Updated September 10th 2013
Takeout and delivery sales account for a significant portion of the total sales of a restaurant mainly because they are convenient for most busy customers. To improve the impact of these services you need to market them to your potential clients.
Dining experiences continue to be reshaped by consumer desires and needs. Modern lifestyle makes it difficult for busy people to make their own food and the majority don’t want to dine in restaurants. This is basically what makes Takeout and delivery the best alternative for many who prefer dining at home but don’t have time to cook. For instance quick-service restaurants depend on takeout business for over half of their customers. The main advantage of this type of business is that it improves sales without necessarily increasing operational costs.
For your Takeout and Delivery business to be successful you need to market it to all potential customers including local businesses and corporations. But before marketing these services ensure that you are ready to offer them. Make sure you have the right packaging and the appropriate means of transport to the customers.
The best marketing tools for Takeout and Delivery is social media like buttons. These menus should only have those items that are easy to package and transport for long distances. Avoid foods that can easily get cold as the customer may not be pleased. To reach a wider customer base, print many takeout and delivery menus and flyers and distribute them all around the community and add them to your deliveries. Ensure that you also place them to local businesses and corporations.
The restaurants website and social media accounts also come in handy when marketing your Takeout and Delivery business. These days most consumers search for any goods and services they need online. You need to advertise these services online, the rates you offer, and the menu. You can also design an online takeaway ordering system to make it easier for customers to place their orders and pay for them. Social media accounts like Facebook and Twitter are most suitable for marketing your services.
Remember to add your Takeout and Delivery services to other third party information or delivery providers. They have usually already developed their own customer base and let you take advantage of this network, while you work out operational issues.
Other traditional advertising mediums like newspapers and television are also effective in marketing your Takeaway and delivery services to a larger audience. You can advertise your menu on the newspaper, radio, or television. This strategy is sure to bring a sizable return within a short while. However this method is only recommended for larger establishments like chain restaurants as it is costly compared to the other marketing methods.
In order to establish a successful Takeaway and Delivery business you have to establish a database with all the customer information. This is important as such details will be useful for your direct marketing campaign. It helps to know customers preferences as it is important for direct marketing promotions. There are a number of effective methods of getting customer information, a few of which are listed below.
- Via the Telephone- you can always record the customer’s details when he/she is making an order via the telephone. Make sure you capture the name, address and email.
- On online order forms- whenever a customer places an order online, he/she has to complete the order form and provide his name, address, and email for communication. You can always add this information directly to database. See tools like Infusionsoft or CREDEMA for further information.
- From text messages- if you receive orders via text messages you can always record a customer’s cell phone number and any other important information in the message.
A comprehensive customer database is very important for marketing your takeout and delivery services. It allows you to send any offer and promotions directly to your loyal clients. Always remember that offering more ordering methods will allow you to collect a greater amount of customer information.
Take-out and delivery business is one of the booming segments of the restaurant market as it creates the opportunity to improve sales. For these services to be successful you need to market them effectively to your client base.
Written by Daniel Grossmann
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