Online food ordering apps and websites are experiencing tremendous growth in the past couple of years thanks to their rapid extension in many new markets. The global online food delivery which now stands at $43 billion is expected to retain a growth of more than 3.5% per cent over the next few years according to a recent McKinsey report. This is already a lucrative market that restaurants and food makers have started to embrace as the next big growth opportunity. Question is if you have a restaurant or a food joint, how can you hop on this bandwagon for business growth. Let us explain some of the credible ways to do this.
As the lifestyle of people is becoming ultra-mobile, food delivery and restaurant apps are continuously getting popular. Just when you are getting ready for a working day, the breakfast is delivered at your doorstep and just when you are finished with the breakfast platter, the cab deliver is waiting to pick you up from the gate. Just mobile apps do it all. It gives you a complete and sophisticated lifestyle with everything delivered at your doorstep just when you need it.
Apart from contributing to the fast-paced and upmarket lifestyle, the food delivery apps are also making us truly international and cosmopolitan in taste and food habits. Keeping tune with this trend, a lot of developers are willing to take a lucrative share of this booming business. Obviously, when looking for an ideal restaurant app they just cannot look any further than Swiggy or Zomato.
- Encourage online order instead of telephone
Do you know three fourth of the food deliveries is now ordered over the phone? Well, over phone order volume is particularly bigger in many parts of the world and if they can be transformed into online orders it can boost the online food ordering economy significantly. Most of these orders still depend on the traditional mode of delivery which is counterproductive to the quality and revenue generation. A restaurant by having a robust online and mobile presence can easily encourage customers to place an order online.
- Create your own mobile app and website
Do you have a speciality restaurant producing and catering quality food? Do you like to expand your customer base without really looking for an increased footfall within the four walls of your restaurant? Do you want to deliver quality food at the doorstep of customers just after receiving orders online or through a mobile app? Well, there is no better way to hop on to the bandwagon of online food delivery industry than having your own website and unleashing your own app.
- Register with third-party online food ordering apps
If you are living in a metropolitan city you must have already heard about Swiggy, Zomato or Uber Eats. All of these are third-party apps allowing restaurants to remain discoverable with their food offerings and allowing customers to order their preferred foods from the restaurant of choice. This opened up a new economy with a win-win situation for all stakeholders including the restaurant businesses, customers and the apps creating and running such platforms. From stricter quality control to validating and tracking order and delivery in real time to promotions of restaurants and cuisine, such app-based food delivery opened up a new vista of opportunity for restaurant businesses.
- Scaling up sales through service
In the food and restaurant industry now you don’t just sell food but provide service as well. Often your service helps to sell your foodstuff by beating the stifling competition from other restaurants. This requires maintaining a stricter delivery schedule, transparent delivery process and keeping a vigilant quality control. It is crucial for your food to get delivered at the right time and right condition at the doorstep of the customer to gain a reputation. By cementing your reputation through service and by running promotions you can scale up the sales creating bigger revenue opportunities. The entire app-based food delivery model depends basically on scaling up sales through professional service.
- Mobile promotions
For a restaurant retargeting older customers and visitors with a promotional message is still not so common a practice. But it really works in boosting sales. When upon the arrival of a culinary range or upon the opening of a new restaurant branch in another part of the city you send a notification message to your older and frequent customers as well as the visitors, this really can end up reminding them of your great food and the way you care for them. Even if it doesn’t end up in sales conversion instantly, over time the practice pays.
Conclusion
Apart from the above-mentioned measures and time-tested ways to promote your restaurant food online and through mobile channels, you always need to be innovative in luring customer attention to your food offerings. Remember, food is cultural stuff closely related to various ceremonies and events and so, always try to grab the major public events and occasions to attract attention.