Following on from fellow industry speakers, OrderMate CEO Leigh Richardson took to the stage at the Fine Food Australia Trade Show held at the ICC Sydney this month, to present a monumental talk on the benefits of Online Ordering for restaurants.
“We all know that if you’re not a constantly evolving a hospitality business – you’re at high risk of being left behind,” said Leigh.
Leigh Richardson has been working for OrderMate, a leading Hospitality Technology provider, for over 10 years. Lo and behold, Leigh’s first ever job was managing a McDonalds when he was only a teenager.
“It was at McDonald’s where I first learnt how technology is an absolutely essential tool towards the profitability of a hospitality business,” said Leigh.
Leigh pressed on about the current market trend – Online Ordering – and the integral part it plays for hospitality operators.
“Online Ordering is one of the biggest disrupters that has blown up in the food sector recently,” said Leigh.
For those unaware of the trend, Online Ordering is a process of ordering food from a local restaurant or food cooperative through the restaurants own website or Facebook page.
Leigh informed the audience that one of the most enticing features of an Online Ordering platform is enabling the restaurant to collect valuable information about their customers.
“You’re far more likely with these services to have access to your customers information, email addresses and mobiles, and collect that for a customer database,” says Leigh.
Leigh goes in to highlight the differences between an Online Ordering Platform and the Online Food Delivery Aggregators, such as UberEats and Deliveroo.
He said while aggregators offer a lot of positives; such an easy sign up process, their own customer database, a delivery service and brand exposure – there are a lot of negatives to be mindful of.
“Aggregators don’t necessarily represent your brand the same way as your own website would,” says Leigh.
“You’re dealing with their brand and their customers,”
“You’re a sub-set in their platform and you’re in the same list as all your competitors.”
It was at this point, Leigh delved into the importance of brand exposure, as once the restaurant passes its product over to the aggregators delivery driver – the restaurant loses all control. A catch 22.
“Your speed of service and your quality of product is in their hands,” says Leigh.
“The person that’s driving up to your customers door isn’t your brand, they’re not wearing your uniform, they’re not representing your business – they’re representing a different business,”
Leigh makes a clear point that with Online Ordering, it’s an entirely different story.
“With Online Ordering, you’ll have more control over your branding and exposure – usually resulting in a better experience for the customer.”
Leigh discussed how aggregators demand an unprecedentedly steep 15 – 40% percent cut of the bill from restaurants for use of their services, while restaurants with their own Online Ordering platform pay a lot less.
“Online Ordering only takes anywhere between 5 to 10 percent cut,” says Leigh.
Leigh ended his speech by informing the audience that if they are a restaurant owner interested in having an Online ordering platform, make sure it can integrate seamlessly with a Point of Sale system, to avoid double-handling and the annoyance of lost receipts.
“If you can get something that’s integrated with your point of sale, you’ll have headache free Online Ordering,” says Leigh.
About OrderMate
Whether you are a successful brand or a budding new business looking to gain an edge on your competition, OrderMate will take you to new levels of efficiency and performance. The most innovative Online Ordering Platform and POS Technology available in Australia – honed & developed by hospitality professionals specifically for the industry. Watch your business flourish through our intelligent all-in-one Point of Sale system that runs and develops your entire operation, while seamlessly integrating with a world-class Online Ordering Platform managed by you. All this, and more.
Contact OrderMate Today for more information.
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