Online ordering system is a must for every modern restaurant. But the system is nothing like a pepper-grinder, bought once and used as long as it is not broken. The online ordering tool evolves, and companies using it should know how to guide it in the process. 

The online ordering systems are here to stay for a longer time. Once implemented, they are not going to be scrapped or shunned, especially considering the cost and the challenge of the process. According to the Deloitte study, restaurants have witnessed a 14% increase in takeouts and food orders since COVID-19 outbreak, with some of the companies thinking about reducing the restaurant footprint. 

The customers, forced to stay at home and stripped of a possibility to dine in a restaurant, forged new habits of ordering the food online or taking it out. Thus, the role of the online ordering is only going to grow. And so, the company should consider the system a channel to be improved. But how?

How to improve the online ordering system

The online ordering system like Ordering Stack is a sophisticated and complex machinery, that can significantly support the company’s works. While overwhelming at first glance, the optimization and system improvement is not that intimidating. 

Choose the best layout for you

The online food selling requires the same approach as the one done offline. The customer needs to be provided with good visuals and images of the food. Also, the design needs to fit in the aesthetics of the brand. 

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Thus, the online ordering system can be boosted by the UX and UI design, either aimed to boost up the conversion rates, or to make the menu and the tool more visually appealing. This improves the user experience and helps the company to loyalize the customer base even further. 

The best layout is also about building the best UX with the UX optimization of the web service. According to the Forrester research, investment in the UX is one of the best wayst to boost the company performance with every $1 invested in the UX design bringing $100 in return. 

Go for an endless optimization

A tricky one – it is not a “way to improve” in a common understanding. A constant optimization is rather a strategy that needs to be employed by the company to witness the best results. The Wall Street Journal points that the A/B testing is done by leading tech companies for tens of thousands times yearly, with slight changes being able to bring 12% revenue increase.

The endless optimization consists of A/B tests and data gathering to spot the best possible results and pick the most effective ways of promotion. Yet the crucial aspect of the strategy is to never say “that’s enough”. The company needs to constantly challenge the current setting and search for new ideas – from a slight boost to the overall revolution. This goes to the next point. 

Don’t be afraid to experiment

There is always a temptation to think that the current state or the configuration is “the perfect one” that needs to be tested only to find slight adjustments. Although it may be truth, one should not take it for granted.

The only way to be sure that the current  layout is indeed the most effective one is to run constant tests and not be afraid to run even unexpected or bold experiments.

The most important element of running experiments is to run them in a controlled environment, using the technology that is designed to support experiments. Ordering Stack supports both the analytics and the experimenting.

Reinforce the system

The key improvement in the system one can imagine is to make it as reliable as possible. If the system is not working, there is neither point nor way to make it work better without a revival.

Ordering Stack is a cloud-based system that harness the power of all the security the cloud computing provides. Thus, the risk of cybercriminals attacking the site and taking it down is reduced to minimum. According to the Retarus data, every minute, $2.9 million is lost to cybercrime, so the risk is real.

Also, with the solution being cloud-based, the company gets access to a nearly-infinite amount of memory or computing power, so there is no risk that the increase in the traffic will take down the website. There can be no greater pain than to cause frustration rather than delight, when a super-discount is unavailable due to the website being down.

Listen to your customers

Last but not least – and for sure not least. The company needs to be open and understanding toward the customers. The team needs to actively listen to the feedback from the customer base. 

When it comes to the online ordering system, the listening needs to be done by analytics tools that should be a part of the online ordering system. Ordering Stack has a wide variety of analytics tools available, that enable the company to spot the signs of customer dissatisfaction and dig for a root cause.

This results in making the customers loyal in the end. According to the SuperOffice data, 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a great customer experience. The only way to deliver it is to listen to the customers more carefully than the competition does.

There is a temptation to see an online channel as a “flood” of nameless numbers and points in the chart. Nothing further from truth – each and every single user is an independent person with their own set of motivations and reasons to behave in a particular way. Listening to them and understanding their behavior is the best way to improve the online ordering system – in the end it is THEIR tool to order a meal as much as the company’s tool to earn more money. 

Summary

The irony of making the online ordering system better is in fact that the greatest limits come from the system itself. If solution is not supporting multiple and various ways to boost engagement rates and improve workflows, the ways to make it better will be severely limited. On the other hand though a solution with the analytics and testing features implemented has everything to build a self-improvement process. 

Ordering Stack has all features required in building a self-improving solution. Thus, no matter how good the system becomes, every restaurant can make it even better by improving the fit with the business and the customer group alike. 

If you wish to talk more about the ways to improve the performance or the online ordering solution you are using, don’t hesitate to contact us now!