As the impact of the coronavirus is felt by more and more businesses, restaurants will be particularly affected by the crisis. The need for social distancing has meant that many have already had to close their dining rooms, with many more expected to do so in the coming weeks and months.
Restaurants continue operating in a take-away or delivery capacity. If you're a restaurant owner who has shied away from engaging in online ordering (perhaps you've even decided you don't want/need a website), this may well be the time to reconsider. While this crisis may be the impetus to move forward, it's likely that implementing online ordering for takeout and/or delivery will be a decision benefiting your business for years to come.
Here are the steps we recommend.
First, Understand Your Online Ordering System Options
There are lots of online ordering systems and delivery solutions designed specifically for restaurants, and if you're already locked in with one there’s no reason to ‘reinvent the wheel’ on account of the coronavirus. However, if you're just setting up online ordering for the first time, it is worth understanding at least the big differences in the approaches of these platforms and services.
Online Ordering & Delivery Services
You probably know about the major services in the category. Postmates, GrubHub, Doordash, Uber Eats, Just Eat and Takeaway.com, along with more niche players like Slice and Caviar, are collectively used by hundreds of thousands of restaurants around the world to take orders and deliver food to customers. A couple pluses of these platforms are that (1) they come with a built-in user base for your customers to access right away, which may be particularly useful during coronavirus, and (2) they provide a 3rd-party delivery service so you don’t have to manage your own delivery staff - although this might not be available in the more rural areas. While these online ordering and delivery solutions are convenient for both restaurateurs and their customers alike, they do take a portion of revenue from the sales of small business owners for each sale. However some of them, such as Uber Eats, have started to waive delivery fees for independent restaurants across the U.S. due to the ongoing crisis.
Standalone Online Ordering & POS Systems
ChowNow and GloriaFood offer commission-free online ordering systems and some services such as Toast also include the hardware for a POS specifically designed for restaurants. For detailed information on these and other online ordering systems, we recommend this SmallBizTrends article that goes into 10 of these solutions in detail. Generally speaking, Doggone Good Technology recommends GloriaFood
for restaurants just now looking to implement online ordering because of its low/no cost model and rapid deployment. These solutions do not include a delivery service, so this is something you need to realize and may want to make clear to your customers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Existing eCommerce Tools
eCommerce solutions may not be the first thing you think of when trying to set up an online ordering system, but the option is there. Doggone Good Technology is deeply integrated into Ecwid’s eCommerce platform and they provide a great example of a site that has been set up for online ordering over at https://tacoshopsandiego.ecwid.com/.
Next, Add an Online Ordering Solution to Your Website
Doggone Good Technology can recommend three different ways to integrate an online ordering system into a restaurant website.
Option #1: Add an Order Online Button That Links to 3rd-Party Solution. This is the simplest option for adding online ordering to your store. You integrate an Online Ordering Button with a deep link to another 3rd-party online service. You'll need to establish your account with the 3rd-party service and integrate a snippet of code it into your website or, in some instances your Facebook page.
Option #2: Embed the 3rd-party Online Ordering Solution in your Existing Website.Depending on your current website and the capabilities of the 3rd-party service, it may be possible to embed the service directly into your existing website. This option is subtly different than option #1, and we can explain the nuances.
Option #3: Use Existing eCommerce Solutions. If you're already working with an existing eCommerce solution, you may be able to leverage it during the COVID-19 pandemic to set up an online ordering system.
Finally, Promote the New Delivery or Take-Away Service
A strong social media presence, a regular flow of content (e.g. blog posts, videos, social posts with updates, etc.) and accurate, current information on a website will be needed to keep customers engaged now with online ordering and primed to fill dining rooms when the crisis subsides.
Here are a few guides and resources we think are helpful for restaurant owners to communicate effectively to their guests during the COVID-19 outbreak.
In summary, the COVID-19 pandemic is a life-altering event for everyone.
Doggone Good Technology is dedicated to supporting SMBs during this challenging time. And if you have questions, or need guidance, we can help you as our capacity allows. Gratis.
