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. 

We've seen rumblings of this in a few places across the media - as the economy crawls out of recession, diners are shifting back to the casual dining segment. Nation's Restaurant News cited this in an online article in late May.

According to the article: "Respondents devoted 37.7% of their restaurant spending to limited-service restaurants during the quarter, a decline from 41% - 42.1% during the previous year.  Meanwhile, consumers said they spent about 41.1% of their dining-out dollars on casual dining restaurants, up from 38% - 39.4% seen in 2011."

The market for casual dining is coming back and casual dining is a huge user of online ordering services like NetWaiter.

Also, according to Restaurant Hospitality, 84% of those restaurants that have a stand-alone mobile website see an increase in new business activity.

"We're starting to see the beginnings of a perfect storm for online ordering," said Jared Shimoff, a Sr. Director at NetWaiter.  "The market is shifting more towards the casual dining sector, and at the same time, we are seeing an explosion in the popularity of smartphones."

"All the data we've seen tells us that mobile websites, with the ability to place orders, continue to increase as a major influence on the restaurant market.  Thankfully, we’re able to keep our clients on the forefront of this growing trend."

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.

The National Restaurant Association has created an infographic to show what restaurateurs can expect about the increasing importance of online ordering, websites and electronic payment. 

What customers have to say:

• 61% say they have visited a restaurant website.
• 36% say they have placed an order online.
• 46% would use a restaurant’s smartphone app if available.
• 36% of customers have looked up nutrition information online.

What restaurateurs have to say:

• 48% of restaurateurs say that smartphone apps will become more popular.
• 82% of quick service restaurants say online and smartphone ordering will become more popular.

And about social media:

• 9 of 10 restaurateurs say social media will become more important marketing tools.
• Virtually all restaurateurs (95%) say they will be of Facebook in the next two years.
• 78% say they will be on Twitter.

NetWaiter provides an easy-to-read mobile website to every customer, along with a QR code that takes users to the site. NetWaiter was also the first online provider to offer those who order takeout the opportunity, when purchasing online, to automatically post their purchase to their own personal Facebook page. This also creates an automatic link for Facebook friends to go directly to that restaurant and order online, too. Call NetWaiter today at 866-638-9248. We can have you up and operating on your own mobile site in less than a week. 

If you walk into The Pickle Barrel, a sandwich shop in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the first thing you notice is all of the employees wearing T-shirts with QR codes printed on the back.  When they turn around, the front of the T-shirt reads: “Ask Me About Online Ordering.”

“We’ve been using NetWaiter for online ordering since January and we love it,” said owner Jen O’Brien, who opened the sandwich shop seven years ago in this town of 153,000 people.  “We have a lot of fun with it, and it’s convenient for both our customers and us.”

With the arrival of online ordering, O’Brien decided to step up some marketing to build its awareness.  She started placing a sign at a random location in the city, and then dropped daily hints on the restaurant’s Facebook site regarding its location.  Each person that found the sign and posted a picture of it on The Pickle Barrel Facebook page got entered into a drawing at the end of the week for a $25 gift certificate.

“In just a few days we got fifty new friends on our Facebook site and a ton of orders,” said O’Brien.

O’Brien has been using social media to promote the restaurant for a few years.  She readily admits that there is a good deal of experimentation involved.  “Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.  The nice thing about the NetWaiter Management Console is that I can see right away if a promotion resulted in more online sales.  I know what’s working.”

According to a recent article from Restaurant Hospitality, 30% of all traffic to your website comes from a mobile device.  In reality, that figure may be a lot higher, but 30% is still significant.  Here are some dos and don'ts for promoting your restaurant to mobile visitors and customers:

1. Create a mobile-friendly website.  Pssst... NetWaiter automatically creates a mobile site for your restaurant.  It's easy to use and folks love it, but it’s also a good idea to have a mobile friendly version of your existing homepage.  Provide customers easy navigation and show your critical information.

2. List your mobile site on sites such as Yelp, Urbanspoon, and Foursquare.  Your regulars may know where to find you, but others may be looking up your restaurant on their mobile device using one of these sites.

3. Keep it simple.  People care more about ease-of-use and functionality when it comes to mobile websites.  They just want them to work - so forget fancy graphics that take forever to load.  Keep it simple and easy to navigate.  Note: A mobile NetWaiter site is fast and easy to navigate.  

4. Make it easy for customers to find you.  Use a QR code on all your signage and spread the word that you have a mobile site and mobile ordering.

With more than 90 million internet-accessible Smartphones in the United States, mobile ordering and accessibility is something you don't want to miss!

Astute restaurant owners know that other restaurants are not their only competition.  There are many other businesses attracting the would-be takeout customer from your place.  Among them is the local supermarket and convenience store.

Online and mobile ordering can help you compete for more of those customers.

Jon Luther, chairman of Dunkin' Brands, in the keynote speech at COEX 2012 in Las Vegas last month, described supermarkets and C-stores as “the new elephant in the room" for restaurants, according to Restaurant Retailer News.

Shoppers are already at the store, and providing foodservice gives them an opportunity to integrate their meal purchases with other purchases.  Add to that an accessible location, plus lots of parking, and the choice is easy.  Because of this, many supermarkets are now including casual dining areas in their layout.

So, how do you compete against that level of convenience from savvy supermarkets?

Well - it’s an interesting challenge, and quite frankly, can be hard, but it’s not impossible.

First, think about what you have on your side.  Most customers carry a perception restaurants can provide a higher quality meal (and hopefully better value) than a supermarketselling pre-packaged meals (a.k.a. “Home Meal Replacements”).  This is especially true if your restaurant offers unique menu items.

Second, you have to battle convenience with convenience.  This is where your mobile ordering site becomes important.  Customers need to be reminded that ordering from your restaurant is easy and accessible.

We know that convenience is the top reason people order online.  So, spread the news about your convenient mobile ordering site and remind customers your food is high quality.  Stress the fact that your online site offers access to your full menu (compared to a very limited supermarket menu).

"You (supermarkets and c-stores) win people with service and convenience...", said Luther.

Restaurants just have to do it better. 

With any takeout or delivery order, it’s important not only to get the order processed efficiently and accurately, but to also guard against committing the errors that irritate customers most often. 

 Last month, QSR Magazine published an article about a study on takeout trends done by Techther. Among other things, it noted some of the biggest pet peeves consumers harbor when it comes to takeout:

•    Leaking food or liquids (52%)
•    Deterioration of food taste or freshness (49%)
•    Food that doesn't stay hot or cold (46%)  
•    Missing condiments (46%)

Another interesting piece of information: "About 60 percent of consumers also say that they are willing to pay more for takeout packaging made with sustainable materials. Trends toward sustainable, recyclable materials for takeout containers are taking shape at several major restaurant brands."

As you operate your takeout and/or delivery business, consider the above findings.  NetWaiter is all about providing your customers the most convenient and enjoyable way to order.  As long as you give the customer what they want, they are happy to pay for it.  Make sure a customer’s online takeout experience is finished nicely by avoiding these costly errors.

Mobile ordering at restaurants is here and growing rapidly.

If you had any doubts, take into consideration a recent report that Starbucks has processed more than 26 million mobile transactions so far this year.  Impressive, especially considering that 2011 was the first year they offered such a service.

Since launching, Starbucks has heavily promoted the ability for customers to pay for their coffee with their Smartphones – all the while – helping to train customers to use their mobile device when interacting with other restaurants.  We should all thank Starbucks for this.

Thank you, Starbucks, for making everyone more aware of how convenient a Smartphone can be for customers and its ability to help process payments (or takeout orders at other restaurants).

According to a July 2011 Pew Report, 1 out of every 3 mobile phones is a Smartphone and 25% of those users consider their Smartphone their primary link to the internet.

When NetWaiter launched its own mobile ordering platform, nearly two years ago, we automatically made it part of every restaurant’s ordering system.  Within a week, there was a substantial traffic increase, and it continues to grow rapidly.

NetWaiter’s technology is able to determine when a customer accesses a restaurant’s NetWaiter site with their mobile device.  The system automatically recognizes the device and displays the appropriate mobile site.  Navigation is made simple, ordering is simple, and payment is simple.

NetWaiter also makes unique QR Codes available for each restaurant, allowing takeout customers to scan the code with their Smartphone and immediately access the restaurant’s mobile site.  All the work is done by NetWaiter – if your restaurant has a NetWaiter site, you’re automatically provided a mobile site and QR Code, customized for your restaurant.

For more information about NetWaiter’s custom mobile sites and QR Codes, please contact NetWaiter.