We’re confident that you join the Unity Payments team in hoping that we will get passed the current pandemic sooner than later. Sadly, it’s a reality we all must face for the time being. If you’re a restaurant owner, you’re undoubtedly feeling the brunt of this difficult time in our lives. You’ve been forced to either cut off or limit the dining room experiences for your customers at your establishment. Instead, you’ve had to place a much stronger focus on takeout orders.
Make no mistake about it – your restaurant’s website has never been more important to your business. It’s where the majority of hungry customers are bound to place their orders for takeout and delivery. So what steps should you take to boost takeout orders from your restaurant’s website?
Offer free delivery promos for minimum order values.
What’s the difference between your business and its competitors? Hopefully, the answers are many. In the online shopping world, however, free shipping is often a major factor in a consumer’s buying decision. When it comes to restaurant food, the same rule applies. Can you waive the delivery fee for customers who order over a certain dollar amount? If so, you stand to take customers away from other restaurants that aren’t offering the same deal.
On GloriaFood.com, Andreea Dobrila explains that free delivery promos can help to increase your transaction sizes. “John takes a look at your menu and decides to have a medium pizza, worth $8.99,” she details, “Then, he sees your free delivery promo for orders over $11, so he decides to add two can of cokes to the menu, therefore achieving minimum cart value necessary to benefit from the free delivery promo. It’s a simple, yet highly effective way to persuade customers into buying more.”
Utilize your Instagram account.
If you’re not already using one of the most popular social media platforms there is, it’s a must you begin right away! Instagram is widely used for its photo and video-sharing abilities. People love looking at pictures and videos. Your restaurant’s sumptuous eats should be regularly showcased. There’s nothing that elicits mouth-watering quite like a vibrant photo of a delicious dish. Post your photos and videos and be sure to direct people to the website link in your bio to place their orders.
“Instagram has become the platform of choice for many restaurants, as it’s inherently visual and also has the option to post stories that last 24 hours, as well as evergreen feed posts that stay on your page,” writes Caroline Price of Toast, “When things at your restaurant are business as usual, you’re probably often too busy to share much behind-the-scenes footage: Now is your chance to pull back the curtain and build relationships with your customers.”
Make the “Order Now” button immediately visible.
When customers visit your site, are they immediately aware of how to place an order? They should be! In fact, it can be argued that the “Order Now” button should be the most eye-catching part of your homepage.
“Your hungry customers should be able to see the online ordering button at a glance,” insists Dobrila, “Unless they do so, then they will leave your website and head out to the competition, instead. And you’ll lose your customers. So make the online ordering button visible.”
With Unity Payments, you can quickly set up an online ordering system for your restaurant! To get started, please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-800-661-3761 or email us at info@unitypayments.ca.
