Cornell University's recent report, The Current State of Online Food Ordering, clearly shows that online ordering is a great win for restaurants. In general, they conclude that operators who implement online ordering enjoy these benefits:

• Reduced mistakes as phone errors are eliminated
• Lower labor cost as less staff is needed to answer phones
• Higher customer satisfaction as communication issues are reduced

The study concluded that the ROI(return on investment) makes good sense and consumers like online ordering for its convenience.

While I agreed with most of their findings, I do think that the study failed to recognize that for online ordering to be successful, it is critical that the restaurant has an online ordering system in place that is effective. Unfortunately, restaurant owners often make decisions solely based on price without fully understanding the product they are getting. This can be a costly decision. If they have a poor online ordering system, customers will likely have bad experiences and the restaurant could lose a valuable customer.

When choosing an online ordering processor it is important to investigate their system and answer these questions:

• How long have they been in business? A new system will likely have many issues.
• How do they transmit orders? Fax is not reliable and too slow. Do they have other solutions?
• How are they managing mobile ordering? Mobile must be part of any offering as everyone eventually will have a smart phone.
• What kind of controls do they provide the restaurant manager? Changing menu prices, closing the platform, managing coupons, and viewing reports all should be available at anytime. A strong restaurant management system is important.
• Do they have customer support to monitor order failures? Technology sometimes fails and there are times support is needed.

It is easiest to choose the lowest cost provider, but that can create long term problems. Most online ordering companies have very reasonable pricing and to fully leverage this channel it is important to have a partner who has a robust system that creates positive experiences for your customers. Basing one's decision solely on price will likely be a regrettable decision.

 

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David Litchman is a founding partner of iMenu360, a private label online ordering solution that is used by restaurants across the world. The iMenu360 solution is easy to use, requires no new technology investment and is inexpensive to implement. Unlike Grubhub, Seamlessweb, Eat24 etc, iMenu360 is a system that is branded for the restaurant and allows restaurant owners to control their customers' online experience.