What You Need to Know About Millennials

Posted by Tim on September 16, 2013

Much has been made of the Millennial generation. As customers, these young folks--18 to 39 years old--are an important group.  There are more than 80 million of them in the U.S. That's a lot of restaurant meals. Coincidentally, you will also find that this group is most apt to use online ordering.

A few facts about Millennials:

 

 

  • They want one-to-one interaction with the brands they use. They are inundated with commercial messages, and more and more they are blind to them. Engagement is the key to this group. They pay attention only to those who understand them and their lifestyle.
  • Millennials rely on their mobile devices. According to Millennial Marketing, 75% percent of this group use their smartphone as a personal shopping assistant, and 73% are transacting directly on their mobile devices.
  • Millennials check their Facebook status six to eight times a day on their smartphones.
  • Millennials see their smartphone as the principal lifeline to their world. According to a study by Zipcar, thirty percent of people falling into the Millennial label said giving up their mobile phone would have the greatest negative impact on their life -- two to nearly three times higher than any other age group in the survey. The answer in every other age group--their car. Translated: Millennials would rather give up their car than their smartphone.

 

What do you do with this information? Reflect it in your marketing. Select events and causes that matter to Millennials. Base the decor and the artwork in your restaurant on what you known Millennials like (you can find this information on the Internet).

And make sure your Millennial customers know you offer online ordering, because--you know--Millennials love their smartphones.

 

 

 

Quick! Get Some Video on YouTube

Posted by Tim on August 29, 2013

A recent article in the online version of QSR quotes a 2012 Nielson study revealing that more than 90 percent of consumers say that recommendations from friends and family have the biggest effect on their purchasing behavior.

The Zocalo Group, a marketing agency in Chicago, reveals which social media tools work best for restaurants.

Although it is frustrating that they don't include any quantifiable numbers in the article, according to Paul Rand, the CEO of Zocalo, the #1 most credible source is YouTube. This is followed by someone liking a brand page and sharing it. The third favorite online vehicle for consumers is online brand reviews. 

The information was collected for Highly Recommended, a book Rand will release soon.

Rand says brands also shouldn’t be afraid to ask guests to give a recommendation. “Whether you’re large or small, give people opportunities to do what you want them to do," he told QSR Magazine. "People will recommend all day long when you ask them to do it.” 

Important Stats About Mobile Online Ordering

Posted by Tim on August 19, 2013

With the capability of internet access on most mobile phones, ordering online from a mobile device quickly became a natural fit for restaurants.  Each day, we see more and more feedback from restaurants and published information that reinforces how and why restaurants benefit from mobile ordering.


Recently, we came across information from a study by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and Viggle, an interactive media platform.  Take a look at their findings:

•    69% of those polled have ordered food via the mobile internet at least once, and use mobile devices for information/research even more frequently.
•    44% of those surveyed use a smartphone or tablet regularly to find a phone number.
•    39% use their smartphone or tablet to see a menu, 38% to find location, and 35% to check hours.
•    72% of respondents say they order pizza via the mobile internet, making it the dominant online-ordered cuisine.
•    78% of respondents said discounts would make them more likely to order.

Convenience is the largest benefit cited by customers ordering online.  Make sure your customers know about the added convenience your mobile site brings to their smartphones.

Too Big a Slice (of the Restaurant Pie)

Posted by Tim on August 9, 2013

Recent articles in respected business publications reveal that restaurants are seriously questioning the business sense of portal sites that offer online ordering.  An article in Bloomberg BusinessWeek relates how Pedro Munoz, owner of Luz, a Latin American restaurant in Brooklyn, NY, has decided to drop his portal service with Seamless.

 

The good news is that Munoz has been sending out information with his takeout and delivery orders, directing customers to use his custom online ordering site – powered by NetWaiter.

In the articles, Munoz cites the factors that make portals an untenable situation for his restaurant, and others:

High fees.  Munoz paid Seamless a 14% commission on all orders, plus additional charges for advertising and credit-card transactions.  Considering that some restaurants don't realize a high profit margin on some dishes, this doesn’t leave much profit.

Turnaround time for payment.  Munoz and other restaurant owners had to wait up to 30 days for payments that were processed through Seamless to reach his account.  He says that Seamless was holding as much as $20,000 at some points.

Similar complaints have been made by other restaurants against other online portals.  “It’s awesome if you’re a customer.  It’s great,” Munoz told Bloomberg. “But in all aspects, it’s killing the restaurants.  It’s a model that cannot be sustained.”

Simple Steps to Boost Online Ordering at Your Restaurant

Posted by Tim on August 9, 2013

The advantages of online ordering are undisputed.  Customers love the convenience and accuracy.  You love that you can sell more meals without the added traffic in your restaurant.

So how do you encourage your customers to order more online?  Here are some simple steps you can take to make the online option more appealing.

Make the Order Online button more visible on your website.  We at NetWaiter are forever amazed at restaurants that require you to click through two or three screens before there is anything that tells the customer they can order online.  That button should be on your homepage, preferably at the top so the client does not have to scroll down.

A call-to-action.  Something as simple as, "Order Now!" is enough to get folks to click on the button. Maybe enclose it in a blinking star - the web is so distracting that sometimes you need some extra pizzazz to call attention to the otherwise obvious.  If you want to get serious, you can add a discount offer - 50% off your second dessert when you order online.

Offer curbside service.  For some people there is only one thing better than walking into a restaurant and picking up an order ready to go - pulling up to the restaurant and having them bring it out to them.  They don't even have to get out of the car.  Allow the customer to enter their vehicle description when placing the order.

How Important is your Website and Electronic Outreach?

Posted by Tim on July 31, 2013

Are you considering SEO--search engine optimization--for your restaurant? Read this.

According to OpenForum.com, Adobe recently put out a study of the importance of website optimization activities. The survey covered 1,800 digital marketers, asking them about their activities in this area.

Eighty-six percent of the companies spent less than 15% of their marketing budget on website optimization activities--search engine optimization and other web-based campaigns. Slightly more than a third of those reported website conversion rates below 1%.

Those companies who  upped that investment to 25% of their marketing budget were twice as likely to enjoy website conversion rates of at least 9%. That means increasing your SEO budget by two-thirds can net an increase in results of as much as nine fold.  

This survey was across all business types, so it is not specific to just restaurants, but the general results are probably close.  According to a 2013 survey released by IAB and Viggle, 69% of those polled have ordered food via the mobile internet at least once, and use mobile devices for information/research even more frequently.

Investing in SEO will bring customers to your website and subsequently through your front door or to your NetWaiter online ordering website. 

Being More Convenient Than Supermarkets

Posted by Tim on July 18, 2013

 

This threat to restaurants keeps coming back.

A new study by the NPD Group, as reported in FastCasual.com and Supermarket News, predicts that within the next decade the market for prepared food and ready-to eat meals will increase more than 10 percent, compared to a 4% increase for commercial foodservice.

Supermarkets, convenience stories and even drug stores will be taking a bigger chuck of the traditional restaurant business.

Clearly these are restaurant customers who are interested in convenience. The key to not losing business share is to be more convenient. Online ordering can be a valuable ingredient in your marketing toolbox to reach these customers.

Some of the benefits of online ordering over ready-to-eat meals at retail outlets:

Selection--Ready-to-eat meals rely on a limited selection to appeal to all customers. Online ordering allows your customers to tailor their meal  from your menu.

Freshness--Ready to eat meals are typically prepared days in advance. Even hot food in the supermarket deli has been on display for hours, and picked over. Restaurant meals are fresh and cooked to order.

Time--A meal that has been ordered online is ready to go. Customers only need to park, walk into the restaurant and walk out of with their purchase. A ready-to-eat meal means negotiating a crowded supermarket parking lot, finding out what selection is and is not available, standing in the check-out line and then getting out of the parking lot.

Online ordering is the boost you need in the ever-competitive food service industry. 

 

Score Big with Secret Menu Items Online

Posted by Tim on June 26, 2013

Everyone likes to feel as if they are an insider, that they know things other folks don't know.  This includes secret menu items at restaurants.


What's better than a secret menu?  A ‘secret’ menu only available to online customers.

"Online ordering is a natural for ‘secret’ menu items," says Jared Shimoff, Sr. Director at NetWaiter.  "Obviously, it’s impossible to keep things a secret when you post infor
mation online, but keeping certain menu items exclusive to your online menu will encourage people to gravitate to your online site and help set your online menu apart from menus at other restaurants."

Often times, secret items are similar to regular items, but in different presentations.  For instance, McDonald's purported Monster Mac - a Big Mac with eight patties (can you say heart attack?).  The ingredients are already on hand.  Alternatively, secret menu items can also allow you to experiment with new offerings before rolling them out to the mainstream.

"If you have a secret menu or customers know the secret menu, they feel like they're insiders," Bret Thorn, senior food editor of Nation's Restaurant News, told NPR News.  "They feel a kind of personal connection to the restaurant; they feel they know something that maybe not everybody else does.  And everyone loves that."

Takeout Can Be A Wiser Consumer Purchase

Posted by Tim on June 21, 2013

Takeout continues to grow as a percentage of takeout business for restaurants. No wonder when many popular meals are more expensive to make at home (according to this Yahoo article) than ordering at a restaurant. And that says nothing about your time involved in putting the meal together. 

Take full advantage of that takeout market with online ordering from NetWaiter

Tips for the NetWaiter Management Console

Posted by Tim on December 13, 2012

Quick Tips

A recent article from RunningRestaurants.com cited some interesting facts:

Fact #1 - Most restaurant owners spend 90% of their marketing dollars in an effort to drive new traffic.

Fact #2 – Business from new customers typically represents only about 10% of a restaurant’s growth opportunity.

Essentially, the majority of growth potential for your restaurant lies with your existing customers. NetWaiter can help you cultivate those customers to become better customers.

A normal “phone-in” customer is impossible to track.  NetWaiter customers, however, are tracked and their information is accessible in your NetWaiter Management Console.  With that information, you can pursue several tactics to enhance your existing business.  Here are just two very quick tips -

1.    Launch an Email Campaign – Let customers know about special offers, upcoming events, and promotions.
TIP: Email customers who have not ordered in a while. Let them know about your newest dish or treat them to a complimentary dessert with their next order.

2.    Examine your menu for items that complement each other.  Sam Walton discovered people who bought milk (a low-profit item) often bought bananas too (a high-profit item).  Sam’s solution: position bananas near the milk to help drive-up profits.  
TIP: Find a popular low-profit meal that customers often order (your “milk”) and offer a promotion on a high-profit item if they order it with the “milk” item.

The best part of these marketing efforts - they cost nothing but the time it takes to create them.  The information and tools are already available through your NetWaiter Management Console.

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