Online ordering of food has become a common trend in Canada and worldwide. Sit-down restaurant experiences will remain unmatched, but the comfort of enjoying a delicacy at home or office is undoubtedly becoming a new trend. The prevalence of the current pandemic seems to have accelerated the recent move towards online food ordering. Today, data shows that 20% of Canadians use online food delivery systems.
Despite such tremendous growth in online ordering, it is essential to communicate that customers continue to hesitate to order through restaurant apps. Details show that such customers prefer Uber Eats and Skip the Dishes among other third-party food delivery systems. Such customer trends can easily affect restaurant sales and profits in the long term. As a restaurant manager, understanding the most significant customer concerns with online ordering and appropriate solutions can change the fortunes of your business.
Addressing Customer Concerns with Online Ordering
1. Food Selection Headache
A hungry customer will not spend an hour deciding what to eat. The selection headache has been the primary reason why multi-cuisine restaurants lose their online customers. It is good to have multiple food options to cover the varying needs of your customers. However, having many options might ultimately overwhelm your clients, pushing them away from the traditional fast-food restaurants. It is deserving of highlighting that traditional fast-food restaurants sell commonly known delicacies. This means no wasted time in placing orders.
CBEST Food Ordering System can help you with data-driven recommendations. With sufficient data on customer ordering patterns, you can easily facilitate their decision-making process. For example, you can present a simplified menu of the customer’s food based on previous results. In such cases, customers will not be overwhelmed by the food choices, making an immediate purchase decision.
2. Multi-Channel Ordering Inconsistencies
As a business, you want to optimize the digital platforms available to capture all the possible customers. This means that your services are available through websites, social media channels, as well as restaurant apps. However, inconsistencies might arise from these channels due to poor online restaurant management. Such inconsistencies can be a massive turn-off to some customers.
You need to have an integrated online restaurant ordering system that brings other sales channels under one platform. Every other channel should contain the same information regarding the menu, pricing, as well as additional details. The consistency displayed on your multi-channel platforms also plays a vital role in your restaurant marketing activities. It builds an impression that your business is organized and up to the task.
3. Poor Customer Services
Restaurants operate in a sensitive sector where they constantly need to keep up with quality customer services. The high level of competition and consumer demands means that such businesses don’t have any time to relax. The only problem is that restaurants have a perception that quality customer service only applies to sit-in customers. Hence, quality attention to online restaurant customers has been highly neglected.
Online customers also want to be heard. They want quick resolutions to issues relating to delayed delivery, dissatisfaction with food quality, as well as refunds. Noteworthy, enhanced customer services increase buyer spending by 17%. That is why you need a restaurant ordering system that enhances customer services and adheres to presented queries.
4. Poor User Experience
Convenience is also an essential consideration to all the customers ordering foods in various restaurants. Unfortunately, restaurant managers don’t incorporate aspects that optimize the user experience. In fact, some restaurant ordering systems don’t have a food ‘menu’ on their platforms! Others have information overload, which is not a welcome aspect of converting web visitors into customers.
CBEST optimizes the customer experience in your ordering systems. The system provides as few steps as possible to facilitate ordering and checkout. Customers can also complete their food ordering process using very few transactions without moving between website pages. A concise call to action helps customers understand the following step, optimizing their ordering experience.
5. Online Payment Challenges
Every successful online ordering system must have a smooth payment platform. Some hospitality businesses have limited payment options, which forces customers to drop their orders. What’s more, some payment gateway systems don’t guarantee security, which is a massive customer turn-off. The refund process has also proved to be a major disappointment, especially in cancelled orders.
To stay in business and maintain your customers, you need to address your payment challenges. Begin by providing a plethora of payment options to cover multiple customers. Ensure maximum security to your payment system while at the same time sending a payment confirmation message to your clients to boost their confidence. Facilitate speedy payments and refund process, which will guarantee increased website conversions.
6. Unprofessional Web Designs
Visuals provide the most critical impression of your restaurant. Despite the legitimacy of your website, a negative impression will lead to reduced conversions. Negative and unprofessional aspects such as missing images, slow load-time, as well as poor design will deter potential customers. Unattractive website design may also create an impression that your business is struggling and unable to meet customer demands.
Your restaurant ordering system needs to be in good shape to guarantee customer experience and satisfaction. You also need to prove your legitimacy and quality by creating positive first impressions. That can be done by ensuring your website ranks higher on a search engine, loads quickly, and is professionally designed. Remember, people are spending money on your business, and they need to have an impression that service quality is guaranteed.
7. Lack of Social Media Ordering Options
Today, there are more than 3.6 billion social media users. The number is projected to increase by more than one billion in the next two years. Therefore, every restaurant or retail business should actively tap into this vast market. However, the majority of the restaurants are not taking online orders from social media platforms, which means that they are already missing very many customers.
In fact, customers actively use social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to make orders. Any business that doesn’t allow such platforms in making orders may create an impression that it is not welcoming and does not support technological growth. Avoid such inconveniences by incorporating a restaurant ordering system to receive orders from social media platforms.
You also want to prepare your business for future restaurant domination. Despite the unique strategies you’re already adopting, you cannot survive in the future without social media incorporation. Every other competitive business yearning for future growth must integrate its restaurant ordering system with social media ordering platforms.
Work with CBEST Solutions to Eliminate Customer Concerns in Your Online Ordering System
At CBEST Solutions, we’re experienced enough to understand customer concerns regarding restaurant ordering systems. Unfortunately, the standard restaurant ordering solutions are not tailored to address hesitations holding customers back. We offer CBEST Food Ordering System, which eliminates all the customer turn-offs that have consistently rendered your business unprofitable.
Here are some real benefits and services you can expect from CBEST Food Ordering System:
- Ability to take orders from social media platforms
- Professionally designed ordering system
- Secure and comprehensive payment solution
- Unmatched user and customer experience
- Knowledge to scale operations in your business
- Low monthly fees thereby guaranteeing business profitability
- Minimized human errors in online delivery services
- No third-party involvements
Contact CBEST Solutions today and learn additional information on online restaurant ordering systems that will give your facility a competitive edge in the industry.
