Restaurants: is it necessary to offer a delivery service?

Delivery has been very helpful for a large part of the hotel and catering sector during the Covid-19 period, allowing them to stay open and make a minimum profit.

Nowadays, people have less and less time, which generates changes in their eating habits, and we must also consider that we are immersed in a great technological boom in which new and much better equipped technologies are appearing every day, making it possible to create platforms that quickly interconnect the business with the consumer.

In this post we explain 6 advantages that your resturant, cafe... could obtain if you opt for food delivery.

1 - Greater customer reach

Thanks to food delivery, restaurants can reach a greater number of customers, mainly due to the fact that the range of reach increases considerably in kilometres. For example, a customer who does not usually go to your premises due to distance could consume your menus by Delivery as they would not have to travel. In addition, having a Delivery service gives us the possibility of reinforcing our relationship with customers who are already loyal.

2 - Profitability and increased sales

Betting on Delivery has an advantageous influence on the final profitability of catering businesses as they are characterised by a constantly growing demand that usually increases by an average of 8% per year. Moreover, this increase in profits is not only due to the higher percentage of orders, but we must also take into account that having a home delivery service generates more profits by increasing delivery expansion, i.e. if we gi further with the delivery service.

3 - Business visibility

Every business needs to be recognised and to transmit a positive image and it is obvious that in the case of restaurants, the more they are known and the more comments there are about them, the more potential customers they will attract. Nowadays, it is very difficult for a business to survive without advertising or communication, as in the digital era it is best to have a constant presence in search engines. Delivery APPs work with positioning scales, that is to say, depending on the percentage of orders you receive, you will be positioned in a different line, the more orders you have, the higher you will be and this will undoubtedly increase the possibility of positioning the brand in the consumer's mind.

4 - Sustainability

Betting on the implementation of Delivery in our restaurants helps us to promote a sustainable image related to the means of transport used for delivery and packaging. The most commonly used means of transport for home delivery is the bicycle, which can be seen as a commitment to reducing the carbon footprint, and on the other hand, the packaging is one of the brand image elements that restaurants take most care of, in this case we could bet on the use of recycled or biodegradable materials and the elimination of plastics.

5 - Brand image

Packaging, such as food boxes,  is an essential element when it comes to transmitting the brand's personality to the consumer. We could recognise it as the visible face of the product, which identifies its main brand identity and invites consumption. Therefore, the packaging is very important as the customer gets an idea of the brand based on his first impression (expensive/expensive, affordable/unaffordable). The packaging must be suitable for the type of food being delivered, guaranteeing the best conditions of freshness, temperature and presentation to the customer, incorporating the restaurant's branding so that they also become a promotional support.

6 - Digitalisation

The Delivery service concept is also characterised by a whole process of digital implementation. We could consider the home-delivery service as a modernisation bet for the most traditional businesses that do not have a website or online presence, in this case, the APP itself for ordering with a high volume of registered users can help them as an advertising factor.

Things to consider before launching a food delivery service

 

1 - Your work methodology

You must take into account whether you can adapt to delivery or whether, on the contrary, you should create a specific menu or modify the dishes. There are dishes that require too much preparation, are not ready for transfer and may even arrive in poor condition due to the temperature. It is very important to consider these aspects because, otherwise, you could damage your image. 

2 - Back Office

Consider your needs in terms of staff, food preparation, delivery staff... We should analyse whether we need to hire more staff or reorganise the staff we already have, manage shifts, buy more products or adapt the processes and operations.

3 - Location

The environment in which our premises are located will be one of the key points as this is what will make our delivery work or simply not work at all. For example, if the restaurant is located near an office area, the demand will probably be greater at lunch and breakfast times throughout the working week. On the other hand, if it is located in a residential area, the bulk of orders will be at weekends during dinner hours or when televised events such as football matches are taking place.

4-Internal or outsourced service:

You should consider whether you want to manage delivery yourself, on the contrary, outsource an external company such as Just Eat or Deliveroo. In the case of selecting an external company, the delivery and the order will be carried out under their supervision, so if there are any errors, they will take the blame.

External delivery

Advantages:

- The external company provides its order infrastructure and the necessary transport fleet for deliveries.

- It has a large customer database, and therefore the demand is already generated.

- The telematic payment system is already developed.

- Occupational risk prevention and safety measures for delivery staff are provided by the delivery platform.

Disadvantages:

- Due to the commission charged by the delivery company, the caterer will have less revenue margin per order.

- When taking their dishes to a marketplace, the caterer will usually have to share their customer data with the other restaurants that use the same platform and that will be able to send them their offers.

 

Internal service for delivery

Advantages

- By not having to pay any commission to an external company, the caterer has more profit margin on each order.

- They also have greater control over how the product reaches the diner and over the entire delivery process.

- He has the possibility to offer a much more personalised and unique experience for each customer.

Disadvantages

- The caterer does not have any customer database, and therefore will have to generate the demand.

- You have to bear the costs of transport, staff, delivery and fuel.

- You have to consider having an online ordering platform/website with digitised payment to keep up with the competition.

- Prevention of occupational hazards and safety measures for the delivery staff is the responsibility of the restaurant.