Improving delivery has become a necessity for all restaurateurs who want to keep up with the times. In fact, more and more consumers are routinely ordering food at home (it’s easy, fast, and satisfies every palate) year by year.
If well managed, delivery can be an excellent revenue opportunity for restaurateurs as well:
- it is an excellent solution for those who do not have sufficient space to accommodate a large number of clients;.
- allows you to expand your clientele outside the range of the venue;.
- can increase the business volume of the restaurant, due to the increase in the number of orders.
However, to be successful in delivery, restaurateurs must be able to offer an overall satisfactory customer experience, ensuring the quality of food, the punctuality of delivery, and a good ordering service.
Let’s see together what strategies to adopt to improve delivery, increase earnings, and enhance customer satisfaction.
Optimize your menu to improve delivery
When aiming to offer an efficient delivery service, it is crucial to optimize the menu to ensure a good customer experience. It would be advisable to create a special “Delivery/Transportation” menu to be used only for customers who require home delivery and order pickup at the venue.
To improve delivery, it is important to simplify the menu, eliminating dishes that are difficult to transport, require ingredients that are too expensive, raise the price of the order, or those that are difficult to source (a customer who receives a dish without the expected ingredient may be dissatisfied, despite the quality of the meal).
It is also advisable to create specific sections within the menu for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, or children’s options.
Doing so makes it easier for those with special dietary needs to choose.
Promote your delivery service on the web
Aiming to improve delivery by making use of the Web requires a well-planned marketing strategy, including the use of a webwebsite and social channels, creating interesting content and promoting special offers.
- Opt for a website that is easy to navigate from both PCs and mobile devices (many people order via smartphones and tablets).
- Make sure that the menu is well visible within the site, so that customers can access it easily.
- Remember that a detailed and information-rich menu attracts more than a bare menu with no pictures.
Professional photos make all the difference: they give an accurate idea of the dishes that can be ordered and improve the overall judgment of the delivery service offered.
- Make high quality images, with proper lighting and an attractive background.
- In order not to disappoint customers’ expectations, it is important that the photos of your dishes are realistic.
Using social media is also a good strategy to promote delivery.
- Publish photos of your dishes regularly on your Facebook page and on Instagram.
- Promote special offers for delivery and takeaway.
Have you ever thought of posting short videos on your social pages or website as well, to generate interest and approach new customers?
- Resume your staff trying their hand at preparing a new dish from the “delivery menu”.
- Ask your most loyal customers to send you a video review regarding their order received at your doorstep.
- Talk about the strengths that distinguish your delivery (you can show, for example, the thermal box you use to preserve the quality of the food and the steps you take to avoid unpleasant snags during delivery).
Use an efficient digital menu to improve delivery
One of the main challenges for restaurateurs offering delivery service is to ensure a always up-to-date menu that is also easy to reference.
The perfect solution for improving delivery is undoubtedly the digital menu, such as the one offered for free by leggimenu.it: beautiful to view, updatable in real time, and shareable via qr code or link.
The one offered by leggimenu.it is an easy-to-use platform that allows you to independently create a digital menu in which you can enter all the information about your dishes (photos, descriptions, prices, allergens and much more).
Your customers will be able to consult the menu from any device, without having to download any app, they just need to scan your qr code or visit the link on your menu.
In the digital menu, you can easily add new dishes, delete those that are no longer available, change prices according to the needs of the moment, all in real time to ensure customers have an up-to-date menu.
But that’s not all: leggimenu.it also offers a number of additional features, such as the ability to receive and manage orders to improve delivery, without going through intermediary services.
Having an efficient digital menu will help you:
- improve delivery and order management.
- increase earnings.
- saving on the costs of delivery platforms.
Find out more about leggimenu.it
or read reviews of those already using the platform.
Promote delivery with dedicated offers
One of the most implemented strategies to improve delivery and earn more money is to apply dedicated discounts. Here are some suggestions to adopt:
- Offer a discount on large orders, customers will be incentivized to order more, increasing your sales.
- Organizes promotions at events and holidays (Christmas, S. Valentine’s Day, Black Friday), are times of the year when people are more likely to spend more.
- Launch flash offers, which last only for a short period of time, to create a sense of “bargain not to be missed”.
Suggesting discounts periodically is a smart way to grab customers’ attention and incentivize them to habitually follow your social pages, visit yourwebsite and your digital menu.
Monitor the delivery service by collecting customer feedback
Asking customers what they think of your home delivery service can help you identify strengths and aspects to improve for your delivery.
You could send them a short survey via WhatsApp or via email, including questions like these:
- How long did it take to receive your order?
- Did the order arrive in good condition ?
- Do you feel satisfied with the delivery service?
- What suggestions would you like to give us to improve delivery?
Gathering customers’ opinions will not only help you identify problems and solve them, but can also provide you with thevaluable information about customers’ wants and needs.
In addition, asking their opinion can also improve fidelity: when customers feel heard and understood, they are more likely to place new orders.
Now that you know what strategies are recommended to improve delivery and increase your venue’s sales, you just have to put them into practice. It is not necessary to implement all of them right away; you can start with the easiest one and proceed with the others later.
For example, introducing a digital menu in your business could be the first step to improve your delivery and provide a more pleasant experience for your customers, try it and see the difference!
