如果您以前从未觉得您的餐厅需要拥有一个网站, 我们打赌 2020 改变了主意. 并且有充分的理由! 过去几个月, 网上订餐成为餐厅继续经营的唯一途径.
尽管许多餐馆重新开放了实体店, 在线订餐平台仍然是餐馆老板的热门商品. 在这篇文章中, 我们将深入探讨您可以在线开展餐厅业务的方法, 如何充分利用这一新的在线形象, 以及适应大流行造成的新规范的技巧.
在这篇文章中:
什么是在线订购系统?
餐馆的在线订购系统允许顾客使用网站或应用程序在线下订单. 顾客可以选择自己喜欢的食物, 付款方式 (信用卡, 苹果支付, 现金, 等等), 以及虚拟的送货和外卖选项.
所以, 在线订购系统如何工作? 顾客在网上向餐厅下订单后, 工作人员收到通知并开始准备订单. 然后根据顾客的喜好将食物交付给他们.
如你看到的, 使用在线订购系统非常简单，对于餐馆老板和他们的顾客来说都很方便.
现在您知道了“什么是在线订餐系统”这个问题的答案?“ 问题. 但是，为您的企业选择和实施正确的在线订购系统又如何呢？? 让我们深入探讨桌面上的不同选项 (没有双关语的意思!).
为您的餐厅设置在线订购的方法
如果您想知道“如何为餐厅设置在线订购?“你来对地方了. 实施餐厅在线订购系统的方法有很多，每种方法都有独特的优点和缺点.
使用电子商务网站
这是不言自明的: 你可以建立一个网站, 或使用现有的让您的客户在线订餐.
如果您已经有一个网站, 您可以使用电子商务插件或小部件将在线商店添加到您的网站. Ecwid电子商务可以 添加到任何网站, 无论是 WordPress, 蜡, 虚弱地, Joomla, 或任何其他网站.
您所要做的就是安装 Ecwid 插件 (一个应用程序) 到你的网站, 登录您的 Ecwid 帐户, 设置您的商店, 节省, 并发布更改. 您还可以将商店代码粘贴到您的网站页面上，将新商店添加到其他定制网站.
The Cookie Dough Cafe 通过 Ecwid 电子商务在其网站上添加了一个在线商店
如果您没有网站, 你可能想知道: “如何创建一个餐厅网站?“ 不用担心! 您甚至可以免费创建一个, 如果你没有任何这些花哨的技术技能.
当你 报名 对于 Ecwid, 你会得到一个即时网站. It’s a free website with a built-in online store. 您将在大约一个小时内准备好接受在线订单: 只需添加您的菜单, 填写业务联系信息, 并启用付款和交付选项.
如果您在餐厅使用销售点系统 (像广场, 三叶草, 或售卖), 你可以 将其与您的 Ecwid 商店同步. 这样，您的菜单和订单数据就会自动从 POS 导入到您的在线商店. 您无需手动添加菜单或更新库存变化, 您的订单数据将在您的在线商店和实体餐厅之间同步. 加, 您将能够从一个仪表板管理订单!
Nature Factory 在 Ecwid 的即时网站上销售食品
通过第三方服务设置在线订购
通过第三方服务为您的餐厅设置在线订购, 您可以与 GrubHub 等平台合作, 邮友, 或 UberEats. 它们充当餐馆的“市场”，顾客可以从许多不同的食品中进行挑选.
餐厅订购应用程序的入门通常如下所示: 您填写了一份注册表单，其中包含您想要列出的应用程序. 服务端可能会有一个审批流程, 在那之后, 您将能够将您的餐厅添加到平台并上传您的菜单.
如果您自己曾经从这些平台之一订购过，那么剩下的事情就非常简单了. 客户下订单, 餐厅收到通知并准备食物, 该服务确保订单交付.
你应该选择哪一个?
很多餐馆老板都想知道: “最好的在线订餐系统是什么?”. 照常, 没有普遍的正确答案, 但在做出决定之前需要考虑一些事情.
餐厅通常依赖第三方服务，因为它们可以接触更多的潜在新客户. 人们经常在 UberEats 等平台上按美食搜索餐厅, 盘子, 地点, 等等. 如果满足搜索条件，您的餐厅可能会出现. 这意味着您可以将您的业务展示给以前可能没有向您订购过的客户.
顾客可以在UberEats上选择不同的美食
然而, 开始使用该平台, 你需要付费. 然后服务会从每个订单中抽取一定比例作为处理费. 有些平台收费高达 30% 每个订单! 想象一下在这种情况下您还需要多少订单才能保持盈利.
尽管这些平台可以接触到更多的受众, 他们对提高您的品牌知名度没有任何作用. 这可能会出现问题，因为它降低了重复订单的机会. 您也无法跟踪客户信息或订购习惯以进行未来营销. 难怪 43% 餐厅专业人士 认为第三方应用程序干扰了餐厅与其顾客之间的直接关系.
使用自己的网站有很多优点. 所以, 通过电子商务网站建立在线订餐有什么好处?
- 降低成本: 当建立自己的网站时, 您将需要支付一些前期费用, 但与第三方费用相比，其中大部分费用很小. 如果您注册了 Ecwid 电子商务, 您可以免费建立一个网站. 加, 它根本不收取交易费用!
- Full control: you can change and update your menu and website as you like. Third-party platforms limit the way you display your menu or offer delivery, not to mention your lack of control over the platform’s look and feel. With a website, you have full control over any promotions and offers.
- Opportunity to grow: you can add new payment options, improve product pages, and implement additional ways to increase sales on your site like collecting tips or selling gift cards.
- More repeat customers: you keep your customers’ data to yourself, which means you can market your loyalty program or special offers to customers after they place orders. 加, having access to customer preference data means you can engage in more targeted and effective marketing.
- Increased brand awareness: when customers order from your website, they are more likely to remember your business than when they order from a third-party platform.
Statistics show that customers prefer to order directly from restaurants. 根据这个 民意调查, 70% of UK consumers would rather order direct to ensure that their money goes straight to the restaurant, not a third party.
If you’re looking for a cost-effective solution that provides more opportunities for growth and promotion, you should definitely consider setting up an e-commerce website for online ordering.
Customers can order food directly on Poke Wave’s website
准备将您的餐厅搬到网上
Now that you’ve decided how you want to enable online ordering for your customers, let’s take a few seconds to prepare your business for an online presence. Below are some big ticket points you should take into consideration.
Adjust your menu
If your restaurant has only operated as a physical location, you might want to adapt the menu for online ordering.
Expensive dishes that take a lot of time to prepare might not be the best choice when you need to deliver food as fast as possible to hungry customers. 然而, affordable lunch options at a set price, meal kits, dishes that can be delivered in an hour or less are incredibly popular among online orderers and delivery lovers.
Keep in mind that the focus has shifted from dining out to cooking at home in the last couple of months. Think about how you can adapt your menu to this trend. 例如, if you sell baked goods, you can also offer ready-to-bake meal kits. 或者, add family-sized dinner options for customers who are tired of cooking every night.
Ioesco Restaurant also sells frozen foods customers can cook at home
Think through your packaging
Whether you’re going to offer in-store pickup or delivery, your food needs to be packed and transported in a certain way. You may need to invest in food containers, paper bags, thermal bags or heated containers, and/or disposable cutlery.
Aside from keeping food fresh and hot, packaging can serve other purposes. 例如, consider branded packaging if you’d like to strengthen your brand image. 或者, if your target audience is eco-conscious consumers, recyclable or compostable packaging will definitely win them over.
Research the legal side of the question
Before you enable online ordering, take time to learn all about the rules and regulations that oversee selling food online in your region. The laws may seem daunting and time-consuming, but they all serve an important purpose – to keep your customers safe and healthy.
Every country and region has different food laws and licensing requirements. Some industries may be subject to additional rules, 例如, alcohol and dairy.
A good rule of thumb is to consult with a lawyer and your local government to ensure you get the right information about requirements specific to your business and region. You’ll probably need to confirm that:
- your business is licensed
- your kitchen meets zoning and food safety requirements
- you’re a certified food handler
If you sell food products, they need to have labels with complete disclosure of ingredients, net quantity, the weight of total ingredients, 姓名, and location of the maker of the packaged goods. Specific allergens should also be highlighted on your packaging.
An example of label on the Taylor Family Farm product
Take care of transportation
To ensure customer satisfaction, you’ll need to make sure the food is delivered on time, at the right temperature, and in good shape. 要做到这一点, you can either handle your own deliveries or outsource them to a delivery service.
The main benefit of outsourcing is that you don’t have to hire and train couriers or take care of delivery vehicles. If you’re just starting out, this might be an option to consider.
If you prefer to handle your own deliveries, keep the following in mind:
- The cheapest option is to have your drivers use their own cars. Just make sure the vehicle is maintained correctly for food transportation.
- If you have company cars, consider having them branded to improve brand awareness out on the streets of your community.
- If you’re looking for an eco-friendly delivery option, bikes are the way to go. 当然, this only works if local delivery zones and climatic conditions allow using a bike.
No matter which option you choose, it’s better to start with a setting up smaller delivery area and fewer delivery operating hours. It’ll help to find the optimal delivery radius and hours. 随着时间的推移, you’ll be able to commit to longer delivery hours and a larger delivery area.
在Ecwid, you can set up delivery zones with a simple map drawing tool
与Ecwid电子商务, customers can choose their preferred delivery time 在结帐时. This makes the process of managing and delivering orders much easier for you.
Think through your pickup options
Apart from ordering delivery, customers have gotten used to ordering online and picking the order up themselves at your restaurant. That sounds like a simple alternative, compared to organizing delivery. 然而, 一如既往, there are some complicating factors to keep in mind:
To address recent health concerns and social distancing rules, in-store pickup can be modified into a curbside pickup. 这是它的工作原理:
- Customers place orders online.
- You prepare and package the orders.
- Customers drive to your restaurant and call you.
- You put the orders into customers’ car trunks or set outside for pickup.
If you choose this pickup option, you can do the following to ensure smooth sailing:
- Add clear curbside pickup instructions for customers to your site — when it’s available and how it works.
- Explain the rules for curbside pickup to your employees and provide training if necessary.
- Set a pickup spot outside your restaurant. Make it obvious where people should park to wait for their food.
If you choose regular in-store pickup, make sure it’s organized in compliance with your local social distancing rules. Don’t forget to add instructions for customers to your website: when the in-store pickup is available, tell them how many people are allowed inside the restaurant at a time, and remind them to wear a mask.
Ruggie’s makes curbside pickup rules clear on their website
Take the time to train your staff
You’re probably excited to get more orders after you enable online ordering for your restaurant. Just keep in mind that it might change your workflow a bit. 例如, you might get more late-night orders. 或者, you might get more online orders on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday – those are the days when 74% of online orders are placed.
For the majority of hungry food-buying customers, speed is a key factor. People often don’t want to wait more than an hour for their food to arrive. That means that you might need to devote some time to additional staff training.
Make sure to explain the following:
- The process of managing restaurant online orders
- The preparing and packaging of food for pickup and delivery
- The pickup and delivery process.
How to Set Up Online Ordering System for Restaurants
Given all the information we’ve already walked through, you might be thinking: “How do I create an online ordering system?” The good news is that with Ecwid E-commerce, you can do that in less time than it takes to serve a couple of people in-house.
To support restaurants affected by COVID-19, we’re giving away online ordering for free. After your sign up with Ecwid E-commerce, you’ll get access to an online store and be able to take orders online, accept contactless payments, and offer a curbside pickup and delivery to your customers.
You’ll also be able to use premium tools available free exclusively to restaurant owners, such as point-of-sale integration and gift cards. You will be able to use our online ordering offer for free until March 31, 2021.
学习更多关于 setting up online ordering for free for your restaurant.
If you’re ready to set up online ordering with Ecwid E-commerce, use these detailed instructions from our Help Center. They’ll guide you through each step of the setup process, so you won’t get lost even, if you’ve never used an e-commerce platform before.
Ways to earn more with e-commerce for restaurants
当然, you may have turned to online ordering out of necessity as opposed to genuine interest in taking your business digital. But an e-commerce website can actually do more than help you accept orders online. Let’s explore some other ways you can use an online store to grow your restaurant’s capabilities.
卖 礼品卡. A great way for customers to support their favorite restaurant (or come up with a last-minute gift). 为你, gift cards are another way to generate sales. Add gift cards capabilities to your online store, and when a customer buys one, they’ll get an email with a unique code to redeem it.
Accept tips and donations. It helps ease the burden of recurring bills and expenses, especially when customer traffic is lower than usual. 与Ecwid电子商务, you can accept tips or donations as a percentage or as a fixed amount:
Sell merch. If you have a brand logo, you can turn almost anything into merch: 贴纸, 杯子, 海报, tote bags, 你说出来. Merchandise helps increase brand awareness and engage with your customers, especially when it reflects your niche. 加, loyal customers love it!
Sell online cooking classes or tickets to in-person events. Looking for new sources of income? Besides sharing food with customers, start sharing your expertise: offer online cooking classes, or organize events to be held in your restaurant (when it can be done safely, 当然!). 例如, wine tasting events, master classes, or dinner parties.
Royal Bakery sells PDF tutorials on their website
如何在线推广您的餐厅
After you’ve set up an e-commerce website for your restaurant and figured out your perfect online ordering process, it’s time to think about online promotion as well. Let’s explore some of the primary ways to do that.
Get listed on local business directories
An online business directory is a list of businesses within a particular location or category. Lots of people use these directories to find new companies or try out new restaurants, so it makes sense to get your restaurant listed there.
有许多 地点- and industry-specific business directories, but make sure you list your restaurant at the most popular ones like Google My Business, 喊叫, Apple Maps, TripAdvisor, Yellow Pages. Then you can work your way into more niche websites.
Here’s what you need to include in your listing:
- A restaurant description, including your cuisine, type of a restaurant, 地址, contact information
- A link to your website
- (High quality) 图片
Double-check that business listings link back directly to your online ordering page. 例如, Google My Business may add links from third-party ordering services, such as ChowNow or Postmates. If you use (or have used) such platforms, these links may automatically be added to your listing.
As third-party platforms collect fees for their services, it’s better to link directly to your website from your listing. Learn how you can do that on Google My Business.
The buttons in a Google My Business listing can link to a restaurant’s website or a third-party platform
Liven up your social media pages
Sharing content on social media doesn’t necessarily increase sales directly, but it definitely boosts brand awareness and can help you connect with your customers.
Let your customers know about your new menu items, happy hours, 特别优惠, or changes in operating hours or pickup and delivery. Address their concerns by explaining how you ensure safety of your employees and customers.
Apart from sharing news, add some fun and educational content to your pages. 例如: recipes, tips for cooking at home, 图片, and quotes of your staff are all easy and popular ways to get potential customers to feel at home in your social space.
Reposting customer’s photos of your restaurant is important too. To avoid missing out on that precious user-generated content, ask your customers to tag your restaurant in their photos, or use a branded hashtag.
Send out email newsletters
Email is the cheapest way to promote your restaurant online, so start collecting customer emails the moment you set up your website.
The easiest way to collect customer emails is to add a newsletter signup form at checkout.
You can also use an email capture popup via 邮件黑猩猩 to collect emails of store visitors. Even if they don’t order anything, interested parties still might subscribe to your newsletter.
After you get your email list, you can start sending out newsletters. You can use them to promote offers, announce new or seasonal menu options, or give advice on cooking at home.
You can also send out newsletters about a particular topic. 例如, Seifert & Jones Wine Merchants have a “Wine of the Week” newsletter where they highlight different wine every week and offer special menu pairings with it:
Invest in paid advertising
Targeted ads can help you drive local visitors to your restaurant. 例如, detailed targeting options on Facebook allow you to pinpoint the audience based on zip code or town name. 这是如何 promote local businesses with Facebook ads.
You can also specify demographic or interests options to showcase your ad to the most appropriate audience. 说, if your restaurant is pet-friendly, you can choose to show your ads to people interested in pet topics.
COVID-19 对餐饮业的影响
It’s impossible to talk about the restaurant industry in 2020 without mentioning the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. 当然, it’s hard to find an industry the pandemic hasn’t affected. But restaurant owners were among the first ones to take a hit in being forced to shut down, and are likely to suffer the long-term effects of the pandemic more than any other entrepreneurs.
In the US alone, restaurant sale losses topped $185 十亿 between March and August 2020. 展望未来, the majority of restaurant owners aren’t very hopeful for the future of their sales, judging by the survey of 3,500 restaurant operators:
- 71% of full-service operators don’t expect their sales to return to pre-pandemic levels within the next six months.
- 43% percent of full-service operators say it is unlikely their restaurant will still be in business six months from now if business conditions continue at current levels.
- 1/3 limited-service operators say they likely won’t survive another six months if business conditions don’t improve.
Across the world, restaurant’s daily traffic has dropped precipitously compared to the same period in 2019. The year-over-year decline of seated diners in restaurants worldwide was a staggering 51.3% on November 28, 2020 — as you can see on the chart below. The data shows year-over-year seated diners at restaurants on the OpenTable network across all channels: online reservations, phone reservations, and walk-ins.
Year-over-year daily change in seated restaurant diners due to the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide from February to November in 2020
如何适应 COVID-19 的长期影响
马上, staying in business isn’t just about taking your restaurant online. It’s about adapting to the long-term effects of the pandemic. Not only will conditions for businesses continue to change, but customer’s habits will transform too.
People will be ordering online more
It’s a safe bet that on-premise dining will lose some love to online ordering, long term. 当然, people won’t stop dining out, but they will rely much more on online ordering, be it for delivery or takeout. 例如, ordering food online or picking it up at the restaurant to enjoy at home with the family might become a mainstay alternative to taking the family out for dinner.
How you can adjust: Make an online ordering system an essential part of your business, and don’t give it up once the pandemic is over.
Contactless technology will be the new norm
Minimizing interactions between customers and staff has become a goal in recent months. You might’ve enabled contactless payments in your restaurant, or even installed plexi-glass partitions. This trend will stay put, making restaurants strive for contactless dining experience from beginning to end.
How you can adjust: Add more online payment options to your website to avoid accepting cash upon delivery. Make paying online faster and easier by enabling 苹果支付 and Google Pay, and don’t forget to implement these payment methods in your physical location too.
与Ecwid电子商务, customers can pay with a click using Apple Pay
Replace regular menus in your store with digital ones. 例如, customers can scan a QR code at the table to see the menu without interacting with a waiter.
Menus will change
The pandemic’s impact will be felt long after it is over, and might affect individual menus as well. Affordable options like family meals are already in high demand among customers. Shareables might be less popular though dues to customers’ increased concerns about health and hygiene.
It’s also likely that meal kits for cooking at home will rise in popularity as a fresh alternative to takeout.
Menus might also become smaller, because it makes it easier for customers to decide on their order. 加, this allows restaurateurs to cut expenses and avoid food waste using the same ingredients for several dishes.
How you can adjust: Start rethinking your menu to keep the much-in-demand dishes and minimize expensive and/or less popular ones. Consider adding family dinners, meal packages, or kits for cooking at home.
Seating will change too
Social distancing isn’t a new concept anymore, and it might change customer’s preferred ways to dine going forward. Sitting close to others doesn’t feel comfortable to many people, especially indoors. 加, the health and safety regulations prescribe to maintain the minimum safety distance between tables. It’s no surprise that communal tables might become a thing of the past for some restaurants.
Maison Saigon encourages social distancing by placing one chair at each table. They also added stuffed pandas to each table to keep their customers company
How you can adjust: You already reorganized your seating. Now let your customers know it’s safe to dine or pick up food at your restaurant. Share new seating plans on your website and social media. Have a live cooking counter? Don’t be shy to boast about it: customers feel safer seeing their food cooked before their eyes.
Big restaurant chains will recover faster
The majority of large restaurant chains can afford to stay in business longer, even during this time of crisis. Fast food chains are also getting more attention from customers rather than full-service restaurants because on-premise dining is either unavailable or limited. That makes it easier for big chains to recover after the crisis, as compared to mom and pop restaurants.
How you can adjust: Give your customers a chance to support your business. Sell gift cards and allow making donations and leaving tips at your online store.
Start Using Restaurant E-commerce Platform
This year proved that an e-commerce website could be a major safety net for independently run businesses — especially restaurants. A site with an online store allows restaurateurs to accept online orders, organize convenient pickup and delivery, sell gift cards and merch, collect tips and donations, and even promote their restaurant to a whole new base of customers. All of this is extremely helpful, given the growing demand for ordering food online.
现在, it’s your turn: do you have a website for your restaurant? How do you use it? Share your experience and advice with fellow restaurant owners in the comments!
- Ecommerce for Restaurants: A Recipe For Online Ordering Success
- How Restaurants Can Protect their Customers (and Profits) during COVID-19
- Examples of Online Food and Restaurant Businesses Powered by Ecwid
- Must-Have Restaurant Software to Sell Food Online
- Inventory Management Software for Restaurants: Most Used Solutions
- 最好的餐厅 POS 系统是什么?
