A National Restaurant Association (NRA) survey found that three out of four restaurant operators claim staff recruitment is their hardest challenge. Off-premise ordering from restaurants is still holding at about 80% of the total business, and the NRA expects online ordering to remain strong.
Restaurants are looking to increase online ordering and attract new customers without the headache of hiring enough servers to meet indoor dining demands. Offering consumers a chance to get a discount at your restaurant can be a great way to gain customer traction and drive sales.
Coupons, Quick Deals, and the Tasty Rewards program are helpful marketing tools and are available to all Menufy restaurant partners at no additional cost!
Benefits of discounts & Deals
Increase your online orders
Grow your customer database
Plenty of specification/requirement options to customize promotions
Can be advertised on your social media platforms, at the restaurant, or in print marketing
Create Custom Coupons
“A good coupon is often exactly what a first-time user needs in order to click the coveted checkout button,” explains Menufy Digital Marketing and Client Service Lead Marcus Walker. Coupons that offer customers a discount can attract new customers and help retain loyal diners. According to RetailMeNot, 80% of diners will likely try a new restaurant if they are offered a deal. With Menufy’s built-in custom coupons, you can tailor deals to exactly what your business needs.
Create custom coupon codes that benefit you and your customers.
Through Menufy Manager, restaurant managers can customize a promotional coupon for carryout and delivery orders. Customization options include the ability to set which weekdays/hours the coupon is valid for and whether it's a fixed price discount or a percentage off deal. You can also choose to show the coupon on your Menufy website or hide it.
Restaurants can use coupon codes to set up an online ordering happy hour by designating a specific day or time range when the codes are valid. In addition to setting time-of-day requirements, coupons can now have menu filters. Managers can choose which categories and menu items the offer applies to.
Another feature of our built-in coupon is that you can use it to ask diners to opt-in to email promotions. Customers who opt-in will be added to your restaurant’s email marketing list, which managers can access in the Dashboard of their Menufy Manager page. “Think of a promotion or deal as a short-term investment that can lead to a lifetime customer,” explained Walker.
Quick Deals
A great way to encourage customers to order more is by adding an incentive. Quick Deals are complimentary food items diners can add to their order during checkout if they have met the requirements set by the restaurant. Menufy Digital Marketing Specialist Nikki Finley explained that “as a consumer myself, I find that I tend to order more from businesses offering a discount or free item with orders.”
Quick Deals encourage diners to spend more when ordering online.
With Quick Deals, diners select a free item from a selection of your choosing.
For example, a restaurant can set up a Quick Deal that rewards customers with a free drink when they spend $20 or more on their online order. This feature rewards customers willing to spend a little more and prompts them to try new menu items.
Not sure which items to offer for your promotional deal? “Using Menufy Manager tools like the Item Sales Report can help you create irresistible Quick Deal offers by giving you insight into your top menu performers,” suggested Walker.
Menufy Tasty Rewards
Regulars are a restaurant’s best friend and your greatest marketing asset. How can you give back to the patrons that order multiple times a month or, sometimes, weekly? One way restaurant owners give back to their most supportive customers is by implementing a loyalty program.
Menufy restaurant partners have the option to enable our Tasty Rewards program, a "punch-card" type system that encourages customers to order from the same restaurant repeatedly. “Tasty Rewards is a tool for restaurants that are serious about cultivating customer loyalty,” suggested Walker.
To enroll in Tasty Rewards and begin tracking their order count, a customer must log in to the Menufy restaurant website via Google or Facebook. Once the customer places ten online orders from the same restaurant, Menufy rewards the diner with an online credit to use on their next order. The amount of the online credit will be an average of the customer's previous ten orders.
Tasty Rewards are a great incentive for diners to become repeat customers.
For example, if the average cost of the last ten orders was $25, we will give the customer a $25 online credit balance to use on their next meal, paid for by the restaurant. The entire rewards balance must be spent at once. A Tasty Rewards punch will expire 12 months from the date the order was placed.
Last Thoughts
Our experienced digital marketing team suggests that restaurants looking to boost online orders should consider utilizing the Tasty Rewards, Coupon Codes, and Quick Deals features included in your Menufy Manager dashboard.
“When it comes to food, I know customers are more inclined to order a little bit more if it means they qualify to use a coupon or earn a free item if their order is over a certain amount,” explained Finley.
To learn more about how to enable these free promotional tools, visit the Menufy Help Center. Our support team is also available 24/7 via email at support@menufy.com, or you can give us a call at (913) 738-9399.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Melissa Dimmitt, Marketing Communications Coordinator
Melissa began her digital marketing career nearly a decade ago at a restaurant group. She worked with restaurant managers and executive chefs while coordinating seasonal menu releases, executing photoshoots, and creating fresh digital content.