Increasing restaurant sales online can really help your business grow. More people are ordering food online, so having a good online presence is important. According to a fact, 60% of restaurant operators reveal that offering delivery has resulted in further sales. For instance, pizza chains have seen an 18% increase in customers' spend on online orders. Restaurants can benefit from increased sales through online strategies. Let’s explore ten strategies that will assist a restaurant business in enhancing online sales and market competition!
Improve Digital Interfaces
Online dining options have been rising, and more and more customers are using delivery apps and websites to place their food orders. A record depicting the consumption pattern for the past couple of years also pinpoints that more than 60% of consumers currently order their foods online, and this trend could go up in the future.
Revenues for this year were estimated to be about 350 billion U.S. dollars for the United States and above 95 billion dollars in the meal delivery segment. By 2028, the market will continue rising, achieving more than the 500 billion mark in dollar revenues for the online food order and delivery.
Restaurants should focus on making their websites and mobile applications user-friendly and seamless by incorporating clear navigation, visually appealing designs, and features such as online reservations, menu previews, and mobile ordering to enhance their digital presence effectively. Discounts on products through such portals motivate customers to visit again.
Cross-Sell With Complementary Items
Customers can buy complementary items to accompany the main product, such as extra items for the main meal in a restaurant. For instance, a restaurant might serve a hors d’oeuvre of bruschetta or calamari before the main course of pasta or recommend a tiramisu as a dessert after an Italian dinner.
Drinks can also be matched to meals, such as a craft beer with burgers or a glass of red wine with steak. This way, restaurants can improve the quality of service while making higher sales because customers are offered additional products that match the products they are currently consuming.
Using this strategy increases revenue and leads to customers’ trials of new products, resulting in increased customer satisfaction with your restaurant.
Add Online Ordering
Offering customers an opportunity to order food through the restaurant’s online presence, such as its website or other applications, increases sales. Optimizing online ordering allows people to place orders anywhere, at any time. Flows enable faster transactions, reduce human mistakes, and increase customer satisfaction through its online ordering system.
According to a report, a customer who places an online order in a restaurant will return and visit the restaurant 67% of the time more than a customer who doesn't. In short, they are likely to return to the restaurant either because they enjoyed the meal or because they have already gotten used to the menu and service offered. Offering an easy and convenient online ordering option helps keep customers coming back, boosting repeat business and, in turn, overall sales.
Offer Delivery
Food delivery has recently become one of the best ways to boost restaurant sales, as families prefer meals to be delivered straight to their homes. One option is an alliance with third-party delivery services like UberEats or DoorDash; another is a restaurant providing in-house delivery. According to some restaurants using third-party delivery services, their sales grew 10 to 20%. Delivery services will enable more customers to reach restaurants, making the consumption process easier and enhancing both sales and customer satisfaction.
Optimize Your Website For Local Search
By utilizing local SEO tactics, you can put your website on the front line for people to discover in your area. First, work on updating your Google My Business profile and getting all the contact details, like phone contacts, hours of operation, and physical location.
Employ place-related keywords on your site to enhance your position on the local search engine, thus ensuring your neighboring clients locate you easily. A well-responsive website that can load fast on various devices is also important for usability and ranking.
One of the most effective and popular strategies is using the opportunities offered by social media platforms as a background for your online presence and website traffic booster. Combined, these are the approaches to increase your search visibility and drive more local customers to your restaurant.
Offer Upsells And Add Ons
Selling more specifically by adding extra services to the menu and providing an option to order online may greatly increase the average order value. For instance, recommend including more vegetables on a pizza or changing an ordinary garnish to a fancier one, such as truffle fries.
Desserts and drinks can be used as visual and taste additions to the main dish. For example, suggest having an espresso, chocolate cake, or a glass of lemonade before a salad.
Offering these options at the right time during order taking helps a client improve the order while increasing sales. This strategy enhances food sales and the customer dining experience.
Sell Gift Cards
One effective marketing strategy is to sell gift cards, which can become very profitable during this time of year. Gift cards also appeal to a particular target group since first-time visitors will likely become loyal customers.
It is convenient for customers to buy gift cards offered for sale on your website for self-use or as gifts to friends or relatives. This can also increase sales, as people frequently spend more than a gift card's face value. Marketing gift cards are also a great way to make gift cards visible and increase visitor traffic to your restaurant, which will ultimately increase sales and customer loyalty.
Use Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is an efficient way to expand this group's target market due to the influencer's reach and attract new clients. Local influencers can help restaurants reach their followers and spread the word to others in the community and fans.
These influencers can relate to your company’s targeted consumer demographics and share their real-life experiences at your restaurant on social media through stories and reviews. This leads to talking about your products and forces their followers to try out what you offer. Influencer marketing also allows you to identify target markets by finding influencers who match your restaurant’s ethos.
It is a very effective mechanism in growing your audience, creating word of mouth, and creating awareness of your restaurant to new customers who, in any other way, might avoid stumbling upon your business.
Adjust Your Menu To Consumer Trends
Any restaurant that wants to stay in business must keep abreast of consumers’ preferences. Consumers’ preferences change over time, and thus, the menu must be changed accordingly.
More and more restaurants prefer to use seasonal products to prepare dishes that contain fresh and locally available products during each specific season. It’s also necessary to incorporate changing trends within consumer diets, including vegan, low gluten, or low carbohydrate diets.
Another trend is consumers' concern regarding various exotic foods and new tastes. This explains why you must change your menu to match newer trends if you want to meet these needs and continue to offer different meals.
Increase Your Social Media Presence
Social media networks are important for creating customer interactions and marketing your restaurant. Sites like Instagram, Facebook, or even TikTok can bring more people into discussion using a quantitative and qualitative approach based on call graphics.
Almost all U.S. restaurants, 94%, watch their online reviews and social media to understand what customers think about their business. This helps them see their restaurant from the customer’s point of view. In fact, 57% of restaurant owners believe online platforms attract more customers than traditional advertising.
Upload high-quality images and videos of your food, the kitchen, and satisfied customers. Other proactive approaches include running promotions cuts across, special offers, and giveaways to increase traffic and subsequent sales.
Reaching out to your followers and replying to comments and messages also creates a feeling of oneness with the brand. Therefore, improving your social media presence will help strengthen your association with your clients and get more customers to your restaurant.
Optimize Your Restaurant's Online Presence With Checkmate
With Checkmate, you can manage your online orders and boost the sales in your restaurant. Order management through Checkmate allows the administration of more than one order within one system. This improves order accuracy, boosts customer satisfaction, and encourages repeat customers. By integrating Checkmate into your operations, you tap into the ever-growing demand for online ordering and delivery. Ultimately, you end up increasing sales while growing the customer base. Get a Demo by visiting our website today!
