It’s no surprise that it’s the holiday season.  The big sales, endless carols, and countless commercials for the Snuggie® would have tipped you off if you hadn’t looked at your calendar recently.

Another nice thing about the holiday season: office meetings.  Office meetings are common this time of year as company employees collaborate to finish projects for 2010 and start planning for 2011.  This makes it a perfect time to take advantage of large takeout orders during lunch.

A Few Tips:
1)    Make sure your guests are aware that your restaurant is PERFECT for lunch orders.  Put up a sign, have employees tell customers in-person, and send out emails.  December and January are great months to take advantage of these orders, so continue promoting them into 2011.
2)    Try offering a discount for large orders.  For instance, setup a discount offer (either a percentage or fixed amount) for lunch orders that are $50 or more.
3)    You can also try offering a free item that is good for sharing OR a complimentary dessert for the group if they order above a certain amount.  (A dozen cookies will ALWAYS be well received by a group of employees.)

We saw three trends, among many, changing the restaurant industry this last year, and they can all be addressed with online ordering from NetWaiter. 

Have It Your Way — This used to be the marketing line of Burger King, but now everyone is on the customizable bandwagon.  Extra meat, extra cheese, replace the bun with a lettuce wrap. NetWaiter’s online ordering system makes it easy to allow for this type of customization.  Even when a customer has pre-paid for their online order and throws in a special request that should cost extra, NetWaiter has enabled a way for you to politely go back and charge them the additional fee (see our March newsletter, out in a few weeks).

Unconventional Hours — A substantial number of people saw their traditional jobs go away for good over the last decade.  Some estimates have as much as one-third of the workforce in “freelance” jobs.  Others are working two jobs to replace the one that went away, or commuting a considerable distance. The 9-to-5 workday has been replaced by “whenever and wherever."  Online ordering accommodates these new and unconventional work hours by making your menu always available and easily accessible.   

More Competition from Unconventional Places — Some hotels are pondering takeout parking spots for their in-house restaurant as they struggle for new ways to bring in more revenue.  Supermarkets and even big-box retailers like Wal-Mart and Target are offering pre-packaged meals for shoppers that are on-the-go.  To compete with these places, you need to be more convenient and innovative than they are, and never let your customers forget it.