subject: Where Is Your Next Takeout Order Coming From? [print this page] Restaurant owner, how well do you know your customers? Or perhaps I should ask: how well do you know your potential customers? What you may not know about your takeout customers is that they have silently shifted location. They are still living in your community and in homes close to your restaurant. What has changed is where they go to find information about your restaurant. In the past, consumers turned to the yellow pages or phone information services to find your restaurant phone number and to call you for details on your takeout menu and to place an order. Today, consumers search online for the information they want to know about your restaurant, including your business location and the menu you offer. If your restaurant information can not be found online, you are missing potential customers!
Web technology has changed the way that the world works. Today's typical individual owns a mobile phone that is armed with Internet access and the ability to search for businesses online. Increasingly, people are using Internet access on their mobile phones to place takeout orders on the go! They can find full takeout menus online for most restaurants, place an order through the Internet and pick up what they have ordered. In addition to this, most people have unlimited Internet access in their homes and they leave their computers connected to the Internet at all times. Rather than make a phone call to get information on your restaurant, customers now usually search online. This only makes sense because online they can not only get your business phone number and address, they can also view your menu... that is if you have put your business information and menu on the Internet.
There is no disputing that we are living through a unique time in history. Businesses have to be online to meet today's shopper in the place where they search. Whether you have experience with online takeout services or not, it is now time for your business to get online! Surprisingly, this does not have to be overwhelming task. New takeout portal web sites make "going online" very simple and easy to do. The only equipment you need is a small printer that is very similar in size and shape to a receipt printer. This, along with taking a few minutes to add your business address, phone number and menu online (a task easily done by a computer-savvy employee) is all you need to do.
Here is what you can expect once you have set up online takeout ordering: Orders will come to your business through the Internet. Orders will be much easier to handle than telephone takeout orders. You will probably receive more takeout orders than before because you will not lose customers due to a busy phone line or by placing them on hold. Orders will be clear and without errors because they will be chosen from a pre-printed online menu. The list of benefits just goes on...
There is a reason that some of the top restaurant chains have accepted online takeout orders for many years now; stores like Pizza Hut, Papa Johns, Dominoes, etc. It's because it works, it is popular and it is highly beneficial. Now, there was a time when small restaurant owners were shut out of taking orders online simply because of the cost. It was expensive! This has all changed and it is because takeout portal web sites have now made placing your restaurant business online affordable.
