your brand.
You will learn what dish is the most popular, who your most loyal customers are, and what their food ordering habits are. This can help you improve your menu continuously and offer customized experiences that target the right customers.
For example, if you have an item that sells better than the rest, you can create promos and meal bundles around it and offer discounts to get people to order more.
The customer data can even be used to generate synthetic data using a data anonymization tool to provide personalized customer service.
5. You Build Customer Loyalty
With your very own restaurant order taking system, you guarantee a more heightened sense of loyalty. On a third-party app, the customer may order from you this time and from another restaurant next time. They won’t be loyal to you but the ordering app.
Even if your food is excellent, they are less likely to choose you a second time when there are so many options at their fingertips. The competition is fierce, and the fact that your brand can’t stand out only makes matters worse. If you offer online ordering yourself, your restaurant will be the star of the show.
6. You Protect Your Brand Image
Having your own online food order system means clients can reach you directly if there’s an issue with the order or the food. Then, you can solve the problem directly. With third-party online delivery platforms, clients have no way of getting in touch with you, and you can’t hear their complaints. Consequently, you’re stuck and won’t get vital feedback to improve your service or products.
Moreover, according to a Techonomic study, 76% of customers blame the restaurant for third-party delivery errors. So, even if you have no control over how the food gets to your clients, you will still get blamed, which can put your reputation at risk.
You might also like: Disadvantages of Listing Your Restaurant on Online Food Portals
7. You Stand out
An in-house online ordering system will make your restaurant stand out instead of being in the shadow of countless other restaurants like yours on third-party apps like DoorDash or Grubhub. On these apps, your restaurant can be buried at the end of a long list of restaurants, and customers might not even find it. With your own system, you have no competition.
Not only will you be able to promote your brand, but you will also give the customers what they want. 70% of customers prefer to order from the restaurants directly instead of using a third-party. Capitalize on that by offering them a unique experience.
Bottom Line
The impact of online food delivery on restaurants presses owners to choose between listing their restaurant on food delivery portals and finding the right online ordering system for them.
If you are registered on third-party apps and want to migrate those customers to your website, persuade them by offering loyalty perks, dishes that are only available on your website, exclusive price discounts, and so on.
Now more than ever, customers are encouraged and willing to support local businesses. Knowing mobile apps for ordering food online take a massive chunk of a restaurant’s profits for themselves, they will be more inclined to order from you directly if they knew that was an option. Start looking for an online ordering software to take orders directly on your website as soon as possible.
You might also like: How to Remove Your Restaurant from Third-Party Food Delivery Apps
What’s Next?
Now that we’ve established the benefits of an in-house online ordering system, you’re probably wondering what’s the best online ordering system for you.
Allow us to suggest the GloriaFood alternative to third-party food delivery portals. We started as an ordering system for small business owners who can’t afford to spend massive money on implementing online ordering.
Read more: How to Set up Online Ordering System for Your Restaurant’s Website
Here’s what we offer in terms of online ordering made easy:
- Free online ordering system – zero fees and no hidden costs
- Website ordering
- Facebook ordering
- Table reservation module
- Sales-optimized website
- Restaurant order taking app
- Mobile-optimized ordering experience
- Zero competition – online ordering where your restaurant is the star
- Simple to use online ordering form
- Promotions engine
- Food ordering app for restaurants
- Detailed reports
- Free restaurant receipt template
- and more
Related: Top 15 Online Ordering Systems for Restaurants in 2020
