How to Tell Customers About Online Ordering

Ben Beddow

Published May 14th, 2022

Your digital ordering platform is all set up, integrated with your POS system, and ready to take orders and direct them straight into your kitchen! You might know that it exists, after all you’ve had the idea and have been researching options for how to take orders from customers online for some time now, but do your customers know it exists?

They don’t yet, and there is a need to spread the word far and wide so you can satisfy the public’s growing need and desire for the convenience of online ordering. The last piece of the online ordering puzzle is to advertise your new ordering method to both your existing and potential customers, and you should use every means at your disposal to get the word out. Here are 9 great ways you can tell your customers about your new internet storefront.

How to Tell Customers About Online Ordering

Direct People to It on Your Website

57% of customers check out a restaurant’s website before deciding where to dine, this means that there are potential customers right at the gateway to your online ordering system. Make sure that the button for your online ordering stands out on your website. You could even consider adding a popup to your site that announces your new, online ordering function to every visitor.

In-Store, Print Marketing

It’s old fashioned but it’s still used because it works! Print marketing in your location is an excellent way to tell customers about how you’ve expanded to the internet. These can be strategically placed throughout the location in places such as: on tables, at registers, at host stands, on takeaway boxes, etc. Print marketing can also be placed in the windows of a venue to advertise the new offering to those people walking by outside.

Receipts

Almost every customer looks at their receipt in some form or another and all POS systems allow you to add a custom note to the bottom of every receipt. Announcing online ordering services in this part of a receipt is a quick and easy way to get this information out in front of your existing customers.

Verbally Inform Guests

Encourage your employees to tell guests about your online ordering offerings, where appropriate. If a guest is expressing satisfaction with their meal then they will probably be happy to find out that they can eat the same delicious meal in the comfort of their own home.

Phone Greeting and Voicemail

If you accepted phone-in orders before the introduction of your online ordering system you can set up a greeting on your phone announcing this to everyone that calls your restaurant. Make it welcoming, short, and snappy before it then pushes them through. You can also mention your online offerings in your voicemail should a customer not be able to get through to the venue.

Social Media

Social media is a free advertising medium where you can reach and relate to your existing customers in a personal way. You should create posts about your online ordering, both photos and videos, encourage the sharing of those posts, and you should also mention it in your profiles on these platforms.

Review Platforms

A staggering 92% of customers read restaurant reviews and 90% of people research a restaurant before visiting it. One of the main places where customers will research a restaurant is through review sites. You should have laid claim to your pages on these sites already and if you have then you can edit your venues description to include information about your online ordering platform.

Emails

If you send out emails to your customer then you can tailor an email blast to inform them of your restaurant’s online ordering offerings. If you send out things like birthday emails or anniversary offers then your online ordering platform should be mentioned in these emails too.

Visit Local Businesses

Businesses in your local area know you and your business and there’s no better way to spread the word about your online ordering than actually spreading the word yourself. Go out and visit the businesses around you, connect with them, and tell them about your new offering. Print marketing such as flyers can also be helpful when doing this as it gives them a permanent reminder of the purpose of your visit.

How Do You Encourage Online Ordering?

You may get the word out using the above methods but how can you give customers that extra nudge to place an order? Loyalty programs are one way with research showing that 45% of customers say that loyalty programs would encourage them to use online ordering systems more often.

In order to encourage customers to place orders you can also integrate deals and promotions into the above methods of promoting your online ordering platform. These offers can be structured in many ways, from percentage discounts to BOGOF offers and can also come in the form of a first time loyalty signup promotion to get them onto your loyalty program.

A Last Word

Once you’ve figured out how to take online orders your customers need to know about it. But promoting online ordering for restaurants is not a one-and-done event like setting up the platform is. In order to keep the orders flowing your platform needs to consistently be on display so that your customers, and potential customers, are always aware that your online storefront exists.

The above methods can be used continuously to promote and encourage restaurant online ordering and things as simple as a social media post or email can give your online ordering a momentary boost, excellent, perhaps, for when things have lulled in the middle of the week.

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