5 Tips to Optimize Your Restaurant’s Delivery Service​

1. Make sure your menu is readily available online

​Online ordering has been the largest driving force behind the growth of delivery ordering during the pandemic. It cuts out the need to go through the hassle of waiting on the phone to place an order and allows customers to instantly place their order and pay, all within a couple of minutes. Online ordering has made delivery easy -- accessing your menu needs to be just as easy, and preferably even easier. It is paramount that you make sure your menu is easily accessible online.

How does it look from the standpoint of the user?

Make sure your menu is easy to read to read and that it is well-organized into the different sections that make the menu a breeze to read and navigate. Having visuals of your menu items might not be a bad idea to help your customer understand what a particular dish looks like and its portion size.

Is it mobile-friendly?

Nearly 55 percent of the world’s internet traffic come from mobile devices. Smartphones have made accessing the internet from the palm of your hand easier than ever. Your menu may look terrific on your website when you pull it up on a laptop or desktop, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the same for mobile devices. Be sure to check how easily accessible your menu is on mobile devices and that the menu is just as visually appeasing.

Is your menu front and center in terms of accessibility on your website?

There is nothing that will deter your customers faster than not being able to find your menu on your website. They’ll quickly move on to their next restaurant choice. Make sure your menu is easy to find on your website and that its accessibility is front and center on your home page. A “menu” or “order here” tab at or near the top of your home page will make it easy and obvious to customers as to how to start the ordering process. Remember, the crux of delivery is convenience and the same should go for starting the ordering process.

Consider a social-media ordering feature

Speaking of making ordering easy, social media has become an increasingly useful vehicle for online delivery ordering. Make sure your menu is linked on all your social media platforms, either in your bio or somewhere else on your profile page.

Additionally, making sure your menu is quickly accessible via Google search in the results section is important. When a potential customer searches your restaurant, having a direct link to your menu will increase the likelihood of the customer placing an order.

2. Know where to deliver

​What is your delivery radius?

Where you deliver and who you deliver to is as important as anything in this process. Setting a delivery radius allows your staff to focus on a general area. It also breeds efficiency in terms of wait times, distance traveled for a delivery and the quality of your food by the time it gets there.

Your business should be regularly tracking delivery data to figure out the optimize and regularly tweak your delivery radius. This will help you figure out which delivery areas are the most profitable for you.

Figure out which times are busiest, and days of the week are most profitable and shape delivery based on that.

Will you be partnering with a third-party delivery app or delivering the food in-house?

​​It’s worth looking into to see which one makes sense for your business. If you do use third party delivery app, which one? This will likely affect your delivery radius if you elect to go to a third-party app.

3. Optimize your menu items for delivery.

Shrink your menu for delivery by selecting items that you feel confident will travel well. Don’t agonize over taking items off your menu, it leaves a reason for people to come dine-in at your store. Ensuring that your food arrives at its destination the same quality state that it did when it left your restaurant is important. Some items on your menu will likely be more conducive to traveling than others. Identify those and make them available for delivery.

​Invest in packaging that is going to ensure your food travels well.

​Cold food that gets damaged or altered while being delivered will adversely affect your brand. Don’t cut corners when it comes to packaging because it’s the most useful tool in ensuring your food arrives to your customer intact. Insulated or moisture resistant packaging is a good way to keep orders warm. It’s also a potential advertising opportunity. Adding your branding to all packaging is a great way to spread awareness about your business.

4. Touchless payment methods

Touchless payment methods make things easier. When the name of the game is convenience, touchless payment methods are crucial for delivery. You do not want your drivers to carry cash or a card swiper. This is both inconvenient and potentially dangerous. Allow your customers to pay online if possible or take their credit card information down over the phone and handle the process on the front end versus when the food arrives.

Get an app

Have you considered getting an app for your restaurant? It'll make ordering easier and allow your customers (particularly regular ones) to store their credit card information, which prevents them from having to enter it every time they order. This is another way to prevent delivery drivers from having to carry cash on them and breaking change. An app will also make it easier to tip online and is safer for all parties involved.

Accepting Apple pay and popular money sending apps can be helpful as well.

5. Create and maintain a dedicated delivery staff.​

With the prevalence of delivery growing, it might not be a bad idea to have a portion of your staff strictly deal with delivery orders. Restaurants have catering teams, why not make it the same for delivery? This will help ensure both sides of the operation are running efficiently.

Even if you outsource the actual delivery of your food to 3rd party apps, a kitchen team dedicated to making sure delivery orders are made and completed will help ensure the food is delivered in a timely manner.

Delivery ordering isn’t slowing down any time soon and you should make sure your business makes the most out of it. Following these tips will help ensure your delivery service is in a good place.