Online food ordering software has become a crucial part of most restaurant businesses who are looking for ways to attract an increasingly digital focused consumer. We’ve discussed the multitude of reasons that an online ordering system is crucial for restaurants, but we wanted to list few tips on how to best setup online food ordering software that fits your particular business needs.
The first step to having your own online food ordering software is to have a website that keeps your brand at the forefront and is accessible on multiple devices. Don’t rely on third party commission based systems that act as restaurant consolidators/directory for consumers (i.e Seamless, Grubhub, Delivery.com). Although these systems serve a purpose in helping small businesses advertise to a larger audience, they are not meant to help businesses market their brand specifically and therefore have no value in building the relationship between restaurant and consumer.Your restaurant website should be built to allow for quick changes and provide the flexibility to test various CTA buttons, SEO content and images that best attract visitors and convert them into online ordering customers.
The next step in successfully setting up online food ordering software is to determine how you want to handle receiving orders at your restaurant. Depending on your restaurant’s physical setup, you may feel that you don’t have the technical infrastructure to get going. The online food ordering software that you decide to use should provide the flexibility to send orders to you the way you want them. For example, the 9Fold online ordering system allows for receiving orders by your choice of fax, email, SMS text and tablet with auto print. It also provides restaurants with a guarantee on not missing any orders due to a tech mishap or employee oversight as the support team will physically call a restaurant should an order sit for more than 15 minutes. Bottom line, find an approach you feel comfortable with adopting for your employees to use as well as they will be on the front lines.
Lastly, you need to determine the level of service you will expect from the online food ordering software you land on. If you find a “free” software to use, you will get the support that comes with anything free. zilch. There will be every day tweaks you may need to take care of for menu updates, applying coupons and managing various details such as hours of operation and delivery zones. The 9Fold system is designed to offer the best of both worlds allowing restaurants to access their cloud based personal platform 24/7 or by having the 9Fold support team handle it as part of the white glove service included with the software.
