As a restaurant, you are significantly limiting your potential if you do not offer delivery, even if the restaurant is busy, optimally located and on the receiving end of massive amounts of foot traffic. Consumers today crave convenience, they want what they want, and they want it now; they also don’t want to go out and get it – they want it to come to them. Takeout and delivery options are arguably the norms within the restaurant business, but some restaurants still hold on to a more traditional approach. Here is why you should consider offering delivery:
Increased Customer Base
Firstly, by offering a delivery service, you are going to dramatically increase your potential customer base. You should think about online ordering as well as taking orders over the phone because, again, this opens up your target markets. Some people will have never found or tried your food until you make it more accessible. Think about the platforms that you can partner with to house your menu and take orders.
More Opportunities
Offering food delivery services means that you will have more opportunities to sell regardless of whether or not you have tables available inside. Your physical location is obviously limited to the number of tables you have, but by offering delivery, you are opening your business up. Online delivery systems also help you to make the most of the increased demand of consumers and their desire for convenience.
Think about how you are going to market the business and how the menu is going to be arranged online. Cross-selling is going to help you to maximize your profit margin. This could mean coming up with incentives to encourage consumers to order more. In addition to thinking about where you are going to house your menu and take orders, you need to think about what this will mean for the business overall in terms of logistics. For example, it is likely worth looking into low-cost food delivery software for restaurant businesses like the one created by Vromo.
Maximizing Profits
Finally, by offering food delivery services, the above two effects will combine together to make sure that you are maximizing your bottom line. Your business is no longer limited to customers frequenting the restaurant and the number of tables that you have; you can sell a lot more food and make a lot more money.
Of course, it is worth pointing out that overheads are likely to increase with more demands on your POS system, the need to hire delivery staff, and increased costs for raw ingredients and takeout containers. You can cover a lot of these costs with delivery fees and a smart pricing strategy. The truth is that if your business takes off in the online space, you will still make far more in profits, even with the increased costs.
The Bottom Line
Offering a delivery service simply makes good business sense. There might be blockades standing in your way, but it is well worth considering and trying to come up with solutions. After all, the most important thing to consumers today is convenience, and that is all delivery is, an exercise in convenience for your consumers.