In the present scenario, when you own a restaurant, reaching out to the customers outside the proximity is always a win-win case. For consumers, getting a range of options is the key – whereas getting noticed is the priority for restaurant owners, considering the highly competitive landscape. The food delivery app plays a vital role in offering them a variety of delicious options from their favorite restaurants.
A study by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Viggle states that approximately 69% of consumers prefer to order food online. And we agree – it is quick, convenient, and time-saving. When we look at the data, food delivery apps generated a revenue of $160 million in 2015 for restaurants.
Targeting your customers outside your vicinity has other perks as well. It lifts the top line and makes a long-term impression on the consumers’ minds. Imagine delivering food to a customer at a far-flung location, and next time, when they are nearby, you already have a customer who loves your food and services.
However, just creating a restaurant food delivery app can’t help you achieve your goal. Restaurant owners often don’t understand why their app is not generating good revenue. They spend a considerable part of their profit margin on marketing and consumer engagement, but only a few of them could get the most out of it because of these specific reasons –
- Lack of user-friendly interface
- Sluggish response
- Lack of consumer’s engaging content
- Re-targeting Strategies
- Retention policies, etc.
- Missing Sales Funnel & Key Strategies
Your restaurant app is a bridge between you and your customers. The app will help you develop a healthy and sustainable relationship with your consumers for a long. The app not only provides you the customer data but also allows you to understand your customers in a better way. However, you need to consider these key features to make your food delivery restaurant app a revenue-generating mechanism.
Must-have features in the food delivery app
1. User Registration
The most basic but essential feature you should consider for your food delivery app is user registration. To verify users & show essential details to genuine traffic, the user registration feature must be considered while developing the app. At the same time, the stored user data can be further used to understand consumer behavior, devise marketing strategies, retargeting, etc.
2. Search Functionality
The search feature is mandatory for users to order food from their favorite restaurants. Search functionality can be developed based on user-centric parameters such as – food type or restaurant or both, location or pricing. The search result output enables users to view restaurant profiles & features with all their ratings & reviews, allowing them to decide their order.
3. In-app Order and Payment
Modern-day consumers seek more convenience. Providing end-to-end solutions in one place encourages them to complete the order. An in-app order facility will help your consumers order from your restaurant directly through the application. The secure in-app payment method enables them to pay online, making their payments safe and saving them from the inconvenience of keeping cash handy.
As per reports, 26% of food orders get paid online because they see this method as convenient. And this number is increasing day by day.
4. Push Notification
The push notification feature will help you engage & retarget your customers. Every time you come up with some new offers, your customer will get notified. Reminding them about the latest offers or sometimes just a notification to celebrate significantly impacts their purchasing pattern.
As per global research, apps that send push notifications can retain 67% of customers compared to apps that don’t have this feature. That is a pretty significant number to take the risk.
5. Loyalty Program Management Features
The modern-day marketplace has become more competitive than it was ever before. The objective of gaining market share has shifted to sustainability. In such a competitive scenario, loyalty programs are a tried and tested method to retain your customers. Launch an exclusive loyalty program for your consumers. A few ways can be – the app users get exclusive discounts, and with every purchase, they receive specific reward points that they can use for future orders. This feature will help you retain your customers for a longer duration.
6. Live Food Tracking
Ordering food on an app creates a tendency for the consumer. A live tracking feature can help them reduce the waiting curiosity and improve the trust factor. While on-time delivery allows customers to gain more trust in brands, in case of any delay, the app comes with the advantage that they can contact the restaurant or delivery boy & take necessary actions right from within the app.
7. Availability on Multiple Platforms
Because of the variety of smartphone technologies, it is highly recommended that your app can work on multiple operating systems such as Android, iOS, and windows.
8. Table Reservation Feature
To make a secure place in the market, you need to have a general idea about the requirements of your consumers. If your consumers are interested in visiting the restaurant and enjoying excellent dining services, the app should be able to reserve a table for them. The app should be able to record the time of the reservation and notify the manager of the restaurant simultaneously.
The information system of the application will also help you understand the flexibility in the market demand and analyze the potential market demand and be ready to deliver the supply.
9. Employee Management Feature
Suppose you can make an administrator feature for managing the workforce of your restaurant. In that case, it will help you monitor various aspects of your business, such as efficiency, productivity, and over-staff issues. Managing human resources in the service sector plays a vital role in developing the business. The administrator part will help you monitor and control human resources in your organization. Also, you can increase or decrease staff depending upon the demand.
Also, enabling a feedback facility to gather feedback from your customers with the same app will help you monitor the staff’s performance and skills. This way, you will be able to improve both – staff skills and food quality – based on the feedback received.
10. Social Media Integration
We live in a world where everyone has a digital address, and social media acts as a gathering place. Not having a good presence on social media will cost your business more than you can imagine.
Social media is not just a medium of communication; in fact, it has transformed into the most effective marketing platform. With over 2 billion active internet users, you can take your business to the next level with the social media integration facility, such as social media login & post sharing. This will help you remain connected with your community, and later you can use social media data for retargeting your customers.
11. Personalized Customer Services
With the increasing purchasing trends, consumer preference is changing as well. Your app will allow you to understand that pattern. That is why the app should have a customization feature, which will enable you to provide personalized customer services.
12. Automated Chatbots
Consumers may face confusion or technical problems when placing an order. Developing a chatbot will help your app increase customer interactions and provide instant service. The chatbots will help the consumers solve their frequent queries without human intervention. However, it is recommended to provide a human touch in the conversation for complicated issues.
13. Feedback System
The feedback portal is one of the most effective options to understand where you need improvement. With every order, the feedback portal should pop on the screen. This will allow you to collect feedback from your customers. It is also an effective way to let your customers know that you care. The feedback portal will provide you with a clear idea about consumer preferences and the scope of improvement in the products and services.
14. Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is helping businesses a lot these days. We tend to purchase products based on a review or referral. Collaborating with food bloggers helps you to get great recommendations for your restaurant. They usually have a considerable following, and you can use their existing fan base to promote your business. Their video coverage or an article can boost your sales in no time.
Future of food delivery apps
From the globally obtained data, 30% of internet users order their food through the food delivery app. Staying home and getting your favorite food on time with no hassle is something we all wish for. Developing a food delivery application is an excellent opportunity for today’s food industry. The integration of the above-discussed features will improve the consumer experience for food and grow the performance food business.
Irrespective of the business model, whether a single restaurant or a third-party aggregator, the right features are incredibly significant for your app’s success. Schedule a free consultation now if you are looking to hire an expert team of developers and consultants who can help develop your restaurant food delivery app!
Scalex
Scalex is a digital engineering company that partners with startups and SMBs to provide end-to-end product development services by leveraging the power of digital technologies such as Mobile, Cloud, and Analytics.