How we Grew our Restaurants Reach with a Big Online Push
I remember when my restaurant was just a spot that locals from around the block would wander into. Back then, I thought my reach was as far as the aroma of our kitchen could travel. But that was before I took a leap and put my menu online. Let me tell you, it’s been quite the ride since then.
🤣 “Street Food Wisdom: Just like the best street food vendors, you need to be where the people are. Set up your stall in the bustling markets of social media, local events, and community hangouts. Let them taste your passion.” Quote of the day
From Neighborhood to Citywide
My restaurant used to be one of those “if you know, you know” places. You had to live nearby or hear about us through the grapevine. But once we started offering online ordering, it was like we’d thrown open the windows to shout out to the world. Not only were we getting orders from our website but we also received orders from Facebook too.
It was exciting to see names and addresses pop up that were totally new to us.
It also helped minimize physical contact, it really did save us in the pandemic and expanded our reach too.
Getting Smart with Our Data
One thing I didn’t expect was how much you could learn from online orders. We started noticing what dishes were hits and which ones didn’t fly. We paid attention to when people liked to order certain items and tailored our specials around that. It wasn’t rocket science, but it sure made a difference.
Chatting with Customers on Social Media
I’ve always been a bit chatty, and it turns out that’s a good thing on social media. We’d post pictures of our daily specials or share stories about our ingredients, and people ate it up – literally.
It wasn’t long before folks who’d never set foot in our neighborhood were placing orders, just because they’d seen our food on their screens. This helped boost restaurant sales over offline restaurants that couldn’t capitalize on this.
Keeping Up with the Bigger Orders
I won’t lie – handling more orders meant we had to get our act together, fast. We streamlined how we did things in the kitchen and got better at predicting what we’d need for the day. It was a bit of trial and error at first, but we found our groove.
Looking back, it’s been quite the journey from being a small neighborhood eatery to orders coming in from far across town.
By opening up new areas, it made it easier for everyone, we attracted new customers that never would have bothered before. We even started getting more orders than our competition who didn’t have online ordering.
Check out our easy-to-follow guide for tips for online ordering systems. Understand the potential challenges and solutions, and learn how to set up your own tips for online ordering systems for your restaurant.
