Ecommerce: what it is and everything you need to know for your restaurant
Get to know the ecommerce, what is it and everything it represents for your restaurant, will allow you to grow as a company and increase your sales.
Create a e-commerce site for your restaurant it means opening the doors of your place online. In this way, you provide your customers with the opportunity to buy food at home, to take away or to request their order to consume at the restaurant.
An e-commerce site will not replace your physical location, but will be a parallel channel to the latter that will allow you to increase sales and reach the large number of people who buy online.
Learn in this article everything about ecommerce, what it is and why it's important to have one for your restaurant.
What is an ecommerce and what is its advantage for restaurants?
An ecommerce is an electronic business. In this type of business, basically, all aspects related to customer contact, such as product exposure, customer service, quotes and payments, are done online.
You may wonder why you should open an ecommerce for your restaurant, since you can easily place addresses or takeaway orders by taking orders over the phone.
However, with an ecommerce for your restaurant you can guarantee an excellent service consisting of table reservations in two clicks, online menus, buying takeaway meals or home reservations.
In addition, you guarantee an efficient and fast service with the following advantages:
- You save time: You stop wasting time just answering the phone, the process is automated.
- Waiting times are reduced: No more waiting from customers. You can schedule delivery times according to your needs, the customer only chooses the time zone based on the instructions on the site.
- They lower your costs: There is a significant reduction in management costs, thanks to automated processes.
- You increase your clientele: You have the opportunity to reach a greater number of target customers in your area.
- Increased popularity: You increase the popularity of your brand thanks to e-commerce marketing initiatives.
- You build customer loyalty: You have more tools to retain your customers and get them to order more often.
E-commerce as a pillar of digital marketing for restaurants
Developing an effective marketing strategy in the restaurant industry doesn't mean simply creating a few posts on Facebook and Instagram. It is necessary to create a functional e-commerce adapted to the needs of both external and internal customers.
An ecommerce is the pillar of digital marketing for your restaurant. It is used for advertising on Facebook, for Google Ads campaigns, to understand how to optimize your site in the browsing experience, to understand how many users enter without buying, what is the conversion rate, customer records, a database of contacts and much more.
You can't forget that digital marketing in the restaurant sector means structuring an online presence that integrates perfectly with the work and initiatives that take place within your restaurant.
Types of ecommerce and which one is the most recommended for restaurants
There are different types of ecommerce, ranging from a simple web store to service portals and online exchanges. Before starting to create the ecommerce for your restaurant, you should know which model best suits it.
Types of e-commerce according to business actors
The main types of electronic commerce differ depending on the actors involved in them. Among these types we can mention:
B2B
Business to Business (B2B) refers to electronic business transactions between legal entities. That is, companies interact with each other.
B2C
Business to Consumer (B2C) refers to the trade of goods and services between legal entities and individuals. That is, the sale of goods or services to private customers through a website.
C2B
With the customer-to-business or C2B approach, end customers are specifically targeting the company. The customer himself sets the cost of the goods and services by voting, and the seller agrees or disagrees with the transaction.
C2C
Consumer to Consumer (C2C) involves transactions between individuals. It is based on the commercial relationships of users through the electronic advertising system. Consumers can sell something to each other, that is, the online counterpart of printed classified ads. A website only provides the user interface and system for exchanging goods.
Steps to implement an ecommerce in your restaurant
For your restaurant's ecommerce to be a success, follow these steps of implementation:
1. Choice of hosting
Hosting is the place where all the files and information on your website are stored, being responsible for keeping your restaurant available so that customers can visit it.
For your choice, you must identify your e-commerce needs, considering aspects such as the size of your restaurant, the number of services and products you offer, the available investment, the expectation of traffic and the forecast of business growth.
It then evaluates the main hosting companies in the market and the available plans. Take into account the efficiency, stability and security of the hosting, so you avoid future problems with your ecommerce.
2. Domain selection
The web domain is the unique and unrepeatable name that a website receives on the internet. So once you've registered your domain, you've gained exclusivity with it. This means that no one else will be able to use it.
Just as the physical address of your restaurant helps your diners find the business establishment, the domain is intended to help your customers find your website.
Remember that it will be easier for your customers to find your restaurant if you choose a domain that matches your brand, what you offer and who you are.
3. Choice of the platform on which to develop e-commerce
The platform on which you develop your ecommerce is the heart of the business. It is a software used to create your online business.
You can develop it with an expert or buy an existing solution that provides you with everything you need to focus on selling and not on the technology needed to support your platform. Ideally, the choice should be made based on practical and operational aspects, such as expected access and growth.
4. Attractive audiovisual content
Visual communication, through images and videos, is very important to promote the creation of a relationship of trust and to stimulate in customers the desire to try other dishes on the menu.
All of this cannot be done at random, you need a solid strategy basic, designed to be carried out over time and consistent with your restaurant.
5. Integration of management tools
Integrations are what make the operation of the online business scalable and allow the business to grow.
It is very likely that other systems will be needed to assist in the administration of your ecommerce. Marketing, accounting, logistics and service tools are examples of possible integrations that will facilitate your daily life and boost your sales.
Among the management tools that are key to integrate into your ecommerce we have:
CRM
CRM is nothing more than your customer database. It contains all the information that will help you get to know your audience better and will allow you to plan much more specific marketing campaigns.
With a CRM you can not only understand the needs of your customers. It also allows you to create an effective and satisfying user experience.
Payments
Once you have defined the geographical area where you are going to sell, you must ensure that the chosen platform has the best payment gateways for your customers.
Logistics
The simpler, the better. Evaluate the integrations offered by the platform to facilitate the delivery of orders in the shortest possible time.
6. Online Advertising Strategy
Restaurant customers search for places on their smartphones, receive digital marketing messages, use the Internet for customer service, and search for new restaurants by reading online reviews.
If you don't have an online marketing plan, your restaurant won't be visible to most customers, even when they walk past your business, but with their eyes glued to their phone screens.
7. Customer Retention Strategy
The success of a restaurant's customer loyalty strategy undoubtedly depends on the experience your restaurant is able to offer.
Building a strong relationship is not enough to rely on technology, but an active and daily commitment is needed.
Timely service and reduced waiting times are, in fact, one of the key elements in improving customer satisfaction. And this is undoubtedly one of the aspects in which technology offers excellent support, perfectly in line with the expectations of the most demanding customers.
8. Content Strategy
Content marketing is more than having a blog or several social media accounts. It's a well-targeted strategy with a very specific objective. The one of retaining your potential customers and being able to convert them so that they then go to your restaurant.
The key to the success of your content marketing strategy for your establishment is to create interest in your restaurant through original and quality content that interests your target and meets their needs
Key tools that every restaurant ecommerce must implement
The restaurant's website is part of an articulated marketing strategy that involves several actions. Next, learn about the key tools in your restaurant's ecommerce that you must implement:
Tools to bring traffic to ecommerce
Increasing your ecommerce sales is one of the main objectives for your business. And to achieve this, you need to increase direct traffic to your website and attract new potential customers.
These tools allow you to increase traffic to your website:
SEM: Google Ads, Pinterest Ads, Facebook and Instagram Ads
One of the most reliable and interesting sources of traffic is advertising on the platforms most used by most people.
Why these platforms? For two essential reasons:
- You can reach an infinite and structured audience.
- They have powerful tools to monitor and analyze.
SEO: Blog
Having a blog for your restaurant increases your chances of getting a better Google ranking.
And who wouldn't want to curry favor with Google? The world's first search engine! Therefore, creating specific, quality content will open Google's doors for you. You'll gain visibility and your potential customers will know where you are.
Customer support tools
These are some of the tools customer support that you must implement for a successful website:
Business WhatsApp for restaurants
New dishes, takeaway services, theme nights, special menus for certain holidays. Your restaurant needs to communicate quickly and effectively with customers every day; currently there's nothing more effective than business WhatsApp for restaurants.
This tool allows you to automate response processes, create customer lists divided by interests and view the statistics of your messages. It's a completely free system, with very simple and intuitive functions. An excellent option for optimizing customer service.
Facebook bot
The Facebook Bot allows you to automate interactions with your customers. Through this platform, you can interact automatically 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
This way, you increase customer satisfaction and you have control of the data they provide you.
Home order and customer management tools
Get to know the best ones to boost your business and offer a better service to your customers.
Picker
With Picker, connect your e-commerce with all the delivery fleets and all the delivery partners in the market and make your deliveries on demand in the shortest possible time and to a larger number of customers. This way you can reduce your logistics costs and provide greater satisfaction to your customers.
CRM
A CRM system brings together all the data from different departments, platforms or channels of your restaurant on your website and helps to organize them. More than that, CRM solutions will take all that data, analyze it and then compile reports for your management.
Digital letter
The web population loves being able to check the menu online before booking or going to a restaurant.
You can exploit this “weakness” to your advantage by dedicating a web page on your site to the menu or publishing the parts that you think will attract the attention of customers. Do not overlook the fact that the appearance of the menu should be eye-catching.
If you already have a great design that works well, you may not need further adjustments. On the other hand, if you have a boring or old-fashioned menu, customers may think that your food is no different from the others and not be attracted to it.
Boost your ecommerce with digital marketing strategies for restaurants
People are turning to the Internet to search and find what they are looking for. They rely on search engines and review sites to identify local restaurants, evaluate the information they find and it's based on it, then they decide where to go and, to put it bluntly, who to leave their money to.
That's why you can't neglect web marketing: customers almost always prefer locations that have a strong online presence to those that, on the web, are barely mentioned.
Learn how to effectively promote your restaurant online:
User Experience:
The key to improving the user experience is to ensure that your site captures customers before they are attracted to one of your competitors. Once this is done, the browsing experience on your site should be pleasant for the visitor and make all the most important information a single click away.
Remember that the user looking for information on the web may never have physically been to your restaurant: your site is all they will know about you, for the time being, so choose carefully what image you want to communicate and how.
Online reputation
La reputation on the web it can be a matter of life and death for you: pay attention to what the online community says about your restaurant. Review sites, for example, have become a critical business tool.
Too many negative comments, whether true or not, can take away a good chunk of your income. But you also have some possibilities to actively intervene in this process: ask satisfied customers to tell the online world about the positive experience they had at your restaurant.
Customer Retention
The programs of customer retention most effective for restaurants are easy for customers to use and easy for staff to implement. These days, that means opting for a digital loyalty program; it's best to avoid anything that requires your customers to bring physical media.
WITHOUT
When we talk about SEM activities, we must understand all those techniques and strategies that aim to bring your ecommerce to the top positions in search engines, both organically and with paid campaigns. It can be said that SEM encompasses SEO.
SEO
SEO stands for search engine optimization. Applying an effective positioning strategy can allow restaurant websites to gain new customers and, in this case, increase online bookings.
Challenges faced by a restaurant e-commerce and how to solve them
Like any business, an ecommerce is faced with different challenges, among which are:
1. Waste of time recording orders
On-time delivery strengthens the business. Delayed food delivery can cause your business to fall apart. You must make use of reliable software that allows for timely delivery to win customers.
2. Chaos in the management of several delivery companies at the same time
Some common logistical problems faced by restaurant ecommerce in food delivery are managing the influx of order requests from a specific area, prioritizing order requests and providing on-time delivery.
To solve this, it is advisable to integrate functions such as location tracker, BOPIS (Buy Online, Pick Up in Store), delivery router and order scheduler into the online food delivery platform.
3. Have comprehensive sales control
One of the challenges you face for a restaurant e-commerce is to keep control of all your sales. To solve this, you must ensure that you have the right technology to handle orders of all shapes and sizes, and integrate them with your billing system.
4. Have control of the delivery service chain
Once an order is received through your restaurant's website, it's necessary to maintain control of the delivery service chain. For this reason, it is important that your e-commerce is integrated with the different delivery service platforms in order to guarantee total control of the delivery services.
5. Stock management
Maintaining and managing all the inputs to meet the demand of your ecommerce is a constant challenge. Integrate your site with inventory control and administrative management so that you can meet the requirements of your new ecommerce.
2 Examples of ecommerce for restaurants
Ecommerce in Ecuador has been established in all aspects and areas of the economy. And restaurants are no exception.
Some excellent examples of how to create and maintain an ecommerce for restaurants are the websites of Lo Nuestro, Café Restaurante and Bocatto.
These e-commerce sites make the most of digital technologies, supported by a quality service with first class dishes. Without a doubt, two examples worth knowing.
1) Lo Nuestro
2) Bocatto
How can Picker boost your ecommerce?
With Picker you can connect our API to your ecommerce, app or other type of system. This is how you optimize and enhance your site, by providing your customers with comfortable experience and satisfactory.
You also offer safe and reliable delivery, with a reduction in logistics costs and a shorter delivery time.
By integrating your site with Picker, your customers will receive a notification via SMS/email/WhatsApp and in this way they can track orders.
Conclusion
Now that you know an ecommerce, what it is and how important it is, it's time to create one for your restaurant.
Your ecommerce or website is the virtual place where users are looking for more information, but above all it's a sign of credibility for your restaurant.
In addition, the website allows you to lay the groundwork for a whole range of other digital marketing activities for your business.
It also allows you to activate an entire platform, for example, so that you can see your wines online, if that's what your company is about, or any other gastronomic product or service in which you are involved.
You can activate home delivery directly from the web and provide better service to your customers.
As you can see, there are many reasons why having an ecommerce is so important.
If you are thinking of opening e-commerce for your restaurant, rest assured that it represents a great opportunity for your business. With an ecommerce there is a significant increase in your sales, reputation and credibility.
