Traditionally, people had to make calls to place orders or drive to the restaurants for a take-out, then wait for the food to be prepared and delivered. Sometimes, placing an order on the phone means that there could be mistakes in order. Clearly, these aren't really the best solutions to order food from restaurants especially for people with busy lifestyles.

The best solution is switching over to online ordering. Restaurants owners can use a website or an app or both that will not only make the ordering process easier for customers but also streamline restaurant operations. Having an online ordering system can make day-to-day operations more efficient for a restaurant. On the other hand, when a customer places an order online, they take their time to browse the menu and get familiar with add-on deals and offers that your restaurant must be offering. This can lead to an exponential increase in the total sale value per order.

By enhancing your brand’s online presence in the market, you can boost your sales with additional new and returning customers.

Having a strong online presence simply means being in front of your customers 24X7 without having to pay for expensive media advertising and billboards. How? Internet is a free community and all you need is a user-friendly website and a decent social media engagement on social platforms like Facebook and Instagram to reach your target audience. All this comes at a fraction of the cost that you would have spent on traditional means of marketing and promotions. You can also invest some time in creating a strong company profile on Google My Business so people looking out to order food in your area or in your delivery range can find your business with a quick search. Having a dedicated team that can post on social media regularly and engages with your customers will prove to be a good investment to drive traffic and sales on the website.

Who are your regular customers? What do they like ordering from your restaurant? Which food items are popular? Are they aware of the promotions and offers on the website? Do they prefer ordering from a website or app? These and many other related questions can be answered using analytics and insights provided by a robust online ordering system for restaurants. This data is valuable since you can use it to send targeted promotions to your customers and entice them to keep coming back.

In-house solutions allow you to analyze ordering trends and customer preferences in depth so you can customize your menu, offerings, deals prices, and so on to provide a tailored experience to everyone.

From meetings to crowded areas, there are times when one may not be able to make a phone call to order food. Online ordering allows customers to order anytime, anywhere using their mobiles, tablets or other handheld devices. There is no need for the customer to reach out and make a call meanwhile disturbing their privacy or disrupting a meeting for a lunch order. With a mobile app, the customer can quietly place an order without the hassle of talking over the phone. A mobile-friendly website or app  will make sure that you never lose a customer.

Because in the end, that's what that really matters!

According to the survey conducted by Restolabs' research team, it was found that Orders placed online are 20 percent larger on average, which means more revenue. When customers can browse the menu without feeling rushed bylines, they tend to spend more time deciding what to order. The math is simple: the more time they have to look over, the more they are likely to order. You can highlight specific items on menus and run promotions to influence their purchase. Now that’s a profit!  

Your restaurant seating capacity maybe 50-150 at a time, or even less, but with online ordering, you can reach thousands of people at a time,  and cater to a much larger number without having to make any additional investment in staff or infrastructure. All you need is a well-integrated online ordering system and you are good to go!