This month, we wanted to highlight some NetWaiter tools available to restaurant owners. 

NetWaiter Social Widget – About a year ago, we unveiled the NetWaiter social widget.  If enabled, this field appears on the front page of a NetWaiter site, allowing restaurants to post announcements, updates, or promotions.  You can advertise the soup-of-the-day, a special on a popular appetizer, or some other message that lets your customers know what’s going on at your restaurant.  Customers can also use it to interact with your restaurant, leave comments, or giving a ‘thumbs-up’ to one of your posts.  Of course, as owner, you have control over what messages are displayed and can edit posts in the NetWaiter Management Console.

Hide / Show Functionality - Many restaurants have special dishes or items with limited quantities.  “Homemade Lasagna” is a good example.  If your restaurant were to run out of Lasagna, or any other dish, you can simply ‘Hide’ the item in your Management Console to temporarily make it disappear from your online menu.  When it becomes available again, simply ‘Show’ the item.  This prevents the need to delete and re-add items, and also keeps hidden items in the same position on your menu.

Variable Prep Times – NetWaiter just released a new feature that allows restaurants the ability to configure Prep Times based on the time and day of the week.  The normal "Default Prep Time" allows restaurants to indicate when an order could be made immediately available (i.e. 15 mins).  During rush periods, however, it may take longer for meals to be prepared.  This feature lets restaurants configure different Prep Times based on the day and time.  Is Friday at 6:00pm busy for your restaurant?  Solution: set your Prep Time to 25 minutes, rather than your normal 15 minutes.

While the economy may be showing signs of vibrancy, consumers remain cautious. A recent article in PMQ Pizza Magazine, however, reports that loyalty programs can be an effective weapon for restaurants in these times.

“Acquiring new customers is incredibly expensive," said Logan LaHive, founder and CEO of a loyalty program developer in Chicago. "Because you get 80% of your revenue from 20% of your customers, rewarding loyalty is the best tactic."

If you use or are thinking about implementing a loyalty program, here’s some useful information:

•    A recent study revealed that 33% of consumers view loyalty programs as very important during tough economic times.
•    The same study reveals that consumers spend 17% more on visits that include a loyalty program.
•    Loyalty programs are not viewed as giving away products or providing heavy discounts, which may cheapen your restaurant in the eyes of customers.
•    When a customer enrolls in a program, you officially establish a relationship, as opposed to someone using a coupon that you may never see again.
•    Refrain from asking customers for all of their information at once. Start with a name and email address. Later, you can ask for their mailing address, phone number, and more.
•    A loyalty program that works in unison with a recognized charity is often viewed favorably by customers.

With the widely recognized importance of social media, NetWaiter recently introduced another Facebook integration, called the NetWaiter Ordering App for Facebook.

With NetWaiter’s new Facebook App, customers are able to place orders directly from a restaurant’s Facebook page.  When customers visit a restaurant’s Facebook page, they can simply click “Order Online” and place their order.

According to a recent study by the National Restaurant Association, more than 95% of restaurant owners and managers acknowledge they will be on Facebook within two years.  "Social media is an increasingly popular way for restaurants to connect with customers,” said Jared Shimoff, a Sr. Director at NetWaiter.  “The new NetWaiter Ordering App for Facebook provides restaurants more exposure and allows customers another easy way to place orders,” added Shimoff.

This new Facebook App is not NetWaiter's first foray into social media.  In 2010, NetWaiter became the first online ordering provider to integrate Facebook into the ordering process.  When a customer orders online from a restaurant using NetWaiter, they can click a Facebook icon to quickly login and complete their order.  With the customer’s permission, a post is made to their wall/timeline that lets their friends know about their recent order.  The post includes the restaurant’s logo and a link for the customer’s friends to view their menu and also order.

The NetWaiter Ordering App is easy to install.  Restaurants can start the installation process from their NetWaiter Management Console and have it working on their Facebook page immediately.

Part of running any successful business is making it easier for customers to purchase your product.  It’s the same for restaurants. 

As Rob Hough, of Technisource, said in a recent QSR article, “Sometimes technology can boost customer experience." 

We agree, especially if an improved customer experience makes it easier for customers to make a purchase.  So, the question is: How does NetWaiter improve the customer experience?  We polled some clients to hear what they have noticed with their customers.  Here is what they shared:

Denise Pontillo of Pontillo's Pizza, with multiple locations in New York, says that it's all about convenience.  "We get a lot of customers ordering from the office.  They don't want to get on the phone at work, so they get online, sometimes from their cell phone, and schedule their pick-up or delivery.  The convenience is what they are looking for."

Steve Osterholz of The Jackson Underground Cafe, in North Carolina, agrees and says, "It's all about convenience.  People really like it.  They are creatures of habit.  NetWaiter automatically has their last order in the system.  Customers love to just re-order.  It is a more convenient platform to use."

Mark Forinash of Cafe Moxo in Springfield, Illinois, reveals that his customers’ convenience really pays off.  "We've seen online ordering ticket sizes double.  When customers call in, there is a lot of background noise.  Employees try to take their time, but they're often in a hurry.  Unconsciously, the customer keeps the order short.  With NetWaiter though, people can take their time and go through the menu at their own pace."

Andrea Snyder of Urban Cookhouse, with multiple locations in Alabama, says that online ordering results in larger orders for her restaurants too.  "We use NetWaiter for our catering business.  A lot of pharmaceutical reps and law offices order from us.  When these large orders come in via telephone, customers often try to negotiate, which cuts into our profit margin.  Catering orders coming in online, however, obviously bypass that process.  The customers are happy to trade saving a few dollars for the convenience NetWaiter provides them."

Customer is king in any business.  By encouraging your takeout customers to use NetWaiter, their improved experience will lead to your improved bottom line.

As you know, the "if you build it, they will come" strategy for marketing your restaurant is not the ideal way to maximize profits.  There is a little more to it.  Here are some tips to developing an online strategy for your business:

-    Takeout Customers are Different than Dine-in Customers.  Dine-in customers enjoy the ambiance and the ability to relax.  Takeout customers look for accuracy, convenience, and quality.  They want to get in and get out with as little fuss as possible.  What can your restaurant do to ensure your takeout customers have optimum convenience?

-    The Takeout Lunch Crowd is Huge.  Many people like to pick-up a quick lunch so they can take it back to their office and continue working.  Office parks, large service employers, and others are gold mines for online ordering.  How can you promote your online takeout business to nearby offices?

-    Think Like a Takeout Customer.  We didn't know we needed cell phones until we all bought one years ago.  Now we can't live without them.  The same can be true for takeout.  Often times, after a customer places their first order online, they never call-in again.  Thankfully, this helps with restaurant efficiency.  How can you inform ‘phone-in’ customers about your online ordering site?

-    Realize the Growth of Mobile Ordering.  According to Cornell University, 60% of respondents between ages 18 and 34 ordered online – more than any other age group.  Younger respondents are also more likely to order via Smartphone (8%).  If the last figure does not impress you, bear in mind that study was published in March 2011.  Since then, mobile has gone crazy.  According to a May 2012 figure, released by the National Restaurant Association, 46% of those surveyed said they would order via Smartphone if available.  How does your restaurant accommodate customers with Smartphones?

Online and mobile ordering is a boost to business.  Realizing that online and mobile customers have different needs will allow your restaurant to reap the maximum benefit.  If you need help answering any of the above questions, NetWaiter can help.

Some helpful social media tips came out of a recent “Summer Brand Camp Conference” as reported by Nation's Restaurant News.  Here they are, along with some of our own thoughts-

Facebook is still the most favored platform.  There are others, but Zuckerberg's baby seems to pay off the most.  Our guess is that both your kids and your grandma are on Facebook.  It's easy to use.  Twitter, while popular, is perceived as slightly more technical.

Simplicity is key.  Short and visual messages often get the best response.  The top Facebook post for Buffalo Wild Wings was a tantalizing photo of a glass of beer and the post: "Mmmmmm, Beer."  People love pictures.

Social media should be a conversation - not a sales pitch.  If you’re always trying to hawk your product, people find it annoying.

Resist the urge to jump right in and defend you restaurant against a negative post.  Other customers may step in to defend you, which looks better and may prevent you from getting into an online squabble.

Folks love video, and everyone can be a videographer with a smartphone.  Some smartphones even allow you to edit videos on the device.  Tell customers if they make a good video about your restaurant, you’ll post it online.

Integrate social media with other marketing efforts.  If you’re advertising anything offline, you should include your social media information too.

More than one location?  It might be best for each location to conduct their own social media efforts if each has its own character.  A sandwich shop in an industrial center will have a much different vibe than the same brand in a college town.

These suggestions are quick and easy, but remember – all markets are different – do what works best for your restaurant.

The onset of summer brings a unique opportunity to use NetWaiter to get more customers into your restaurant, at minimal expense.           

With longer, warmer evenings, towns across the country have free movie night and free music night at local parks and other venues. Some of these events draw hundreds of people , even thousands. They bring dinner, spread out a blanket and enjoy the evening.

Locate these events in your market. They typically start with the end of school and are held weekly for four to eight weeks. On the first evening, blanket every windshield in the parking lot and surrounding streets with flyers advertising your NetWaiter online ordering capabilities. Consider offering an event special for online orders--a free bucket of wings with every order over $30, or an offer that works with your menu.

"The trick is to get customers familiar with your online capabilities," said Jared Shimoff, Sr. Director at NetWaiter. "Once you do this, they'll surely find other uses for it. A thousand flyers at the beginning of the summer, and paying some high school kids to distribute them, will give you customers for the rest of the year."

Some of these events also offer sponsorships, including the opportunity to have a commercial read over the P.A. system during the event.  Every event is different. Explore the possibilities. Let us know how things go. 

Anyone who has owned a computer has suffered from some sort of data loss - even if it was just due to closing a document before clicking ‘Save’.  After getting over the paralyzing fear of losing information, you have to start over again.  It sucks. So, it’s only natural, in this information-driven age, to ask, “Can I rely on NetWaiter to handle all of my orders, make sure they get to the right place, AND store my information safely and securely?”

It’s a good question.  Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at your ‘Online Ordering Cloud’ -

NetWaiter uses only the most reliable systems.  Our servers are hosted at co-location facilities, which are secure data centers that many large businesses use to run their networks and systems.  The facilities are unmarked, climate-controlled, have advanced fire and water protection systems, on-site security, multiple power backups, and multiple internet feeds.  If power is lost for an extended time period, the facilities are on a distribution schedule for fuel to run backup generators indefinitely.

The security of equipment and data is also protected.  Employees at the facilities have limited access to the equipment and all visitor ingress and egress actions are escorted.  Even login access by NetWaiter employees is limited to only the information and data they need to do their job.

After reading some of this, you may wonder why we operate like the Pentagon.  Well, truth is – while we understand we’re not protecting nuclear launch codes, we still take our clients’ businesses seriously.  They use NetWaiter for a simple reason – we’re the best at what we do.

It’s important for our clients to have an online ordering system that is rock-solid and feature-rich to remain competitive in today’s marketplace.  You can rely on NetWaiter to protect it.