Find more about how a restaurant can boost revenues with takeaways and delivery services.
The rapid evolution of food delivery
How the world eats is changing dramatically. A little under two decades ago, restaurant-quality meal delivery was still primarily limited to foods such as pizza and lunches; takeaways were mainly street food or unfinished meals. Nowadays, food delivery has become a global market worth more than US$150 billion. In Thailand, the revenue in the Online Food Delivery segment is projected to reach US$451.70 million in 2022.
The advent of appealing, user-friendly apps and tech-enabled driver networks, coupled with changing consumer expectations, has unlocked ready-to-eat food delivery as a major category. Lockdowns and physical-distancing requirements early on in the pandemic gave the category an enormous boost, with delivery becoming a lifeline for the hurting Restaurant industry. Moving forward, it is poised to remain a permanent fixture in the dining landscape worldwide.
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Thailand is not an exception, and neither is Koh Samui. Since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, the number of delivery companies in Koh Samui has grown terribly. Now it’s difficult to imagine, that just a few years ago, only one company was doing the job for the whole island.
What are the benefits of delivery and takeaways?
The use of delivery services and take away gives many benefits to the restaurant, such as:
- none or a minimum of waiter/waitress working hours involved
- more available seats in the restaurant for other guests
- possibility to operate during heavy weather, when some customers prefer to stay home
- possibility to work with bigger groups for takeaway pre-orders
- possibility to reach more customers
- possibility to get discovered through delivery services, or by advertisements from takeaways
When do guests order a takeaway?
- when it’s an intentional takeaway order, and they had no plans to eat at the restaurant
- when the guest had a meal at the restaurant & a takeaway
- when the restaurant offers special meals available only for takeaway
- when guests want to cut the delivery fees (or get a takeaway discount) or to ensure the right delivery time with their own transport (like a car)
When do guests order a delivery?
- when they already know about the restaurant, and just don’t want to go out
- when they found out about the restaurant on the delivery app and decided to try
- when the restaurant offers special meals available only for delivery
Check the end of the post for a more detailed guest flow explanation.
At FAMEsolutely we are specialized in FNB Marketing, and we will share with you the 9 best tactics to maximise your revenues from delivery services and takeaways that work!
Find below how to use delivery and takeaway services to grow your revenues and highlight your brand!
Boost revenues with takeaways and delivery tactic No1:
Be everywhere
Don’t stop on your own delivery team to serve the neighbourhood, be present on all the apps and websites. Often they have different delivery areas and services. Additionally, they have a marketing team which will promote the App to potential customers.
A successful restaurant will be findable on all the related delivery services and offer a large number of items for takeaway and delivery. To be findable on the app you need to start with quality photos and descriptions.
Take care to offer only the meals which “travel well” or ensure that the delivery service or your delivery staff has all the necessary equipment to keep the food presentable and at the right temperature.
Boost revenues with takeaways and delivery tactic No2:
Tell everyone
Working with delivery services or offering your own delivery isn’t enough if your customers don’t know about it. You should advertise your delivery and takeaway on social media and inside the restaurant. Manage your team to promote delivery and takeaways to the guests.
If you offer your own delivery service, start by having a walk around the area of your delivery, and give your menu to the business owners, hotels, locals and those who rent in long term. Try to give to the customers different possibilities to order, from a digital menu on your website, or a printed menu for those who are easier with a phone call, or messenger apps.
Print some menus which your customers can take with them. Make these menus easily available and visible to the guests, so they can pick them up on the go. Or use QR codes for a fast scan and redirection to your website or a page with a popup to all the important links and contacts.
Advertise your delivery and takeaways on social media, and use all the possibilities like posts on Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, and Twitter or paid ads which target your potential customers.
Boost revenues with takeaways and delivery tactic No3:
Use your packaging as an advertisement space
Your packaging is one of the best and cheapest advertisement spaces because it’s directly addressed to your guests, and in some cases, they will take it home. Use all the power of your brand to make each meal a great visual and informative experience.
From a simple “thank you for ordering with us” (with all your contacts, social media, and review websites (like TripAdvisor, or Google map point)) to a call to action, or an advertisement.
Communicate with your guests, ask them to follow you on social media or give a review. Ask them to post their food pic, use your branded hashtag, or tag you. Tell them about how special are the meals or guide them through your menu. Show your brand, show its values, and make them feel your brand’s “vibes”.
Boost revenues with takeaways and delivery tactic No4:
Be a step ahead, think about the future
Use your delivery and takeaway to stimulate people to come back again and again.
For example, instead of membership cards with stamps (which will be better for the guests who eat on-site), offer special flyers or tickets or vouchers to collect, and as an idea, offer a free drink for a special quantity of tickets/vouchers. Or create special points with different values, which your customers could use as “money” in your restaurant. Gamification is a great way to make your guests engage more with your brand and come back again and again.
Boost revenues with takeaways and delivery tactic No5:
Make them try more meals
Play with the seasonal foods, add special sets, and have fun! but don’t forget to share info about it (see No2).
Promote a special meal for delivery weekly. Be creative and inspire your customers to check what is new in your restaurant again and again.
Offer complimentary samples of new dishes or dishes which are matching with the order. Sometimes people just need to try a new taste, to create a new “want” to come back for more.
Usually, even if a guest like a special restaurant, he/she will get stuck on the same meals, and because of that, the interest of the guest in the restaurant can get lower with time. This is why giving your guests the idea to have different new meals in your restaurant will guide them to try more meals and to be back again.
Boost revenues with takeaways and delivery tactic No6:
Make it an unforgettable experience
Receiving a white non-ecological box with food that isn’t as beautiful as in the restaurant is really sad. As it’s an unpleasant experience for the guest and a lost opportunity for the restaurant.
Make the delivery and takeaways a special experience – use banana leaves, edible flowers, stickers on the box, small messages, and so on.
Cutlery is not always a necessity (as often guests have them at home), but you should offer it optionally. By providing cutlery optionally you can lower your costs, or upgrade to a higher quality of cutlery, for example from wood instead of plastic.
Analyze all the steps of the guest experience, from unpackaging to throwing away the empty box. Think about the ecology and provide bio-degradable boxes. Think about the space this box will take in the trash, can it be folded? Can the guest eat from the box, or should it be used just as a way of transportation? Think how your box will look if an irresponsible guest throws it on the ground (see No3), or if somebody takes a photo for social media, will it still be appealing?
Make eating at home a marvellous visual experience, perfectly paired with the delicious tastes from your kitchen.
Boost revenues with takeaways and delivery tactic No7:
Remember – Your customer is your best sales agent!
Nothing works better for a restaurant than local influencers and positive word-to-mouth marketing.
To encourage your guests to share their meals online – create a special hashtag and invite your customers to share their food photos with their friends on social media. Additionally, you can offer a special discount or a free meal for the best food photo. The safest way to choose the best photo is to give your guests a time frame, for example, select the best photo every 2 weeks if you work with resident guests, or every 3-5 days if your guests are mostly tourists.
See No6 to create “Instagramable” experiences, worth sharing on social media. Did you know, that beautiful unpackaging reels/TikTok have more chances to get viral than simple photos? Inspire your guests to create amazing social media posts, and to be proud to be your guest.
Boost revenues with takeaways and delivery tactic No8:
Happy kids = Happy parents
Kids are really important for a restaurant in terms of marketing, because if you can make the kids happy – the parents will come back to you again and again.
Create a special kid menu, and have fun! Add a colouring page with your logo, so the parents will maybe keep it as a work of art created by their heir. Make the food look cute and special. Make kids ASK their parents for your special fun menu.
Get inspired by the famous Happy Meal by Macdonald’s, and create a collection of toys or gifts for kids. Be creative!
Boost revenues with takeaways and delivery tactic No9:
Be the Brain – think for your customer – make their life easier!
Hospitality is about creating a comfortable environment and a relaxed atmosphere for the guests. Help your guests with their choice, by creating special set menus.
Set menus will help you to upsell more products, and the diversity of possible ideas is huge!
Popular options are breakfast sets, lunch sets, dinner sets, and sets for two, as well as healthy sets, or Netflix (Movie night) sets.
It’s possible to create sets which are available only for delivery or takeaway. Offer group sets to boost sales, and mind create special pre-order rules if the kitchen and staff are not equipped for group-size orders.
On a resort Island like Koh Samui, you need to think about the tourists’ needs. Offer picnic or travel set (for a full day of excursions ahead, or a chill time at the beach). Think outside of the menu, be the brain!
Why is it so important?
FNB businesses no matter whether is it casual eateries or fine dining tables – are first of all businesses to generate revenue. By using delivery services and take away you create more possibilities to get noticed and to gain new customers, as well as boost your revenues at a low cost. Find below a diagram illustrating the guest flow linked to takeaway and delivery services.
Do you need help with Restaurant Marketing?
At FAMEsolutely we offer a large number of marketing services for restaurants, cafes, and hotels. From menu design and engineering, and any kind of visual media, to Social media monthly packages, web design, art direction, or marketing strategy. Find more about our services: FNB Marketing.
We also offer FNB Marketing consulting and coaching services
And a Special Social Media Success formula for restaurants and local businesses
Don’t hesitate to SEND A REQUEST to receive a tailor-made offer specially adapted for your business.
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