1. Timing
While now is the time to leverage the power of delivery, it’s still early days for most of the industry. Even the big players are just learning how to work with tech that still needs to be tested and refined. It’s important to acknowledge that success will be determined by having both the flexibility to iterate, and an open mind to adopt new technologies.
2. Converting new customers
There is a huge gap between the number of people who know about restaurant delivery services and the number of people who have actually used them. Restaurants need to identify the right people, typically younger ones with more disposable income, entice them to use food their delivery service, and then work on retaining them for the long term.
3. Scaling-up the service
Successfully expanding delivery operations requires careful planning and a step-by-step approach. Properly training restaurant staff, working with the drivers, and educating customers are all essential. Smart technology can be adopted at lightning speed but businesses need time to adjust and familiarize their staff with the new tools and processes in order to improve their operations and smoothly scale up their delivery service alongside their kitchen operations.
4. Providing quality experiences
Consumers want to feel they are getting a restaurant-level meal, even if they’re eating it at home or in the office. To do this, restaurants must figure out the right balance between cost, speed and quality so that both sides are happy. The bottom line is that everything must arrive at an acceptable level of quality and provide the expected experience.
5. Ensuring rapid delivery
Speed is a key concern for people and this presents a different challenge when it comes to delivery as compared to the pace required for in-restaurant services. Most people are not willing to wait a long time for their food to arrive so this is an extra challenge if the restaurant chooses to work with a third-party food delivery service.
6. Controlling delivery charges
Restaurants, especially those with lower product prices, need to find ways to keep delivery fees at a level that their customers can tolerate. They need to figure out how to balance the goal of keeping their margins intact with the challenge of not turning away customers whose value perception of the restaurant may change due to high delivery charges.
7. Making delivery profitable
The cost considerations for delivery operations are paramount, from hiring additional workers to prepare the food and deliver the orders, to training employees on the new processes and systems, through payments to external delivery services or for an in-house fleet. While sales are likely to increase, detailed financial projections need to be created to ensure that the restaurant’s profit margins aren’t adversely affected over time.
8. Handling location-based issues
Several problems may arise when restaurants add deliveries to their existing services, including space limitations in the parking lot (due to the delivery vehicles) and in the kitchen (due to the increase in the number of orders). This is especially true at the beginning when a flood of orders may come in if the services are marketed properly.
You can download the full White Paper here: The Key To Restaurant Delivery Excellence
