Increase Your Average Online Ordering Bill With Mouth Watering Photo’s.

Online ordering is known to increase the average order about 20% but nothing can sell your menu more then a mouth watering photo.

 Social networking is responsible for the resurgence of the food culture.  Pictures of colorful and fresh dishes are popping up all over the internet from home cooked masterpieces to experimental versions of classics in restaurants, food trucks and food festivals.

Choosing an online ordering system that incorporates food pictures to menu items allows online ordering to become an experience.  Photographs can trigger an emotional response, can convey information quickly and allow the reader to read beyond 2 dimensional text descriptions.  Photographs give depth and create an immersive experience that inspires the user to make a better informed decision, try new items and considerably improve the online ordering experience.

The 9fold online ordering system allows restaurants the ability to update their own menu items at the click of a button; including the “easy photo upload” feature to accompany some or all menu items.

Show Them What They Want With Pictures.

A glimpse at how online ordering can feed customers with enthusiasm when ordering from their favorite restaurants.

Over the last few years the food delivery industry has been “rocked” by the rapid adaptation of online ordering; mainly in cosmo cities.

For reasons of convenience to both restaurants and mostly users online ordering has exploded and is gaining momentum nationwide small town America included.

It is the opinion of this author that we just starting to see the enormity of the big picture when it relates to customer relations, loyalty, branding and the honing of both referrals and long term relationship.  The tool that is online ordering (if designed properly) will feed customers with enthusiasm when ordering from their favorite restaurants.

As technology evolves the ability to connect to customers based on factors such as community, their favorite foods, diet restrictions, spending habits will give restaurants the opportunity to customize offerings based on specific attributes related to the customers ordering patterns.

In a world that is heading faster towards complete dependency on the web the possibilities related to online ordering are exciting and vast.

Online Ordering

Your Delivery Business Should Be Booming

With “Slow Sales January” behind us and the cold dark months still ahead of us smart restaurants are maximizing their efforts by expanding their delivery business.

During the winter months resturant delivery and takeout could account for 70% of a restaurants  business.  The benefits of a takeout business is the  ability to increase your reach in servicing costumers without the additional operating costs.

Here are 5 proven ways to expand your takeout business.  Make more money and keep costs low.

1.  Start with a professional, visual website.   50% of your customers will visit your website before deciding to order from you.  Invest in food photography in NYC we highly recommend (www.nycfoodphoto.com) because people buy with their eyes.  If it looks delicious its going to taste delicious and that is what people want to see when visiting your website.  A good website means includes:

*  Mouth watering picture

*  A call to action – Order Now

*  Easy access to your menu

*  Press/Reviews

*  Contact Information – Hours/Address/Phone

*  Mobile friendly – can be easily viewed on any mobile device

2.  Design a colorful and visually stimulating takeout menu.   Make sure your menu sets you apart visually and in quality.  People tend to feel overwhelmed if the menu is too busy so keep things organized, categorized, simple and eye catching.  Don’t forget to include order online with your website address on the menus.

3.  Online Ordering has made ordering food simple, fun and easy for consumers.  Customers who order online tend to spend 20% more then customers ordering over the telephone.  The ability for a customer to browse through a menu and order without feeling rushed, being placed on hold or dealing with communication barriers lets the customer feel more at ease which results in more buying and increased repeat business.

Choose an online ordering company that charges you a flat rate and allows you to promote various facets of your business not online takeout/delivery.  A communication tool between you and your clients will encourage the long term patronage you are seeking.

Restaurant Delivery

4.  Menu Distribution  - Get out there and distribute your menu to local businesses and residences.  Let the neighborhood know you delivery, that your food is delicious, your service is outstanding and prices are fair.

The saying if you build it they will come is only true when you put yourself out there.  Let people know you want their business by providing incentives if they visit your website, sign up for a newsletter or order online.

5.  Call to action.  Wether you are promoting your restaurants delivery business on Google, through flyers, menus, on the social networks always provide the call to action.  Your restaurant online ordering tool acts as the call to action as its a direct link to your interactive menu where customers can view your offerings and place an order.

9Fold Liberates Restaurants Across America By Putting Them In Control of Their Online Ordering At A Flat Rate…Game Changer

Restaurant Online Ordering

New York  (RestaurantNews.com)  9Fold is a New York based Restaurant Marketing & Online Ordering company that delivers an enterprise online ordering system to restaurants throughout North America and the UK that is revolutionizing the way the industry does business.

Giants like Seamless, Grub Hub and Delivery.comdominate the online ordering space and have created a standard in the marketplace that have restaurants paying commissions on every order.  During an era of cost cutting and sky rocketing inflation, restaurants are struggling to make ends meet within the confines of this model even with the high volume of orders pumped in through portals.

What these companies have done well is make online ordering the norm.  In the technology age online/mobile ordering is a natural evolution but stats show that 80% of people order from the same restaurants repeatedly; making it increasing difficult to justify paying commissions on repeat business when restaurants can sell and market directly to their customers.

9Fold’s flat fee online ordering system gives customers an alternative to ordering their favorite food. Restaurants are able to wean off the costly middle-man directory, eliminate per sale commissions and process their own transitions in real time (another score for restaurants who won’t have to wait for a monthly check from big box online ordering companies).   While the major portals have popularized online ordering, research shows that 68% of people interviewed prefer to order their food directly from the restaurant website.

9Fold is not competing with the portals but simply changing the game and leveling the playing field. With the customer and restaurant owner in mind 9Fold is providing restaurants with another revenue channel that encourages a relationship with their customers by offering exclusive offers, incentives and the ability to directly communicate.  The system was designed to promote not only their take out/delivery business but also their catering, dine-in and events all powered by the 9Fold built in marketing tools.

For restaurants interested in maintaining their independence, setting up their own online ordering system is an imperative in the new age of dining.

To learn more about 9fold visit their website at www.9fold.me or call 212-706-0785

What Do You Really Want From Your Online Ordering System?

There are many options when it comes to restaurant online ordering systems but not all online ordering systems are built the same.  What do you really need when it comes to your restaurants online ordering?

In our conversations with hundreds of restaurants we have come to know what is important when considering an online ordering software.  Here is a list of the top factors to consider when researching the right online ordering system for your restaurant.

1.  Control

Restaurants are fast paced environments where things can change from minute to minute.  Restaurateurs need the ability of controlling their revenue channels and that includes their online ordering tools.

Choose a system that gives you control of delivery hours, delivery zones, delivery times, menu items, prices, confirmation emails, promotions, etc.

2. Intuitive

You want to give your customers an easy way to place orders that is consistent with the way you operate your business.  Choose an online ordering system that is easy to use and is in fact intuitive.  No thinking needed, online ordering should be a direct extension of the restaurant experience.

3.  Good Looking

In a world where image matters restaurant take care in the presentation from restaurant decor to food presentation to website layout and online ordering.  It’s has to be easy, pretty, reliable and quick…

4.  Quick

Customers are ordering online to make things easier and quicker.  Your online ordering system should handle the entire online ordering process quickly to accommodate your customer’s intentions on visiting and using the system.

5.  Ever Evolving

The online world is always evolving and your online ordering system should as well.  Find a company run by innovators who don’t believe in status quo.  The right online ordering system should always have new features, improved functionality and should always have you and your customers in mind.

6.  Customized

Let your customer feel like they are ordering directly from you by customizing your online ordering system with your brand, colors, pictures, information and links back to your website.

7. Built-In-Marketing Tools

A smart online ordering system will act as a communication channel between you and your customers.  Make sure to pick a system that helps encourage repeat business, increase order volumes and gives you an outlet to talk about other aspects of your business such as catering, dine-in, happy hours, etc.

A customized online ordering system.

Shop Small Everyday – Why Its A Win/Win When Customers Order Online Directly From Your Restaurants Website.

Shop Small Everyday

 

American Express held its third annual “Small Business Saturday” across the nation yesterday giving a chance for local businesses to showcase their own sales after the mega sales of Black Friday.
Although the American public enjoys a bargain, their rekindled love of “Main Street” has made Small Business Saturday a smashing success.   An amplifier to the hype is the buzz on the social sphere. #smallbizsat was trending on Twitter and Facebook friends were encouraging each other to “shop small” as their way of contributing towards boosting the economy.
This surging support of small business has created an opportunity for business owners to ask their customers to get involved and  ”shop locally everyday” …… especially in the restaurant business where people are loyal to their favorite foods.

LET YOUR CUSTOMERS KNOW THAT WHEN THEY ARE ORDERING DIRECTLY FROM YOUR WEBSITE EVERYONE WINS.

Why it’s good for small business:

1.  When they order from your website your restaurant saves the commissions you are paying to big box portals allowing you to pass the savings directly to them.

 

2.  Allows them to keep current on through regular visits to your restaurant website.

 

3.  Customers are now part of the restaurants database allowing for on-going communication with your customers to encourage repeat business, advertise special offers and receive vital feedback.

 

4. Customer belong to the restaurant directly so the restaurants have the ability of seeing how many times that customer has ordered rewarding loyalty with exclusive offers and freebies.

 

President Obama Supporting A Local Book Store

Social Ordering – A Call To Action

Those in the resturant business who are active on the social networks have enjoyed explosive growth in the number of people liking and sharing their Facebook posts claims a new study conducted by Expion, a social-media software and consulting firm.

The total number of Facebook likes, comments and shares for the restaurant chains with the 100 highest like counts more than doubled since the last quarter.   That total of all “fan actions” rose 146.5 percent to more than 27.2 million likes, comments and shares says Mike Heffring, chief strategy officer for Expion

Brands are building engagement rather than focusing on building big fan bases, in other words, fan bases are reaching a level of diminishing return because a lot of brands have the big fan bases they were hoping to acquire, so now they are developing content that engages their fans to boost their share of voice.

Offering visual shortcuts to your restaurants website and online ordering through Facebook allows restaurants to  encourages a call-to-action, drives more website traffic and creates awareness.   Facebook users who don’t frequent the restaurants website can learn about the happenings of the establishment in a socially charged environment.  Where are you most likely to share content, events, images but on Facebook?   So give your clients a reason to learn, explore, share and monetize your social media efforts with social ordering.  

“Brands are building engagement rather than focusing on building big fan bases,”

Psychic Prediction – Will Waitresses Soon Be History?

Screens, screens, screens – we stare at screens all day long from phones, computers, tablets, e-readers, mp3 players.  We seem to have become obsessed and dependent on these tools that are tailored to make things easier, faster, and in most cases promises instant gratification.  Online ordering is on the rise and mobile ordering is the next natural step and major portals have reported an easy adoption (25% of users of portals actively order their food from their mobile devices).  So really what consequences does all  convenience really have? For one thing we are starting to transform the physical to digital and in that we are losing the tangible.  No books to hold, no money in your pocket, no records to play but more then that this is also taking us away from human interaction.

Our social network society is losing the real interaction and engagement we used to enjoy with people at every stop in our day.  No more travel agents, no more gas attendants, and we are starting to evolve away from bank tellers and grocery store clerks and yes this author thinks that one day we will lose our waitresses.

Waitress

Going to a restaurant and being able to order from a visual menu that shows you what each item will look like, calorie counts, even make recommendations based on what you like to eat, or most popular items  - this is the future and its coming to a restaurant near you and although yes we will miss waitresses and there will be some restaurants that will provide waitressing service as a novelty the world of interactive ordering has only just begun.

Mention this blog and receive a free month of online ordering.

How To Use Online Ordering To Keep Things Fresh

Just like any relationship you have in your life; the relationship you have with your customers need to be nurtured. Every customer is an opportunity, and to grow that opportunity you need to breathe life into it. Here are a few ideas to keep things spicy and the fire burning between you and your customers. How To Use Online Ordering To Keep Things Fresh 1. Be proactive – reach out and stay in touch. 2. Personalize your messages 3. Learn what they like 4. Give them a reason to sing your praises The right online ordering system will act as a medium between you and your customers and open a communication and revenue stream.  Let us show you how. Mention this blog and we will waive your set up and 1st moth with us.

#Secret Sauce: Online Ordering Portals vs. Restaurants Own System. A Short & Sweet Breakdown

Online ordering companies are popping up everywhere and lets face it online ordering is not a trend it will eventually replace the calls coming in for delivery and take out , but with so many options how is a restaurant to choose their partners in online ordering.

We have broken it down into 2 very simple concepts:

1.  Portals - Think of the portals like brokers.  They are your partners in driving business.  Like any broker the portal will take a commission on the transaction and will battle it out with other portals for the traffic.

Portals are a great way to increase your visibility and to start building a new client base but there are a few very important things that restaurants have to consider:

*  .  Paying commissions on existing customers – your customers know they want to order from you so why are you paying a commission when you have already built the relationship with that customer.

*  .  Not being able to market to your customers.  The fact is that when your customers order from a portal you lose that relationship and you don’t have any real way of reaching back out to the customers and inviting them to return.  Your communication with that customer STOPS at that portal and in todays world of building old world relationships that a real lose.

2.  Your Own Online Ordering - Think of having your own online ordering system as having your own website as opposed to just having listings on various directories to drive traffic.  When you have your own online ordering system you have the ability of developing and nourish a relationship with your customers.

Yes, it may take more work from you end because you will need to market you own website and your online ordering system and the progress might be slower but the idea is to give your customers reason to order directly form you.  WHY?  WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?  Well for 1 you save on the commission and secondly you now have open a communication channel with those customers.  Using your own online ordering system a restaurant can convert that tool from a takeout/delivery tool to a practical communications tool that encourages loyalty and drives revenues by cutting costs and increasing sales.

Online Ordering