Contactless delivery

March 31, 2021

How to ensure contactless on-demand food delivery?

The ongoing pandemic has changed our lives dramatically. While we are affected significantly, the worst affected group is that of the business domain around the world. As businesses across the globe struggle to thrive and sustain themselves, many industries have come up with revolutionary solutions to enhance the customer experiences. One such industry is the food delivery sector that has revolutionized its way of delivering food across and satiating the hunger cravings of food lovers all around.

Food aggregators all around the world are now adapting a better alternative to delivering food services to the respective customers –with respect to the overall demand for delicious food. As such, leading food delivery companies are introducing the all-new option in the form of contactless food delivery. This concept is centered towards practicing effective social distancing measures and complying with the necessary safety & hygiene norms to combat the spread of the disease.

What is Contactless Delivery?

In technical terms, it implies the concept of having no direct contact with the customers, employees, and delivery partners. The primary goal of the given concept is to deliver vital services like on-demand food delivery in a safe & well-protected manner. Contactless delivery inculcates proper sanitization of buildings or offices, warehouses, equipment, packaged goods, employees, and the respective delivery partners. It also goes by the names as “No Contact Delivery” or “Zero Contact Delivery.”

With the all-new normal, on-demand food delivery service providers can look forward to delivering the ordered food items to the doorstep of the customers without establishing any direct contact. This helps in avoiding the overall risk of spreading the disease. Customers can make the decision with respect to the time and location of delivery. The delivery executive would notify them with the help of a call, text message, or email about the collection of the order. Ultimately, the payment for the order can be made through some third-party app or the website for facilitating no-contact delivery.

Ensuring Contactless On-demand Food Delivery

Several service providers have started executing different processes of contactless delivery in the on-demand food delivery industry.

1. OneClick Button: With the implementation of the “OneClick Button” feature, the companies can set up the norm of no-contact delivery on mobile apps & websites. This feature allows the customers to click a particular button while receiving the order according to their preference.

2. Delivery Instructions: Service providers in the on-demand food delivery industry can also look forward to implementing an innovative text box in the website or app. They can also implement the concept of non-contact delivery requests. Using the given method, the customers are expected to fill out specific delivery instructions in the respective comment box as they place the order. This allows them to receive the food delivery as per the specific notes or instructions.

Even after trying your best to get back on track, you would notice The contactless food delivery service in the modern on-demand food delivery industry is transforming the overall customer experience in the ongoing uncertain times for ensuring all-round safety. Businesses all around the world are, therefore, embracing the given concept to enhance the overall customer experience.

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Food industry after COVID-19

March 23, 2021

The rage of COVID-19 has been affecting various sectors across the globe, and even now, it shows signs of severe damages. With experts still unsure about when this turmoil will end for good, restaurants have a hard time for sustenance. That is why; restaurants are adopting powerful strategies to navigate through this crisis. If you own a food business, then you will also have to adapt changes and incorporate the following strategies in your restaurant:

Incorporating technology

Technology is probably one of the few things that can support you during such hard times. Not only can you offer services to your customers with the help of it, but if you leverage technology the right way, you would also be able to increase traffic in your restaurant. With everyone preferring online ordering of food instead of dining out at a restaurant, you will have to establish your restaurant’s app for accepting and delivering orders online. Whether you are building your app or listing your business on Google, pay extra attention to the updated menu, hours of operation, etc.

Reassuring loyal customers

If you have been running a restaurant for a while, you might have acquired a loyal customer base. Your main task is to retain them for continuing your business by communicating with them regarding any changes you are implementing. For instance, you can share the sanitization procedures followed in your restaurants strictly by the staff. You can also encourage your customers to order online by offering them a discount coupon on specific meals. For this, you can launch marketing campaigns to approach your targeted customers or communicate them via social media platforms, personalized emails, etc.

Reducing operating costs

Even after trying your best to get back on track, you would notice that the sales are not as great as before. To cope with this, you will have to make specific changes to reduce your restaurant’s operating costs. Identify the raw materials costing you the most, and then negotiate with suppliers to offer these at discounted prices. If this strategy fails, then you can discontinue some of the dishes from the menu for a while and update the new menu across your business website, listing, and social media pages. You can also track the cash flow of your restaurant by embedding cloud-based financial systems in your business. Besides these, you will also have to keep an eye on food wastage and making the most of your current inventory.

To cut costs, you can also schedule your business’s operating hours so that you don’t have to pay hourly wages to your staff when the demands are low.

Curate creative offers

With most people stuck at home enhancing their culinary skills, you might be losing out on numerous orders. However, this is also a great time to attract the attention of these people who are tired of cooking at home by offering family-sized meal portions.

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Features to look for in a successful online food ordering app

March 15, 2021

Online food ordering apps have befriended even not-so-technologically-savvy individuals during the last year. Food delivery apps have become the favorite of every foodie by offering them the convenience of ordering tasty delights from the restaurant of their choice without stepping outside their homes’ comfort. If you are in the food business and own a restaurant, building an online food ordering app is essential.

Application for customers

Let’s focus on the facilities that your customers must enjoy while using the app, and it includes navigating through the various restaurants, experiencing a smooth payment gateway. Here are some of the salient features that should be present in the app:

1. Registration and account creation

   Although the registration process is vital for companies to collect information about their customers, often users might not be eager to complete the process. Thus, you should keep the registration form simple or even allow your customers to login from their social media accounts.

2. Searching for food

   After completing the registration, when your users want to see the restaurants’ results, you would have to make their experience seamless by embedding in various filters based on cuisine, ingredients of foods, etc.

3. Adding a secure payment gateway

   When your customers share their payment credentials with you, they would expect you to protect their confidential information. Thus you should incorporate a payment gateway in the cart which encrypts all the data so that your customers feel confident enough to complete the transaction.

4. Real-time tracking

   Waiting for food without knowing how long it will take makes most of us anxious and tense. Thus you should enable real-time tracking features with the contact number of the delivery person so that your customers would have complete knowledge regarding the estimated time of arrival of their order.

Application for the restaurant

Some of the features that would help you to manage your business are:

1. Registration

   You will have to manage the restaurants’ registrations and allow them to receive orders only after the completion of the process.

2. Dashboard

   This is where you can get complete insights into the performance of your online food ordering app. Just with one click, you can check the number of orders placed and your earnings, respectively.

3. Assigning and managing orders

   When your customer places an order, you will have to check in with the restaurant and then assign a delivery executive. With the online food ordering app industry getting competitive with every passing day, your strategy needs to be strong enough for sustenance in the long term.

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Should Your Restaurant Use Third-party Integration Solutions?

Everything You Need to Know

When third-party food delivery apps like Grubhub, Eat24, DoorDash, and others came around, they appeared a boon to the industry. For a smaller transaction fee, restaurants could acquire and fulfill online orders from customers all around the city. It served as an additional source of revenue for the restaurants.

The best part was that they were not required to pay for their own online ordering system while investing in delivery drivers. The boon has turned into a sour reality as we have come past several years. For many restaurants, working with third-party online ordering services might be challenging in several ways.

1. The Problem with Third-party Online Ordering Apps & Food Delivery Services

   Restaurants have to depend on fulfilling customer orders from 3rd party delivery companies. But they have to maintain different tablets for all these orders. It is complicated to manage orders from all these other tablets.

2. The orders coming from different 3rd party delivery companies don’t get printed in the kitchen as their order protocols are limited & they can only send fax. Restaurants have to maintain a fax machine for these orders; they have to pay monthly fax fees in addition.

3. Restaurants need to enter all the 3rd party orders into their POS to consolidate all the orders, Orders get printed in the kitchen in the design the cooks are used to.

4. Restaurants don’t know how many orders were fulfilled from the 3rd party delivery companies & how much they will get paid at the end of the week.

Entering the 3rd party orders manually into POS consumes a lot of time & is very error-prone.

#Increased Labor and Food Costs

Higher labor and food cost are a significant challenge in going forward with the third-party food delivery and online food ordering experiences. As your business will be reaping the benefits of more customers, it will effectively have to incur higher food and labor costs. It would include hiring more staff to work during peak hours, training, purchasing more raw materials, and storage.

#Inability to Manage Delivery Services

Controlling the entire delivery experience is crucial to keeping costs manageable. Based on the distance, third-party food delivery services will charge around 20–30% as service charges. In a typically low-margin industry, delivery management effectively equates to maintaining profitability. Still, customers expect it.

The only solution is to ensure reduced costs and transparent pricing through apps. Operators reduce the requirement for increased staff members during peak working hours when the third-party delivery app gets integrated into the respective POS.

#Customers Not Engaging with the Restaurant Brand

When customers start using third-party online food ordering services, they become the end customers of the app and not the restaurant. They will be paying for the app. The only time they will be interacting with the restaurant brand is while tasting the food.

As customers continue ordering through third-party apps, it becomes impossible for restaurants to create a fulfilling and engaging customer experience. They do not interact with the restaurant’s staff. They never, and they indeed do not set foot in the restaurant’s premises. This implies that the customers miss out on around 90 percent of the overall restaurant experience.

#No Access to Customer’s Data

One of the not-known demerits of integrating with third-party ordering services is the lack of access to relevant customer data. As orders are made directly on the third-party app, restaurants have no access to the data. In most cases, restaurants do not even receive access to essential information like the customers’ contact numbers or email addresses.

It turns out to be a significant problem in the long run. Restaurants will not make contacts or market to the respective customer base. They cannot even perform in-depth analysis about the online customer demographics.

#The Reputation Issue

The restaurants do not receive effective results concerning branding while working with a third-party food ordering app. Moreover, the restaurants get the overall blame for any negative customer experience at the same time.

According to a study report, it was estimated that around 82% of customers blame the restaurant and not the app or the driver for wrong food delivery. For small-scale, local restaurants, a handful of negative customer reviews can be damaging enough to negatively impact the overall bottom line.

How can sVang Help?

With sVang’s third party order integration for (Full Service, Quick service restaurants)

1. Manage your delivery business from a single tablet
2. Integrate Orders directly Into Your POS
3. Auto-accept and print your orders
4. Print all your online orders automatically in the kitchen
5. Per station ticket printing with custom design
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6. Cloud printing solutions that support leading printers

With sVang You Can

1. Execute delivery orders efficiently and accurately
2. Provide great service to your customers while saving time and money
3. Increase your sales by getting all your online orders auto-confirmed & printed directly in the kitchen
4. Don’t miss any orders
5. Increase kitchen efficiency
6. No need to maintain multiple 3rd party printers

Right from order integration to delivery management, customer ordering, menu management, customer loyalty, marketing services, and reporting & analytics, sVang serves to be your one-stop destination for managing your restaurant most professionally.

With sVang, restaurants can go ahead with third-party integrations seamlessly without giving in to the challenges imposed by the industry. Restaurants can sit back and focus on improving efficiency and brand reputation.

Conclusion

sVang can help you streamline your online food ordering and delivery processes through a third-party integration with its comprehensive range of restaurant management services.

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Commission Free Online Ordering

Feb 11, 2022

As a significant aspect of economic activities is gearing up worldwide, restaurants are now putting pressure on leading online food ordering and delivery app services for altering the commission structure. The restaurants are also demanding to reduce the discounts while imposing new fees for deliveries.

Restaurants continue letting the respective platforms know about ongoing changes, especially with forced platform-centric discounting. Without the given imposition, the nation’s restaurants claim they will not be sustaining operations in the ongoing ‘new normal’ scenario.

The Scenario of Commission-based Food Ordering and Delivery

The latest reports have fueled conversations with the leading online food delivery service providers. Usually, the leading online food ordering and delivery service providers charge around 20–25 percent as a commission of the total value of the order. The commission value will depend on several factors, including the brand, exclusivity, and the overall consumer reach.

Importance of a Commission-free Online Food Ordering System

By delivering a commission-free model, restaurants can continue their operations while being profitable and staying afloat during such challenging times.

sVang allows restaurants to grow the overall profit margins, improve customer relationships, and maximize sales with the help of commission-free online ordering solutions. sVang allows restaurants to integrate online ordering into their websites while taking orders from different customer acquisition channels.

Benefits of Commission-free Food Ordering and Delivery Services

• Increased Revenue: Online orders bring around 30 percent more revenue than in-person or phone-based orders.
• Direct Deposit Integration: It is possible to collect customer payments instantly while automatically depositing them directly into the bank account.
• Real-time Ordering: Restaurants can receive a print upon order placement.
• No Requirement of Downloads: With the help of internet-based solutions, restaurants and similar service providers can access the respective orders without downloading any apps.
• Outshining Competitors: It is estimated that only 40 percent of restaurants have access to a dedicated online ordering solution. Restaurants can reach out to the customers before they compete with the help of commission-free online ordering and delivery services.
• Collection of Customer Information: Now, restaurants can easily collect and manage the dedicated customer database while sending offers directly to the customers who have ordered through the system.

QR Codes –Leading the Way to the Future

With the help of QR Code ordering, local merchants can look forward to increasing efficiency, reducing the overall employee dependency, and streamlining staff responsibilities. This will help improve the service’s speed –allowing merchants to turn tables quickly.

Improving the Overall Transactional Experience

The commission-free online ordering business model is based on minimal fees for merchants and reduced costs on online menus for end customers. It helps in saving the overall interactions. Therefore, it also boosts the transactional experience.

Customers prefer ordering directly from the restaurant or café to support local businesses and the economy. Commission-free online ordering is poised to take the hospitality and foodservice industry to a level more personalized to the customer base.

Commission-free services to the diners and merchants help power effective client engagement with the help of cutting-edge POS technology and similar solutions. Businesses are expected to develop a monthly subscription or software fee and the credit card processing fee for the respective online ordering platform.

Diners get access to a series of convenient options –going directly to the restaurant’s custom mobile app or website of the restaurant for placing the order. The solution allows merchants and businesses to own and expand the customer base while improving order accuracy and efficiency.

Conclusion

The all-new commission-free, contactless online ordering system by sVang is built towards resolving the current and post-pandemic challenges of independent and chain-owned small-scale and medium-scale hospitality and foodservice businesses. As a modern revolution in the restaurant business, dedicated POS solutions by sVang will allow the hospitality and food & beverage industry to manage menus and orders in real-time. The commission-free online ordering system by sVang will help businesses accelerate the overall growth potential by receiving multiple direct orders from mobile apps and websites.

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Restaurant Staffing Issues

Mar 05, 2022

The operational aspect of any restaurant is a crucial part of ensuring its success. Serving delicious food and expanding the market works when you streamline day-to-day operations with the help of qualified workers. However, common restaurant staffing issues are rising rapidly –even long before the advent of the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has only enhanced the manifestations of these problems.

Amidst the ongoing pandemic, businesses across the globe have undergone both temporary and permanent closures. Restaurants that are fortunate enough to go through closures struggle to acquire and retain the right talent. The abrupt shift of significant consumer behavior following social restrictions strictly has urged business owners to change industries. So, with the ongoing issues at hand, what can restaurateurs do?

Common Restaurant Staffing Issues and the Solutions

Labor shortages are not new to the restaurant industry. Tight labor markets existed at around 5.4 percent during 2019 for all jobs in the restaurant industry. A majority of them were unfilled. As per another study report, only 10 percent of full-service restaurant businesses reported being fully staffed at the start of 2021.

It is projected that around 14 percent of the growth of the food & beverage industry will take place. It is estimated that the restaurant industry is poised for around a 6 percent rise in the upcoming decade.

Now, with relaxations across industries to some level, as restaurants wish to get back to business, the staff is not available readily. However, unemployment benefit is just one part of the entire puzzle –not the entire picture. Here are some more common issues to know about:

#Recruitment

Even before the pandemic, attracting recruits to the restaurant was not easy. However, the ongoing situation makes the market appear even more volatile and highly unattractive to job seekers. Therefore, it is recommended for businesses to make the offer quite competitive. In addition to salary, employees are also nowadays looking for additional benefits.

#Limited Talent Pool

Restaurants used to be once a hotspot for the younger groups seeking employment. However, lately, the younger generation is moving away to other lucrative industries.

#Onboarding

Hiring new employees has become more expensive than bumping up the current compensation plan. If obtaining new talent cannot be helped, you need to ensure that the talent is well-integrated into the respective teams.

Inadequate training will lead to poor job performance. At the same time, a comprehensive onboarding plan will not always equate to a more extended program. Therefore, you should simplify the process to save ample time and money.

#Employee Retention

The employee turnover rate in the restaurant industry remains at a whopping 75 percent, and the restaurant industry will require around 150,000 more staff by 2026.

In desperate requirements for labor, some businesses resort to either under-qualified or undependable staff. When the workforce might be scarce, focus on individuals you already have and aim for maximum retention.

#Administrative Work

In addition to client-facing work and food preparation, administrative work in a restaurant setting makes up for a significant chunk of the time of the restaurant employees. It will include tasks like estimating the number of customers, the number of deliveries, and determining items that sell and those that do not.

It is easier to be overwhelmed by the given tasks as your business grows, especially when you do it alone. Some of the responsibilities might even get out of your expertise. Therefore, you should recognize the requirement for help in such cases — reliable help from a professional restaurant management service provider like sVang.

sVang is a dedicated restaurant management platform that streamlines the day-to-day operations of your online restaurant business –right from ordering to delivery services.

#Lack of Motivation

Work can get both physically and mentally taxing on the workers in any restaurant business. It could easily lead to demotivation. Eventually, it will adversely affect the overall quality of work.

sVang Staffing Solutions

Rapid technological protocols and advancements with the current state of society have observed an increase in online services. Some of the restaurant staffing issues can be quickly addressed by intelligent solutions –like the one offered by sVang.

sVang Self-Ordering — QR Code & Dynamic Menu(Full Service restaurants)

-Decrease wait times with dynamic menu(No more PDFs) -Increase order size, tips, and Faster check out -Get customer data for targeted marketing -Convert customers waiting for service into paying customers -Decrease wait times with faster table turnaround -Increase customer satisfaction & loyalty

How to do it

-Order through your phone by scanning the QR code -Keep the tab open throughout the dining experience and pay through our phone -Capture customer information during checkout -Add the customer to wait for list by scanning a QR code -Text the customer a link to order ahead while waiting -Provide a personalized experience for your customers based on their previous purchases

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How does marketing help a local restaurant boost its sales?

Mar 31, 2022

Innovative marketing helps develop a good reputation while reaching consumers. It also aids restaurant promotions –including the announcement of new menu items, special events, and discounts. With proper planning and careful execution, advertising can help get customers in the door day after day.

Targeting the Right Customers

Marketing helps when customers will recommend your establishment to colleagues and friends. However, only word of mouth is not reliable enough to bring in new customers. New strategies for advertising are more effective because they allow for targeting specific types of consumers.

Staying Competitive

To be competitive is another reason why restaurants should advertise. Irrespective of what you aim at doing, your competitors will be marketing to your customers. Suppose you do not set up a dedicated presence in your local market. Consumers might assume that your overall lack of marketing indicates a lack of true success.

Increasing Revenues

Family and casual restaurants usually spend less than 5 percent on advertising. Fine-dining restaurants tend to spend more on promotions and advertising. They are expected to set up a high-quality, luxurious image. To achieve this, it often implies marketing in high-end media channels while using public relations methods to draw the attention of food columnists.

Developing a Good Reputation for Your Restaurant

Marketing can also help you hone essential aspects of the overall reputation. For instance, a regional barbecue restaurant will depend on tourists for a significant portion of its income. It can look forward to drawing more tourists by marketing on travel websites and travel magazines.

Similarly, a high-end restaurant can attract leading spenders by marketing the pedigree of its world-class chefs. In both cases, relevant marketing brings in customers by developing the business's reputation in the community.

Tips for Restaurants to Reach a Large Target Market

While your passion for food might lead you into the restaurant business, this alone will not make way for a successful business. As per a study report, the number of restaurants in the United States has declined. The advent of the pandemic and lack of proper marketing strategies brought down these numbers.

• Define the Target Demographic: To successfully appeal to the target market, you are firstly required to define the demographic. Consider aspects like gender, age, income level, and preferences. Targeting the upper-middle-class group with your advertising efforts might not make sense when launching a fast-food joint. Here are some practical tips for scaling your marketing numbers this year:
• Location: It is essential to locate your restaurant close to the local or target market. It would help if you ensured an ample target demographic within 3 miles for sustaining your restaurant business. For instance, if your target demographic is teens, you can think of opening your restaurant in a shopping mall featuring high teen traffic.
• Advertise Selectively: You should not advertise blindly. You will end up spending too much for too little in return. Instead, you should consider marketing through media that is likely to be observed by your target demographic.
• Social Media: Social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are essential in acquiring the younger demographic. It is always recommended to have a relevant website. It will help you in reaching out to maximum customers on the go.

Conclusion

Individual or combined, these practices can help scale your restaurant's marketing efforts in the local market. While you keep people talking, your business must focus on relevant restaurant marketing efforts to achieve maximum success in the local market.

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