As you know, the "if you build it, they will come" strategy for marketing your restaurant is not the ideal way to maximize profits.  There is a little more to it.  Here are some tips to developing an online strategy for your business:

-    Takeout Customers are Different than Dine-in Customers.  Dine-in customers enjoy the ambiance and the ability to relax.  Takeout customers look for accuracy, convenience, and quality.  They want to get in and get out with as little fuss as possible.  What can your restaurant do to ensure your takeout customers have optimum convenience?

-    The Takeout Lunch Crowd is Huge.  Many people like to pick-up a quick lunch so they can take it back to their office and continue working.  Office parks, large service employers, and others are gold mines for online ordering.  How can you promote your online takeout business to nearby offices?

-    Think Like a Takeout Customer.  We didn't know we needed cell phones until we all bought one years ago.  Now we can't live without them.  The same can be true for takeout.  Often times, after a customer places their first order online, they never call-in again.  Thankfully, this helps with restaurant efficiency.  How can you inform ‘phone-in’ customers about your online ordering site?

-    Realize the Growth of Mobile Ordering.  According to Cornell University, 60% of respondents between ages 18 and 34 ordered online – more than any other age group.  Younger respondents are also more likely to order via Smartphone (8%).  If the last figure does not impress you, bear in mind that study was published in March 2011.  Since then, mobile has gone crazy.  According to a May 2012 figure, released by the National Restaurant Association, 46% of those surveyed said they would order via Smartphone if available.  How does your restaurant accommodate customers with Smartphones?

Online and mobile ordering is a boost to business.  Realizing that online and mobile customers have different needs will allow your restaurant to reap the maximum benefit.  If you need help answering any of the above questions, NetWaiter can help.

Social Embarrassment, in connection to a restaurant order, is a term that refers to a customer who holds back and doesn’t order everything they want - the extra toppings on a pizza, for example, or chili fries rather than regular fries - for fear the employee will judge them for their selections (unhealthy or otherwise).  If you remove human interaction from the ordering process, customers will have no shame ordering the high-calorie, and often more expensive, options.

For example, a regional pizza chain that implemented online ordering quickly noticed a shift in the nature of orders coming from customers who previously called in.  Social embarrassment seemed to no longer be a factor.  Customers loaded on additional toppings, spending an average of 61 cents more per order.

Although social embarrassment is surely a factor in human interactions at a restaurant, there is another, and perhaps more significant factor, at work here.  It deals with the social embarrassment of stumbling through a phone order with an employee who is also doing three other jobs.  Add in the background noise of ringing phones, other customers, and the kitchen and the result is a customer who feels pressured to keep their order simple and fast.  It’s not worth the hassle.  They will forego the double cheese and the sun-dried tomatoes on just half of the pizza (those are extra toppings and extra profits).

NetWaiter online ordering, though, takes this out of the equation because customers have full control of their ordering experience, without any pressure.

The other social embarrassment alleviated by online ordering is the pressure on employees who just don’t like to sell.  Most restaurant owners will agree that extra profits are lost because employees don’t always (or properly) upsell customers. NetWaiter, however, does this automatically.

People criticize the ever-increasing trend of taking human interaction out of business transactions.  It turns out, though; there are more benefits (for everyone involved) than downfalls when it comes to online ordering for restaurants.

There is a new feature available to all NetWaiter restaurants -- the NetWaiter Social Widget.  This dynamic tool allows restaurants to quickly communicate information with customers, and allows for instant customer interaction. 

Now, restaurant owners and managers can send out real-time updates to customers on all sorts of things. Announcements, new dishes, menu changes, or promotions can be posted on a restaurant’s Social Widget and instantly be available for customers to read.

NetWaiter was the first online ordering company to link Facebook to online ordering.  With NetWaiter’s new Social Widget, there is even more ability for restaurants and customers to interact.  It's all about keeping customers in the loop and engaged as much as possible.

If you want to run a two-hour special on appetizers on a Monday evening, the NetWaiter Social Widget is the perfect tool to get the word out.  Customers can also interact with a restaurant using the NetWaiter Social Widget, by giving a ‘thumbs-up’ to comments or making comments of their own.

Only customers who have placed orders, or those who are logged-in, can post comments and interact with a restaurant’s Social Widget.  Customers can also view comments of others, allowing them to share information and use the power of referral to influence each other’s ordering decisions.  Restaurants have full control of their Social Widget and the ability to delete any posts within their NetWaiter Management Console.

The NetWaiter Social Widget allows restaurants to step up communication with customers and encourage more interaction and engagement.  If a restaurant does not have the staff, or is unable to follow-up or monitor communications through the tool because of vacation or absence, they can disable the widget and then turn it back on at their convenience.