A recent article from Nations' Restaurant News talked about how the large chains are getting away from value, convenience, service, and speed in their advertising. Evidently their studies are telling them to focus more on the menu and the quality of ingredients.

That's good, if focusing on those elements helps bring customers through the front door.  But it is also important to remember that study after study reminds us that customers who order online are a different breed. They look for other things. 

Consider:
•    A sizable portion of customers that come to you for takeout have been to your restaurant.  They know the quality of your dishes and they have a high degree of trust that you will deliver on it.  By converting them to online customers, you take good customers and make them better.

•    Thanks to the proliferation of multi-restaurant portals, there are also an increasing number of customers who are coming to you based on your portal presence (and remember, almost 50% of customers who see you on a portal will check out your proprietary website before ordering because they don’t fully trust the information on the portal).  If these folks are new customers, they are going to judge your restaurant by your own website.

•    Either through first-hand experience, referral, or a sense of adventure, many online customers are already sold on your menu and quality.  They are looking first and foremost for convenience and control.  They want it quick, they want it right, and they want it when they want it.

The Bottom Line:  When it comes to promoting online ordering, stick to the basics – the added convenience and control.  You might also add that your takeout items are always as good as what they would be in your restaurant.  Just keep your website looking good and the orders will keep coming in!

This letter was recently sent to the editor of Nation's Restaurant News, but you can read it here: 

A recent online issue of Nation's Restaurant News included a feature - 10 Ways to Build Business Inside Your Restaurant's Four Walls.  The article was good, with information and advice that all restaurateurs can use.  Might we suggest a follow-up article - 10 Ways to Build Business Outside Your Restaurant's Four Walls.

At the top of the list should be Online Ordering.

Allowing customers to order takeout or delivery from the convenience of the internet, including mobile phones and tablets, is a major innovation for the restaurant industry.  Studies indicate that customers like to place orders online due to the degree of control and convenience it provides.  Restaurants love it because they receive larger average tickets, the convenience encourages more frequent use, and they have the ability to sell more meals without overburdening the wait staff.  Of course, these are just a few of the benefits.

According to a study by the Cornell University School of Hospitality, 43% of survey respondents ordered food online in 2010.  Take that same group, and narrow it down to respondents between 18 and 35 years old, and it goes up to 60%!  Both these figures are at least a year old and we know they are higher now.  At NetWaiter, we venture to say that within the decade, and probably much sooner, restaurant customers will expect online ordering.  Within some demographics, this is probably already true.  Restaurants that don't have online ordering will lose out on valuable business from valuable customers.

A recent online issue of Nation's Restaurant News included a feature - 10 Ways to Build Business Inside Your Restaurant's Four Walls.  The article was good, with information and advice that all restaurateurs can use.  Might we suggest a follow-up article - 10 Ways to Build Business Outside Your Restaurant's Four Walls.

At the top of the list should be Online Ordering.

Allowing customers to order takeout or delivery from the convenience of the internet, including mobile phones and tablets, is a major innovation for the restaurant industry.  Studies indicate that customers like to place orders online due to the degree of control and convenience it provides.  Restaurants love it because they receive larger average tickets, the convenience encourages more frequent use, and they have the ability to sell more meals without overburdening the wait staff.  Of course, these are just a few of the benefits.

According to a study by the Cornell University School of Hospitality, 43% of survey respondents ordered food online in 2010.  Take that same group, and narrow it down to respondents between 18 and 35 years old, and it goes up to 60%!  Both these figures are at least a year old and we know they are higher now.  At NetWaiter, we venture to say that within the decade, and probably much sooner, restaurant customers will expect online ordering.  Within some demographics, this is probably already true.  Restaurants that don't have online ordering will lose out on valuable business from valuable customers.

It's no surprise that major restaurant chains in the U.S. were lobbying the NFL and the NFL Players Association to end the lockout that threatened the football season this fall and winter.  Restaurants popular with the football clientele were anticipating same month sales to be off a minimum of 10% to 15%. Some were predicting as high as 40%. 

But with the season starting this month, it's time for restaurants to gear up to attract the football crowd, and remind customers that ordering online through NetWaiter means a minimum of time away from their big screen television.

You can do this a number of ways:

1. Work with your employees and start a narrative with customers.  Football fans love to talk about game day plans.  Make sure they get the message from the wait staff that NetWaiter can make their pickup or delivery that much easier.
2. Brag about your online ordering site in signage and other point-of-purchase opportunities – table tents, signage at the cash register, your website, and even in the restrooms.  Make sure that everywhere your customers are, they know about your online ordering site.
3. Promote online ordering specials.  What are the offerings you have that are especially suited for football viewing?  Hot chicken wings, stuffed potato peels and pizza are all popular this time of year.  Can you offer a complimentary appetizer with each order of $40 or more?  Get creative!
4. Update your advertising.  Do you run regular ads?  Do you have a billboard around the corner?  How about radio spots during football programing or sports shows?  Make sure all these messages include online ordering for the football season.

Football season is a great business opportunity for many restaurants, and also a time to increase customer awareness about online ordering.  Long after the season is over, customers will still be bringing in extra sales with the click of their mouse and your NetWaiter site.  

NetWaiter, a premier provider of online ordering and marketing capabilities for restaurants, now offers the latest social media and search tool from Google, Google +1, as part of the package for all NetWaiter clients.  

GooglePlus1release1-PDF.pdf (305.69 kb)

Many restaurants have a philosophy about using multi-restaurant online ordering portals - they grit their teeth and do it. 

Most of the time restaurants allow themselves to be listed on portal sites to get any exposure they may bring.  According to a Cornell Hospitality Report, though, “nearly half of the consumers on multiple-restaurant sites (47.1%) said they clicked over to the restaurant’s own website to order their food” once they found a restaurant they liked. That’s good news for restaurants using NetWaiter – it can, not only save the restaurant a lot of money, but also allow the restaurant to interact with their customers directly, rather than be ‘commoditized’ on a restaurant portal.

The bottom line – portals can charge some outrageous fees.  According to a recent piece in Gourmet Marketing, a well-known portal site they investigated "keeps their contract terms behind close(d) doors, and the rates vary by restaurant. This incredible lack of transparency shortchange(s) restaurants… It gives restaurant owners little room to compare in competitive markets, especially as many times restaurant owners are bound by a non-disclosure agreement.”

The article notes that fees can range from 11% to as high as 20%.  In addition, restaurants don’t directly receive money from incoming orders – they have to wait for the portal to send them a check (minus their fees).  Not only that, as one restaurant owner admits, portal sites also use a restaurant’s customer list against you.  "I never see a report of who ordered through the portal," he said.  "I'm sure they are using my customer information to market themselves to other restaurants."

The message to restaurant owners is simple - if you use portal sites to help promote your restaurant, you should be very aggressive about converting those customers to your own online ordering site.  Rather than pay huge fees to a portal, customers that order directly from your site will allow you to extend your brand identity to them, receive payments directly, and capture your own customer information.

To capture those 47.1% of visitors that would rather order directly from your website, you need to make sure your ‘Order Online’ link is prominently displayed on your homepage.  Additionally, you should inform guests that have already used a portal to order from your restaurant that you have your own online ordering system, guaranteed to be up-to-date with the latest offers and menu information.  Including a flyer with each portal order or offering a first-time discount for using your system are good ways to make sure their next order will be “NetWaitered” from your restaurant.

 Many restaurants have a philosophy about using multi-restaurant online ordering portals - they grit their teeth and do it. 

Most of the time restaurants allow themselves to be listed on portal sites to get any exposure they may bring.  According to a Cornell Hospitality Report, though, “nearly half of the consumers on multiple-restaurant sites (47.1%) said they clicked over to the restaurant’s own website to order their food” once they found a restaurant they liked.  That’s good news for restaurants using NetWaiter – it can, not only save the restaurant a lot of money, but also allow the restaurant to interact with their customers directly, rather than be ‘commoditized’ on a restaurant portal.

The bottom line – portals can charge some outrageous fees.  According to a recent piece in Gourmet Marketing, a well-known portal site they investigated "keeps their contract terms behind close(d) doors, and the rates vary by restaurant. This incredible lack of transparency shortchange(s) restaurants… It gives restaurant owners little room to compare in competitive markets, especially as many times restaurant owners are bound by a non-disclosure agreement.”

The article notes that fees can range from 11% to as high as 20%.  In addition, restaurants don’t directly receive money from incoming orders – they have to wait for the portal to send them a check (minus their fees).  Not only that, as one restaurant owner admits, portal sites also use a restaurant’s customer list against you.  "I never see a report of who ordered through the portal," he said.  "I'm sure they are using my customer information to market themselves to other restaurants."

The message to restaurant owners is simple - if you use portal sites to help promote your restaurant, you should be very aggressive about converting those customers to your own online ordering site.  Rather than pay huge fees to a portal, customers that order directly from your site will allow you to extend your brand identity to them, receive payments directly, and capture your own customer information.

To capture those 47.1% of visitors that would rather order directly from your website, you need to make sure your ‘Order Online’ link is prominently displayed on your homepage.  Additionally, you should inform guests that have already used a portal to order from your restaurant that you have your own online ordering system, guaranteed to be up-to-date with the latest offers and menu information.  Including a flyer with each portal order or offering a first-time discount for using your system are goodways to make sure their next order will be “NetWaiter-ed” from your restaurant.

If you did a Google search for "Google +1 for restaurants", the first entry to come up is an article on FastCasual.com talking about NetWaiter imbedding this new social media tool into client NetWaiter sites. 

When a customer visits a restaurant’s NetWaiter site, they can click their Google +1 button, placing that restaurant on the customer’s Google profile as someplace they like and recommend. The Google +1 clicks can also improve their ranks in Google Search.

A June article in Mashable.com stated:  "Google’s hoping that +1’s integration in search results will make it an attractive option to publishers, which stand to gain more traffic when their visitors start '+1ing' content."  According to a Google blog post: “The next time your connections are searching, they could see your +1’s directly in their search results.”  FastCasual.com also mentions: "The biggest draw to Google+ is its potential to leverage every Google property, including Gmail, Maps, Places, Analytics, AdWords and Reader."

The increased focus on social media of all types is pervasive.  NetWaiter was the first web-based online ordering system to offer Facebook integration and we continue to see social media as an area for growth and a powerful tool to drive more business to our clients.  Google +1 is an option that can provide referrals to NetWaiter clients and NetWaiter wants to capture that benefit.  As the Google +1 network expands, it promises to have a substantial impact on everyone using Google, including customers searching for restaurants. 

QSRweb.com cited a recent forecast by the National Restaurant Association that in 2011, seven out of ten consumers stated they would try to eat healthier when dining out. Self, a women’s magazine, gets more than 1 million unique visitors each month to its online nutritional calculator. 

You guessed it - diners are becoming more health conscious.

This was the challenge that NetWaiter took on more    than a year ago when Greenz Salads - with three locations in the Dallas metropolitan area - asked for help with their  “Build Your Own Salad” menu offering.  This popular menu item allows diners to customize their own salad with  numerous ingredients, including the choice of lettuce, toppings, and a variety of dressings.

"The Build Your Own is a favorite of our customers," said Casie Caldwell, owner of Greenz Salads."  While we were  able to list the nutritional content of our other dishes, we didn't have a way to do it with that offering.  Every order is  different."

 NetWaiter worked with Greenz to integrate a nutritional calculator into their menu for the “Build Your Own Salad”  item.  As a diner builds their salad with their selections, the nutritional calculator instantly calculates and updates  the nutritional information as each option is selected.

 One of the goals was to create a tool that consumers were already familiar with.  The calculator reads like a  nutrition label found on items in a supermarket - listing not only calories, but also cholesterol, potassium, sodium,  carbohydrates and protein.

"NetWaiter was able to produce a great tool," said Caldwell. "The functionality is right on.  It gives us a competitive  edge.  We've since seen this concept copied by several large chains."

If you would like to learn more about NetWaiter’s nutritional calculator, or its implementation, please contact NetWaiter.

NetWaiter, a premier provider of online ordering and marketing capabilities for restaurants, offers another industry first--integrating QR codes into restaurant marketing. NetWaiter has configured a unique QR Code for every restaurant on the NetWaiter Network. When customers scan a restaurant’s QR code, they are immediately directed to the restaurant’s mobile NetWaiter site and menu.

QR Codes for Restaurants.pdf (137.08 kb)