Restaurant food delivery has exploded with new entrants. If orders have slowed for your restaurant, it may be down to one of these red flags.
The US is the second largest food delivery market in the world, behind China, bringing in $22 billion in revenue in 2021, while the global food delivery market is projected to grow to $320 billion by the year 2029.
Food delivery as a service and as a restaurant offering exploded over the last couple of years, with thousands of restaurants jumping in to offer online ordering and delivery to hungry customers, but with more businesses offering delivery, it’s no longer a way to stand out from the competition.
With a growing number of consumers ordering delivery, experts say that those same consumers are spending more on each delivery order, and becoming less loyal to specific delivery apps now that the local delivery market has grown to more than 500 providers.
If delivery orders have slowed down at your restaurant, despite the demand for delivery, or you’re receiving new customer complaints, you may need help with your existing delivery program or choosing the right delivery management software for your business.
Read through the following eight red flags, taking note of any that you recognize happening in your own restaurant. They may be the reason that demand for your restaurant food delivery has slowed.
Customers are canceling their order due to long delivery wait times.
During busy weekends, your in-house delivery team may experience a backlog of orders, causing longer delays.
Consider partnering with a local delivery service provider to ensure you can full 100% of your order volume during peak times and for out-of-area orders.
You’ve been refunding orders due to food arriving cold, missing items, or the customer receiving the wrong order.
Check into software that can optimize delivery routes and offer intuitive ETA, ensuring that food is made just before drivers arrive, keeping it hot and fresh.
Not to mention keeping the customer happy!
Customers regularly call your restaurant to ask where their order is and when it will arrive.
Sign your restaurant up for a service that allows customers to track their delivery route.
Allowing them to track their order all the way to their door will help to eliminate angry order status calls.
If the only way guests can currently order your food is through your website or by calling you, that’s a major issue.
Did you know that you can work with third-party delivery providers, be listed in their apps, and still retain all your customer information?
A hybrid delivery solution with local delivery service providers could be what you’ve been looking for.
You feel like you no longer have control over the customer’s journey within your restaurant.
When you have easy-to-integrate technology that helps automate delivery management, offering delivery in-house via your own drivers and/or through third-party delivery providers doesn’t have to be difficult, and you can control every step of your customer’s journey.
You don’t have a way to track or send promotions to existing delivery customers.
When you use a hybrid delivery solution that helps you retain your customer’s information, you’re able to instantly send out coupons, discounts, a customer review link, and retarget them with specific promotions.
When your in-house drivers set off on their delivery route, you don’t have a reliable way to communicate with them.
When your delivery drivers forget part of an order, how do you normally reach them?
The best solution is real-time chatting capabilities linked to each order for immediate and clear instructions on orders when and if needed.
You regularly turn down delivery orders on busy nights when you can’t afford to send a staff member on a delivery.
When you decide to partner with third-party and local delivery companies, you eliminate the need to turn down deliveries.
Your staff handles what they can, and the extra deliveries can be outsourced to third-party delivery providers who are waiting for your call.
So, did you do?
If one or more of the above red flags sounded familiar to you or your restaurant, it may be time to revisit your delivery management process.
If you’re ready to taco’bout it, book a demo with our team today.
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