Taking a restaurant digital feels like climbing a mountain. And it is, if you try to do everything at once. The secret is the opposite: one step at a time. Here is a plan: the first week to get the channel live, and the following weeks to grow it.
Days 1 to 7: get the channel live
With a ready-made platform the essentials take a few days.
- Work out your commissions. Marketplace sales x commission x 12. That number is your motivation, not a reason to leave them.
- Tidy up Google. A business profile with the right address, hours and good photos. It is free and it is your first front door.
- Decide what you sell online. It doesn't need to be the whole menu: start with dishes that travel well.
- Set up the ordering site with your brand, appetising photos and the digital menu, and switch on online payment.
- Place a test order from start to finish as if you were a customer. GetFoodies has a free 7-day trial for exactly this.
Week 2: show the channel to people who are already yours
Having a channel isn't enough; people have to know about it.
- QR codes on tables, the counter and the window.
- Social media and Google pointing to your site too.
- A perk for ordering directly, such as points or cashback. With no GetFoodies commission you have room for it.
Week 3: build loyalty
- Switch on the loyalty programme so customers have a reason to return.
- Ask for Google reviews with a QR code on the bill, and reply to every one.
Week 4: measure and communicate
- Look at the first data: how many direct orders you have and who comes back.
- Send your first message to the new list: a simple offer for your quietest night of the week.
What not to do
- Don't switch off the marketplaces. They keep bringing new customers. Your own channel is a complement.
- Don't wait for perfect. A simple channel that works beats a perfect one that never leaves the drawing board.
- Don't do it all yourself. Delegate what you can; your role is to lead.
After the first month
You aren't "digital for good": you are at the start of a system that grows. From here it is tuning: better photos, prices adjusted to the data, stronger loyalty.
How GetFoodies speeds up the plan
A website and app with your brand, QR codes, loyalty and a POS connection, ready to configure. With optional Get Social, your Google profile, weekly posts and review replies are taken care of, so you keep to what is yours: cooking and welcoming.