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how to choose the best platform to sell food at home

How to choose the best platform to sell food at home?

Given the impact on sales caused by Covid-19, selling food at home and to take away through the internet has become an essential factor to increase income in the new normal of restaurants. 

This has raised the need for better tools to offer a good online service and reach more customers, but how to choose the option that best suits each business, according to its resources and sales objectives?

Here we present 10 fundamental aspects that you should take into account when making a decision!

1. Quality service for your online customers

It is important that the order system online that you choose to manage your home service allows you to offer your customers the same attention and care that you try in the dining room service, because only then can you guarantee a satisfactory experience that invites them to reorder your products.

To know if a platform will help you enrich the experience of your customers, you must verify that it has:

  • Un intuitive and easy design use so that your client can know your menu and place his order without problem.
  • Tools for view order status, from the preparation process to delivery.
  • Option receive comments and / or evaluations on orders to improve the weak points of your service.

2. Low percentage of commissions on request

When hiring the service of a platform it is necessary to evaluate the percentage of commission that will represent you on each order.

This decision will depend on the capacity of your restaurant to provide delivery service, because by having this you can integrate a own platform that represents from zero to about 3.6 percent commission (which generally only applies to orders paid by card).

Otherwise, you can partner with a delivery application, whose commissions can represent from 10 to more than 30 percent on request, in addition to the respective percentage of sales taxes on digital platforms.

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3. Unlimited delivery areas

home food delivery

For many users of third-party applications, a great limitation when ordering is that the service of many restaurants is not available in their location.

Therefore, it is recommended that the platform you use in your business allows you to establish the delivery area freely and depending on your available resources, because if you have the opportunity to reach different parts of the city without losing the quality of your products, you will also have the possibility of reach more customers.

4. Lower shipping cost for your customers

Consider an ordering system online that allows you to charge the fair cost of your home service and helps your clients to generate a considerable savings in shipping costs with dynamic rates that do not depend on you.

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5. Option to pick up

The option to pick up allows you open the range of potential customers without having to invest too much in your home service, since practically anyone who has the opportunity to pass through your order can do so, from wherever they are.

Furthermore, this will allow your customers to save shipping costs in case they prefer to collect their orders on their own.

6. Ease of accepting different payment methods

It is recommended that your platform helps you offer various payment options so that your customers can choose the one of their preference, either in cash, by online payment or by bank card on delivery.

7. Fully customizable

home service app

Make sure that your platform helps you to position the identity of your business with key elements such as your logo and the colors of your brand, in addition to configuring your menu to your liking including images, descriptions, modifiers and prices of the products, as well as packages specials.

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8. Database of your customers online

Consider that today it is essential to have a database of your customers online to maintain direct interaction and increase loyalty.

To achieve this, your platform must allow your clients to create an account in your system from where they can access all the information about their orders, while it will provide you with important data such as telephone, address and email to answer any questions about the order or the service.

9. Tools to monitor the success of your promotions

Beyond the basic tools to receive food orders online, a good platform should provide you with tools that contribute to the generation of new leads through promotions and special coupons.

For this, it is necessary that the system has options to monitor your promotion strategies, ensuring that they do not exceed your authorized budget and that they are active only during the periods that you decide.

Here it is also convenient that your platform can provide you with a history of orders per customer to know their preferences and create more effective promotions.

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10. Plugins to improve your service in the new normal

With the appearance of Covid-19, some online food ordering platforms were updated to offer tools that can help you guarantee a safe service in your restaurant, such as interactive menus accessible from the cell phone of your guests. 

Get the best platform to sell food at home today!

Now that you know some of the most relevant aspects that an online ordering system should have to help you provide the best service at home and to take away in the new normal, we recommend you evaluate the costs and benefits of selling food online through different platforms with the free ROI calculator that we have for you. 

Download it and find out which platform is best for your business!

roi calculator of selling food online