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What to Talk About on Social Media

Posted by Tim on February 11, 2015
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When it comes to social media, your restaurant probably has one or all three of the following: a Facebook page, a Twitter account, and a presence on Instagram.


What should you talk about?


A recent survey of more than 1,200 restaurant consumers asked what guides their choices when they decide where to dine or order takeout/delivery.


  • 83% said that treating employees well is important. Highlight your employee-of-the-month on social media. Did someone get a promotion, graduate from college, or do something great for a customer? That’s more social media material. 
  • 73% indicated that support of their local community influences their restaurant choice.  When you support a local community event, take some photos and post them online.  It makes a difference. 
  • When you promote menu items, keywords such as “fresh”, “locally-sourced”, “whole grain”, and anything “all-natural” are great to mention.


And to no one’s surprise …


  • The survey revealed that the convenience of an online ordering system shares the top spot with taste and quality, which is why you should always make your online ordering easily available to all customers.

Serving the “Need States” of Online Customers, Part 3 – Impulse Customers

Posted by Tim on December 1, 2014
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This is Part 3 in a series of articles about attracting the “need states” of online restaurant customers - the needs and key decision-making points of each customer segment.  Part 1 addressed Special Occasion Customers.  Part 2 addressed Routine Customers.  Today we address Impulse Customers.

Impulse Customers.  These are folks that make spontaneous dining decisions.  Here’s what you need to capture their attention:

  • Good Web Visibility.  This is especially needed with mobile devices where the likelihood of an impulse purchase increases. Make sure your website is mobile friendly.  Your NetWaiter site is already optimized for mobile devices, so you can redirect visitors directly to your custom NetWaiter page if needed.
  • Price Point.  The price point for this type of customer is often lower.  They may also trend towards ordering more snacks, rather than full meals.  They want to see options that fit their lower price points when searching your online menu. 

Impulse customers can also be found locally.  Make sure you do things that attract these patrons.

  • Email Marketing.  More and more people live their lives through their smartphones.  Reaching them while they’re ‘on-the-go’ isn’t a bad thing.  If they like what they see, they may be inclined to take action right then.
  • The LTO.  Limited time offers tap into the marketing tactic of “get it now or miss out.”  Offer them a special online-only deal, with a very limited window for them to take advantage.  Just make sure the offer gets to them before lunch/dinner.
  • Make It Effortless.  With NetWaiter, over 68% of customers choose to pre-pay online for their pickup or delivery order, if provided a choice.  Pre-payment makes it a smooth, quick transaction.

It’s also important to keep in mind that the need states of customers change.  Every customer, at one time or another, will be in one of these three need states we discussed.  Appeal to each one of these need states, and you will reliably attract more customers.

Important Stats on Mobile Devices and Restaurant Technology

Posted by Tim on November 14, 2014
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Recent research by the National Restaurant Association reveals stats that show just how important your restaurant's online ordering business is to certain customer segments:

Consumers that own smartphones or tablets:
  • 90% of 18 to 34-year-olds. All posts tagged 'Marketing'
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    Don’t Send Online Customers Away!

    Posted by Tim on August 22, 2014
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    Restaurants that link an online ordering portal to their website are turning business away and paying to do so.

    If you have an online ordering link to a portal showing on your restaurant’s website, you are sending customers from your site, where they are completely focused on you, to a place where they can order from a variety of restaurants.  You are essentially inviting them to order from one of your competitors.

    Within the overall marketing strategy of your restaurant, the purpose of a portal is to bring you new customers, not the other way around.  When you point customers to a portal to place an order at your restaurant, you pay extraordinary fees for that business.  If you’re sending repeat customers to place orders through the portal, it’s even worse.

    The average portal fee at Grubhub/Seamless is about 14% of each order.  With your own, individually-branded online ordering site, like NetWaiter, you would pay a small fraction of those fees.

    Customers come to your website because they are interested in your restaurant.  Don’t send them to a portal where you will either lose them to a competitor, or pay the portal’s huge fee.  Keep them on your site, accept their order directly, retain all of the customer information, and save money while doing so.

    Increasing Loyalty and Other New Data About Online Ordering

    Posted by Tim on August 1, 2014
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    A piece in PMQ Pizza Magazine reveals some new data about online ordering.  It’s good stuff to review: 

    • Online ordering has an average customer return rate of 95%.  This means you can boost customer loyalty with minimal effort, other than implementing an online ordering system.
    • The younger generation (i.e. millennials) is much more comfortable online, compared to talking with someone.  That’s how they’ve grown up.  It’s not hard to imagine why they flock to online ordering. 
    • Some restaurants report that a popular promotion to drive customers to their online ordering site, and keep them coming back, is a weeklong offer of deep discounts; 25% to 50% off a high-profit menu item seems to do the trick.
    • According to one restaurateur, twice-a-week email blasts from your NetWaiter Management Console to customers with a special offer is another way to generate more business.  NOTE: Be careful with this type of customer engagement, you don’t want to alienate customers by emailing them too much. 

    Word-of-Mouth Has to Start Somewhere

    Posted by Tim on July 18, 2014
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