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Undoubtedly, the COVID-19 crisis has completely changed how we live, do business, and communicate with each other. As far as our habits are concerned, a survey conducted by the CPG sales and marketing firm Acosta, found that 55 percent of the polled people in the U.S. preferred meals at home to eating out.
There is a huge shift in customer behavior that restaurant owners must take into account. These businesses will need to adapt their strategies to succeed in unprecedented times.
As people are spending more time online than ever before, we believe that the way out of this difficulty for restaurant businesses is to build their online presence and work on their existing web assets.
The conditions are ripe for restaurants to enhance their profit margins by reaching out to customers online. All of this begins with building a restaurant Marketplace.
This might be quite a new arena for you, which is why we will share a few tips to help you to build a restaurant Marketplace that will make your cash registers ring!
Tips to help you to build a Restaurant Marketplace:
- Understand your target audience
- User-friendly and eye-catching designs
- Add engaging content
- Brand Theme & Customer Journey
- No PDFs of your menu
- Upload high-quality images on your menu.
- Update your COVID-19 safety protocol.
- Add social media buttons.
- Understand your target audience
Defining your target audience makes the entire process of Marketplace building a breeze. For instance, students might order from you often, or perhaps freelancers working from home form a major chunk of your repeat customers. To engage and attract them online, make sure that the theme of the Marketplace suits their tastes. To give you an example, if you cater to executives, make a restaurant Marketplace that has a clean, professional and minimalistic look.
In addition to this, we believe it is important to categorize your prospective customers into two groups – first-timers and repeat customers. The former is probably looking for a place to eat or order from their mobile device. Naturally, the local business with a Marketplace optimized for search engines and mobile-friendly is more likely to attract traffic. So, while creating a food ordering app or a Marketplace, take this into special consideration.
On the other hand, repeat customers will type in the name of your restaurant directly to get food delivered or to make a reservation. To make their task easier, crucial information — contact details, reservation & home delivery CTAs, your restaurant’s menu, and directions — should be accessible with a few taps.
Also, to cater to this particular chunk, invest in a robust, intuitive online food ordering system that integrates well into your Marketplace. This could be the key to setting yourself apart from your local competitors.
- User-friendly and eye-catching designs
Impeccable Marketplace design is the secret ingredient that helps convert Marketplace traffic into quality leads. However, if your restaurant Marketplace’s design looks unappealing or clunky, customers might give it a miss and move on to that of your competitor’s. We do not want that, do we?
Instead, honor the latest theme standards. Express your brand by making the most out of font styles and choose the right color palettes. Do keep functionality, navigability, and aesthetics in mind while taking your pick.
When it comes to color choice, steer away from colors such as black and purple as they are believed to suppress the appetite. On the other hand, the color blue invokes a sense of calmness, while red and yellow boost the appetite.
However, no matter what you do, make sure that the colors are not hard on the eyes.
You can always play safe by sticking to your brand’s colors and the vibes of your restaurant. If your restaurant is an upscale one, go minimalistic and respect white spaces. A fun layout with a thicker font bodes well for a restaurant with millennials as its target audience.
- Add Engaging Content
Although Marketplace content is often perceived as secondary to design, we believe it is equally important. The right kind of content clearly communicates your Marketplace’s actual purpose and gets the brand-messaging across in a crisp manner.
Remember that providing information about your restaurant will still be your responsibility if you get designers and developers to build a restaurant app or Marketplace from scratch. Of course, you can always depend on a writer to spruce the language up and make it engaging for online readers. But make sure that the Marketplace contains basic details, such as your restaurant’s specialties as well as its history. Mentions of upcoming events and specials would be the icing on the cake!
We also recommend letting your food do the talking by adding testimonials/reviews of your previous customers.
- Brand Theme & Customer Journey
Remember, your restaurant Marketplace is the digital face of your business. Just like you would keep your restaurant prim and proper with clean tables, attractive lighting, and an atmosphere that makes the customer go, “I should come here more often,” the same should apply to your Marketplace or restaurant management platform.
Ultimately, the ease of the customer journey on your marketplace matters! Your customers will judge your offerings based on the design, attractiveness, and usability of your Marketplace.
- No PDFs of your Menu
No one likes having to squint over a menu to read the names of your specialty dishes, especially when they are hungry!
Your menu is probably one of the most critical elements of your restaurant’s Marketplace; hence it should be mobile-friendly, easy-to-use, and attention-grabbing. So, make sure that you casually don’t upload dreary images of your physical menu or a PDF.
Not only will Google be unable to index such uploads, but the customer will also find it challenging to place an order. Ideally, the menu should be scroll-able on your restaurant management system Marketplace.
- Upload high-quality Images on your Menu
Make the average customer’s mouth water with attractive images that load quickly! Pictures of the most popular dishes on the menu can be instrumental in appraising the customer of what they can expect.
When images are paired with two-line descriptions of each dish, and by placing your bets on an intuitive restaurant online ordering software, you are essentially replicating the real-world experience of placing an order at a physical restaurant!
- Update your COVID-19 Safety Protocol
Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. Have your business hours changed because of the pandemic? Make sure that you mention this on the Marketplace! This will ensure that your customers aren’t facing inconvenience.
In case you are limiting the entry of people at your restaurant or are offering curbside delivery options to those who can’t wear masks because of medical reasons, let your customers know by mentioning the same on the Marketplace.
Let your customers know about the steps you’re taking to ensure their safety as well as the food hygiene standards that will be followed.
Explain all of this in clear, concise language and leave no room for ambiguity. The more secure they feel, the more likely are they to order from your place through your online restaurant delivery system.
- Add your Social Media Page Links
You are definitely losing out on a lot of business if it is not on the major social media platforms! These platforms make social listening possible, meaning that you can keep an eye on your local competitor’s mentions and what customers are saying about your brand. You can tailor your offering accordingly to cater to the expectations of your loyal patrons with the help of these valuable insights.
Did we mention that it also boosts your search engine rankings? All the more reason for you to add social media buttons while creating your food ordering Marketplace.
Linking your Instagram page to your restaurant Marketplace will make it easier for new customers to find your business and tag you in their food pictures. Also, putting up Facebook and Twitter buttons that lead them to your social media helps build trust and makes them believe in your authenticity while using your online food delivery system.
Conclusion
If you have not signed up for food delivery app development or worked on building a restaurant Marketplace yet, now is the best time to do it. Yelo can assist you in creating a food ordering Marketplace in a jiffy! Offering benefits such as multiple theme options, payment gateway integrations, and comprehensive SEO support, it is the resource you need to kickstart your restaurant’s online journey!
Signup for Yelo’s 14 days free trial and explore for yourself.
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