Have you been experiencing sluggish food delivery orders for your restaurant and aren’t sure how to turn things around and boost your online revenue?

The Australian online food delivery market is booming, with over 33% of Aussies using meal delivery services in an average of three months.

It gained more traction than ever during the pandemic for obvious reasons and has now become embedded in local food consumption habits. That’s because food delivery is convenient and allows consumers to sample delicacies from around the world from the comfort of their homes. 

So, as a restaurant owner, you need to reach this particular audience and capture part of this pie (pun intended).

And to help you, we’ve shared below five tips for increasing your food delivery sales in no time.

Leverage The Power Of Technology 

Many restaurants are leveraging the power of technology to provide convenience for busy customers and expand their customer base. Some of them have implemented such efficient online food delivery processes that they’re recording more online orders than on-site orders and have pivoted to make food delivery their primary source of income, thus becoming cloud kitchens.

And even though you might still want to welcome customers in your restaurant, here are some tips to help turn your venue into both a thriving offline and online food spot:

• Online Ordering

In addition to partnering with food delivery services (more on this in the next section), you can also implement your own online ordering website or app integrated with your POS. Loyal customers who love your restaurant can easily order their favourite dish by jumping on your website while helping you avoid hefty commission fees from meal delivery companies. Note that if you’re using a few different online ordering services, you need to choose a POS that centralises all of the orders received from your food delivery apps. 

This will allow you to stay on top of everything and improve the food delivery experience for your staff and, of course, your customers.

• Cloud Telephony

Some people still like to ring restaurants to place their orders. The problem with this is that if you receive a high number of calls, some customers might never see their phone call answered because your staff is busy looking after other customers. And that can lead to a substantial loss of revenue. Not to mention reputational damage as customers might be taking their business elsewhere permanently. 

Cloud telephony allows you to automatically direct calls to the next accessible number you set up until the call is answered. 

Partner With Food Delivery Services

Over 7 million Aussies use food delivery platforms regularly, making them an incredibly powerful stepping stone to boost your revenue.

Because Food delivery services such as Orderoo, UberEats, and Menulog have such a big reach, they’ll allow you to significantly increase your visibility and get your menu items in front of thousands of customers every day. 

Sure, they take a commission for each order you make through their app. But their ability to bring you countless sales through their enormous reach will allow you, as a restaurant owner, to boost your online sales in no time and without having to heavily market your food offering.

Create Different Brands For Each Of Your Cuisine

Imagine this. You’re running a thriving burger business called Dan’s Burgers. You recently decided to add pasta and pizzas to your menu after multiple customers requested that you do. Your on-site customers love your new items, and they’re raving about how great your chef is. 

Fantastic!

Yet, on the food delivery apps like Menulog or UberEats, most of your orders are for burgers, and you’re not getting the traction you hoped for your new items. The thing is, your name is Dan’s Burgers, and you only used to make burgers. Your burgers are famous but not your pasta or pizzas. This means that when the app users search for pizza or pasta on food delivery apps, Dan’s Burgers doesn’t appear in the search. And even if it does, with such a name, pizza or pasta lovers might not even click it.

So, the best way to improve your click-through rate and rack up sales for all of your menu items is to create different brands for each of your cuisine. For instance, creating a Dan’s Pasta brand will allow your restaurant to come up in search results when people look for pasta and resonate much better with pasta lovers.

Offer Popular Items 

If you notice you’re not selling much or enough online, it might be because your offering doesn’t resonate with what local online consumers are looking for. 

So, jump on food delivery apps and check what is popular in your area. Now, the idea isn’t to copy your competitors’ popular dishes. Instead, you should add your own twist to them and provide improved versions to consumers.

We’d also recommend conducting market research by surveying people in your neighbourhood. This will help you better understand what flavours and types of items your ideal customers want. Then, work with your chef to create the perfect menu items using the équipement you already have to cater to your target market’s preferences. 

Optimise Your Menu For Online Customers

While making food might not feel like rocket science for you or your chef unless you’re a marketing expert, marketing your menu might be another story.

Here are some tips on optimising your online menu to improve your food delivery sales:

• List Your Bestsellers At The Top Of The Menu

Some menu items might typically sell better than others and have a higher profit margin. These are your bread and butter, and they’re exactly the menu items we want to show your potential customers first.  

• Your Description Should Be To The Point

Avoid long-winded sentences and fancy words to describe your dishes. People are busy these days, and they’re looking for clear and concise descriptions that tease them while allowing them to quickly make a decision. Therefore, add enticing and appetizing adjectives while keeping things simple.

• Use Add-Ons

When you go to the local cafe and order a banana bread or croissant, chances are you’ll be asked if you want to add any coffee or drink to your order. And while you might not have thought about ordering coffee at first, the question might prompt you to order one to go with your delicious banana bread. Upselling your online customers could help significantly drive your online revenue. So, make sure to add delicious add-ons to your online menu. 

For instance, if someone orders a pizza, offer a whole range of toppings for them to add, such as a variety of delicious cheese, jalapenos, or even specific sauces. 

• Make the Process Smooth And Easy For Your Online Customers

There’s nothing more frustrating than not being able to figure out how to add a specific food item to your cart or how to order something that looks delicious. 

Your online menu navigation should be simple, and it shouldn’t require more than a few clicks for your customers to place their orders. 

Every time someone struggles to order what they want, either because the navigation isn’t user-friendly or your website is unresponsive, you’ll lose customers, precious revenue, and a chance to increase your loyal customer base!

Provide Stellar Food Delivery Service

We couldn’t finish a blog post about the best ways to increase food delivery sales for your restaurant without mentioning the importance of providing excellent service. This might sound obvious, but over time some restaurants become complacent and stop being on top of every single online food order that comes out of their kicthen. The issue is that this might lead disgruntled customers to leave you poor reviews, and you might even have to refund some of them if you make a mistake, for instance.

93% of consumers read a review online before ordering something. Therefore, needless to say, that online reviews are gold for your business. And the best way to collect them is to provide your customers with stellar food and amazing customer service. 

Here are some tips to help you deliver the best service possible:

• Use high-quality insulated bags to ensure the food is delivered hot.
• Package food safely in delivery vehicles so that it doesn’t spill or get messy in the box or container.
• Make sure to provide the add-ons. Missing add-ons happen more often than you think and can cause disappointment for your customers.
• Add a freebie every now and then for your loyal customers. They’ll appreciate the gesture and continue being loyal advocates for your restaurant.

We hope this article will help you step up your food delivery game and increase your bottom line in no time. At Orderoo, we’re committed to helping independent contractors, and small business owners like you boost their online revenue through our on-demand services app. All you need to do is list your menu items on our app and watch your online sales roll in. 

Sound like what you need? 

Don’t hesitate to download our app or get in touch. 

We’d love to help you make money!