Giving the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, online ordering has become a normal part of life and a critical channel ensuring your food truck’s success. Online ordering can help you as a food truck operator make the connection with your valued customer who enjoy ordering ahead. In fact, online ordering is now the most popular option for placing food orders and can help you meet your customers’ needs.
Accepting Online Orders
If you aren’t already accepting online orders on your food truck, you should be! With the technological advances in the industry over the past few years, it is easy for you, as a food truck owner/operator, to create your online ordering system complete with easy inhouse ordering processes. Because there are multiple options available for online ordering services, developing your food truck’s online ordering platform be done easily whether you choose website forms or delivery apps.
Online Ordering via Your Website
Among the easiest ways to get started with online ordering is by using your exiting website. In most cases, your customers are already familiar with your site and love your food, so what better way to connect with them than creating an easy and convenient way for them to place their online orders directly from your website. If you chose this route, you need a solid understanding of your customers to make the online ordering experience easily navigable and user friendly for them. Whether customers are viewing the website to check out your menu for a later order or they are hoping to place an order now for fast and easy pick-up, navigating the site should be easy. Your customers should be greeted by clearly marked pages, one that showcases the menu available for ordering/pickup as well as a secure form allowing them to make their choices, share special requests, and submit their payment. In addition to secure online ordering, your food truck website offers other benefits including the ability to update your menu in real-time. This way you keep customers informed of changes and avoid any disappointments if their favorites aren’t available. In addition, you can deliver needed information to your customers in real-time, such as where your food truck will be and when, as well as if you have to close early or you’ll be staying late to serve them at a particular location. And finally, with online ordering from your website, you give customer’s the opportunity to buy e-gift cards for themselves and their friends.
Online Ordering Via Food Apps
Food apps, designed for smart devices, are growing in popularity among food truck owners. These apps make the ordering process easier for customers while providing shorter wait times when they arrive at your truck’s location. In addition, utilizing food app ordering for your food truck helps your staff prioritize orders so online orders and walk-up orders are prepared and served in timely manner. If you choose a third party online ordering – Uber Eats, Postmates, Grubhub, or DoorDash – you make the process even simpler for your customers who can then order from your food truck wherever you are and get their favorites delivered. You earn additional revenues from online order deliveries and the delivery service provides the drivers so you save time and money.
Prepping for Online Ordering and Delivery Orders
After you have selected the online ordering system best for your customers, you’ll need to add additional containers appropriate for takeout orders being picked up and transported by customers or delivery drivers and train your employees to handle the new service offerings. Now it the ideal time to make the changes needed to develop online ordering for your food truck.
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