You signed up to the marketplaces, uploaded the menu and waited. Some weeks the orders pour in; others are quiet, and you're never quite sure why. Meanwhile the commission comes off every order, good week or bad.
Marketplaces can be one of the best tools a restaurant has for being discovered. But like any tool, they work best when you use them on purpose. Here is how to get more from them, and what to build alongside.
What marketplaces do well
People open a marketplace app hungry and undecided. Being there puts you in front of people who would never have searched for your name. You get visibility, a permanent shopfront, and often payment and delivery handled for you.
That is real value, and it is what the commission pays for. The aim isn't to fight the marketplace. It is to make sure every order there is worth taking.
1. Build a menu for the shopfront
Your marketplace menu doesn't have to be your whole menu. A shorter list is easier to scroll and easier for your kitchen at peak times.
- Lead with dishes that travel well. Fried food that goes soggy in twenty minutes makes for unhappy reviews.
- Choose dishes with healthy margins. If a dish barely pays for itself in the dining room, it may not pay at all after commission.
- Use great photos and clear names. On a busy screen, people decide with their eyes. "Slow-cooked beef burger with smoked cheddar" sells better than "Burger 3".
- Write short descriptions. Say what's in it and what makes it special, in one line.
2. Price with your eyes open
Many restaurants set slightly different prices on marketplaces to absorb part of the commission. Check your contract and the marketplace's rules first, then decide.
Say a dish costs you €7 to make and sells for €15. If your contract takes a share of that, work out what is left before you choose the price. Do this for your five best sellers. It takes one afternoon and tells you which dishes really earn money on each channel.
3. Protect your ratings
Your rating is your shop sign on the marketplace, and it mostly comes down to operations:
- Set realistic prep times, especially on Friday and Saturday nights.
- Switch off dishes you've run out of, rather than cancelling orders.
- Invest in packaging that keeps food warm and sauces where they belong.
- Reply to reviews politely, including the bad ones.
4. Use promotions with care
Marketplace promotions can bring a burst of new customers. They can also train people to wait for discounts. Before you run one, ask: if every order this week comes with this offer, am I still happy with the margin?
5. Avoid putting all your eggs in one basket
Use the marketplaces that make sense for you, and think twice before signing an exclusive contract with any single one. The more channels you have, the less any one of them decides your month.
What to build alongside
Here is the part many owners miss. Not every customer comes through a marketplace. Regulars who live nearby, people who find you on Google, guests who ate in the dining room, friends of friends: these are customers who found you directly.
For them, a channel of your own makes sense: your own ordering site with your brand, where they order with you and you keep the relationship. Customers who arrive through a marketplace belong to that marketplace's journey, and its rules should be respected. Your own channel is for the people who come to you.
To introduce it:
- Put a QR code on your tables, counter and window that opens your own menu.
- Add your ordering link to your Instagram bio and your Google profile.
- Give people a reason to order direct, like cashback they can use on their next order.
This week
Pull your last month of marketplace orders. Find your five best sellers and work out what each one leaves you after commission and costs. Then do one thing: tidy the menu, fix a photo, or adjust a prep time.
GetFoodies gives you the channel to build alongside the marketplaces: your own branded ordering site with no commission per order, cashback to bring customers back and the data of every customer who orders with you. Orders from the marketplaces in the same dashboard are coming soon. If you'd like to see it, create your free site.