Ordering food online has become an indispensable habit of most people in the busy modern life. That demand is increasing and it is a "gold mine" for food and beverage shops to exploit. However, there is still a part of users who do not fully believe in food delivery for many different reasons.
What problems do customers care about and worry about when ordering food online? What do restaurants and eateries need to do to break that "psychological barrier"? Follow along with in the newbbie article below.
1. Customers' concerns and challenges for F&B businesses
There is no denying the strong development of online food ordering services today. With many advantages such as convenience, saving time in cooking or commuting, more and more people prefer the form of food delivery instead of having to go to the restaurant themselves. At the end of 2020, Q&Me conducted a survey to find out the latest trends in online food ordering services, as well as learn more about the needs of Indonesia users for this type of service during the epidemic season. Covid-19.
The survey was conducted on the scale of two big cities in Indonesia with 840 candidates participating in the survey in December 2020. Of the 840 candidates who participated in the survey, 75% used the food delivery service, of which 24% were new users, using this service for the first time due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, there are still 25% of them that do not use food delivery services.
Looking at the statistics, it can be seen that the majority of people do not use food delivery services because they are able to cook for themselves. reasons are Some other notable that they are concerned about the quality of the food, high shipping costs, time consuming, high cost, not knowing how to place an order or having a lot of trouble making an order. These are also some of the obstacles that make customers wonder and are afraid to use the online food ordering service. The challenge for food and beverage businesses is how to convince customers to get rid of those worries and fears.
2. Psychological "barriers" of customers when ordering food online and solutions
Based on the results of the above survey and listening to the opinions of many customers on social networks, below is a summary of the things that customers worry that make them not trust the online form of food ordering. You need to understand your target customers to come up with appropriate solutions to convince them to order, thereby increasing orders and revenue for the brand.
2.1. Dishes are delivered wrong or missing from the order ordered
On food delivery apps, up to 20% of customer reviews complain about a problem related to their order being delivered with the wrong dish. The confusion here may be the delivery of the wrong item, the wrong item when it reaches the customer. This is a serious mistake that can easily lead to customers never ordering again or giving negative brand reviews on apps and food review societies on social media. This error can be caused by the carelessness of the kitchen when checking order information or by the driver giving the wrong item when combining multiple orders for delivery at the same time.
In fact, this confusion may come from the customers themselves when they have chosen the wrong dish name and quantity without their knowledge. However, when the order is wrong, no matter who is at fault, the store is still the object of receiving negative reviews from customers. Especially for customers who prefer to pay in advance, they are afraid that receiving the wrong or missing items will cause them not only to lose money but also to "burden themselves".
To minimize the confusion of dishes in the order, make sure your restaurant menu is regularly updated and arranged according to each item clearly so that customers do not accidentally order the wrong dish. The business owner should ask the kitchen department to carefully check the order information before processing such as the name of the dish, the number of dishes, other requirements for adding or removing ingredients in the dish, etc. Before delivering the food. food for the delivery driver, please check the information one more time to ensure accuracy to the customer.
2.2. Food quality is not guaranteed
The quality of the food that customers care about is reflected in many factors such as taste, appearance, food hygiene and safety, etc. Whether the food I receive is the same as the image in the restaurant's advertisement or not. ? Will the taste of the food be as good as imagined? How is that dish made from food and is it hygienic? These are all concerns that make many people shy when ordering food online. For them, ordering from a strange restaurant is like a "game of chance", if they are lucky, they will receive delicious food, and vice versa.
If ordering from familiar brands, customers are still worried whether the quality of the item will be affected after the shipping process. For example, if customers visit your store because of the crispy fried chicken taste, will they want to order that chicken home, while their mind is always afraid that when the food is delivered to your home, the chicken will not be available? crispy again. Customers love banana smoothies with you, but when they call back, they are afraid that they will lose cold and water when they call back.
To break the psychological "barrier" of concerns about the quality of your customers' dishes, you need to prove and make them trust enough to make an order decision by the following ways. The fact that you constantly say "I sell delicious food" does not carry as much "weight" as the customer hears a sentence "I find the food at this restaurant very good". So, in each delivery order, leave a note to say thank you, good luck and encourage customers who have ordered to leave a review about the quality of the food on Facebook fanpage or booth on applications. third-party use.
Customers who are still confused after reading the reviews of old customers will feel more confident. In addition, use typical positive reviews of past customers to create communication content on channels. The brand also needs to communicate about the origin of raw materials and the processing process so that customers can be assured of food safety and hygiene.
It is inevitable that the quality of the food will be affected after the transportation process. You can limit this by packaging your products more skillfully. For example, for dishes that need to be crispy such as fried or fried food, please cut more small holes on the packaging (if not already) so that the food inside can be ventilated, avoiding steaming, causing suffocation. .. For each dish, let's learn from the customer's perspective to understand what they worry about when delivering food home and how to solve that worry. For example, with crispy chicken that customers are concerned about when they are delivered to their homes, the store needs to communicate about the special recipe of the dough, which is still crispy when cold; packaging methods to limit the chicken poop; or add instructions for heating crispy with a nonstick pan or air fryer.
2.3. The price of the dish is high
One of the "barriers" that many people do not regularly order food online is because they consider the food sold online to be quite expensive compared to the market. Some restaurants and eateries are forced to increase the price of dishes because there are many costs incurred when selling online. Some typical costs that affect item prices are commission fees for partners providing online sales platforms, shipping fees, fees for running promotions, etc. If the business owner cannot optimize the cost items, costs, the price of products sold on applications will be difficult to compete and make customers hesitate about the price when intending to buy. To break the psychological "barrier" of concerns about the quality of your customers' dishes, you need to prove and make them trust enough to make an order decision by the following ways. The fact that you constantly say "I sell delicious food" does not carry as much "weight" as the customer hears a sentence "I find the food at this restaurant very good". So, in each delivery order, leave a note to say thank you, good luck and encourage customers who have ordered to leave a review about the quality of the food on Facebook fanpage or booth on applications. third-party use.
Customers who are still confused after reading the reviews of old customers will feel more confident. In addition, use typical positive reviews of past customers to create communication content on channels. The brand also needs to communicate about the origin of raw materials and the processing process so that customers can be assured of food safety and hygiene.
It is inevitable that the quality of the food will be affected after the transportation process. You can limit this by packaging your products more skillfully. For example, for dishes that need to be crispy such as fried or fried food, please cut more small holes on the packaging (if not already) so that the food inside can be ventilated, avoiding steaming, causing suffocation. .. For each dish, let's learn from the customer's perspective to understand what they worry about when delivering food home and how to solve that worry. For example, with crispy chicken that customers are concerned about when they are delivered to their homes, the store needs to communicate about the special recipe of the dough, which is still crispy when cold; packaging methods to limit the chicken poop; or add instructions for heating crispy with a nonstick pan or air fryer.
2.3. The price of the dish is high
One of the "barriers" that many people do not regularly order food online is because they consider the food sold online to be quite expensive compared to the market. Some restaurants and eateries are forced to increase the price of dishes because there are many costs incurred when selling online. Some typical costs that affect item prices are commission fees for partners providing online sales platforms, shipping fees, fees for running promotions, etc. If the business owner cannot optimize the cost items, costs, the price of products sold on applications will be difficult to compete and make customers hesitate about the price when intending to buy.
An online food business owner needs to optimize the selling price to make it easier for customers to make a decision. First of all, you can reduce costs such as space, facilities, equipment, electricity, water, personnel, etc. Next, save on material costs by finding suppliers who sell at a more reasonable price while still maintaining quality. In dishes, you need to be clever in adjusting low-priced ingredients to account for a high proportion of the meal. High-priced meat ingredients such as beef, shrimp, salmon, etc. need to pay attention to the thickness of the slices and the number of pieces, slices, pellets, etc. to have the optimal cost while still keeping the attractive image. and delicious food.
2.4. Delivery time delay
Ordered food online at 11 o'clock but still not available by 12 o'clock? Concerns about online ordering services making customers wait too long is also a common problem. The delay in delivery can come from many different reasons such as the shop has many orders at peak hours, so processing takes too long, the delivery driver is stuck in traffic or combines many orders at once, etc. No matter what the reason. Moreover, the customer will surely also be frustrated because the untimely delivery affects their personal schedule and plans.
When selling through the platforms of third-party partners, it is difficult for you to control the delivery time because you have absolutely no power to force them to deliver to the customer on time. However, if your brand sells through autonomous online channels and has its own team of drivers, you will easily manage their food delivery time and schedule. If you do not have enough budget to build a delivery team, you can combine with reputable units.
Currently, sales management software has been integrated with AhaMove shipping unit, which will help food and beverage shops to ensure on-time delivery for customers ordering food online. Just opening an account, you can call a driver from a team of more than 25,000 shippers on the POS system. Orders will be easily and quickly delivered to customers.
2.5. Confusing and complicated ordering process
Another reason people don't want to order food online is because they have difficulty in completing the steps to complete an order. If ordering through a food delivery app such as GrabFood, Now, Baemin, etc., customers can search for instructions on Google easily. However, if they intend to order food from a certain brand, they will also be confused about what to do: Where do I find the menu? Through which channel can this restaurant or restaurant order? How to order easily and get the fastest delivery?, Do I need to pay in advance?.
Normally, if customers want to order food from restaurant X, customers will first visit the Facebook fanpage of brand X. Here, you should pin to the top of the page an article with content about online ordering instructions. In this article, please provide the store's menu, online channels that customers can order, current promotions, etc. Note, the content should direct customers to order through the shop's autonomous channels. such as hotline, Facebook fanpage, website.
Building your own separate ordering website is the best way to improve customer experience, drive more orders and revenue. However, if your budget is limited, you can absolutely choose a simpler alternative. Currently, there are a number of sales software developers that are providing solutions to build sales channels on website platforms more easily and cost-effectively.
The Web Order tool is a solution to create a web-based sales channel, on FABi software to help sellers easily and quickly create a website with online ordering function. Customers can order remotely easily through a link or a QR Code. After placing the order, it will be integrated into the vending machine at the store, extremely fast, convenient and completely free. To learn more about Web Order .
Hopefully, the above article has helped you better understand what customers are concerned about when ordering food online. When understanding customers and knowing how to apply the right solutions, it is certain that the F&B business on the online environment will be much more convenient and smooth. In particular, pay attention to the use of technology solutions to optimize the operation and management of online orders.
You can refer to some software to run your business more smoothly!
EmoticonEmoticon