Tips for Running Your Restaurant's Online Business Better

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Nowadays customer behavior is shifting, and your online presence is more important than ever. Every restaurant is feeling the toll of Covid-19 in one way or another, and it has become obvious that we can’t count on the dine-in restaurant experience the way we used to. Business owners must do their best to bring the beloved dining experience into the customer’s home, via an online restaurant presence. We’ve listed some strategies and tools to create an online take-out experience worth coming back for. 

1. Keep it Simple 

Make it easy on diners to browse your menu, craft their order, and pay by utilizing online ordering. Make sure there is a clear path on your website to place an online order, and simplify the ability for the customer to select their preferences. 

2. Be Mobile Friendly! 

Making sure your website is easy to navigate on a cell phone is vital as over half of all worldwide online traffic is generated via mobile devices. Chances are, your customers will be searching for your restaurant on their phone, and people get wary fast when something doesn't flow quickly and easily online. You risk losing them to the next local restaurant if they cant find what they are looking for in just a few seconds. Being ready to take online orders via a mobile device is a smart investment for your business. 

3. Photos sell

We can’t stress enough the importance of using high quality photos of your food. Photos are the best way to excite hungry potential customers, and stimulate the senses. Adding photos to your restaurant’s online ordering site increases the likelihood diners actually make a purchase. If you don’t have the budget or time for professional photos of all your dishes, look for tagged photos on social media and photos posted on review sites from customers. These free photos can help you build your restaurant’s photo collection quickly! 

4. Use Quick Links

Make your restaurant’s online ordering platform easy to find by:

  • Prominently displaying a link to online ordering on your website

  • Adding the link to your Instagram bio for quick access

  • Using the ‘Add a Button’ feature on Facebook (most restaurants use this for reservations. Update it for online ordering for the time being!)

Add a direct link to your Google business profile, so that hungry patrons can quickly place their order

5. Utilize Social Media 

In you or your staff’s spare time while business might be a bit slower than usual, connect with people on social media: follow, comment on photos, and share updates. If you’re not as social media savvy as some of your employees, utilize them to network via the restaurants’ social pages! 

Lastly, consider removing popular ordering platform brand logos and create buttons for 'Order for Pick-up' and 'Order for Delivery' to make the customer's decision based on those choices rather than their preferred platform. Our online ordering platform VersiEats makes it easy to make the ordering experience about your restaurant rather than our platform. We can help you add this service to your existing website and get started today! 

Adam Parish