How to move regulars from delivery apps to your own online ordering

Most restaurants don't need to leave delivery apps to cut what they pay them. They need their regulars, the people who order every week, to order directly instead. Those are the orders you pay commission on again and again. Here's a plan that moves them without losing them.

1. Have somewhere good to send them

Your own ordering site has to be at least as easy as the app, or people drift back. Check it on a phone, because that's where most orders happen:

• It's on your own domain, with your name, logo and colours.
• The menu matches what you really sell, including halves, extra toppings and deals.
• Pickup, delivery and ordering for later all work, with clear times.
• Checking out takes a minute, and customers can see where their order is.
• Returning customers can reorder their usual in one tap.

2. Tell them, on every order

The best moment to reach an app customer is when their food arrives. It's the only contact you get.

• Put a card in every bag. Your web address, a QR code and one reason to order direct next time.
• Say it on the phone. When regulars call, staff can mention that ordering online is quicker and point them to the site.
• Put your link everywhere you appear. Your business listing on maps and search, your social profiles, your window and your receipts.

3. Make ordering direct the better deal

People switch for a reason, so give them one:

• A welcome coupon for the first direct order, printed on the bag card.
• The same price or better. If you raised app prices to cover commission, your own menu is already cheaper. Say so.
• Loyalty rewards that only count on direct orders.

4. Keep them

Once someone orders directly, you finally have what the app kept from you: their name, their order history and a way to reach them.

• Customer accounts and one-tap reorder make the second order easier than the first.
• Ask at checkout whether they'd like offers by email or text. Canada's anti-spam law requires consent before you send commercial messages, so an opt-in box is how you earn the right to write to them.
• Send a win-back offer to regulars who haven't ordered in a while, before they forget you.

5. Measure it

Once a month, compare how many orders came through your own site with how many came through apps. The direct share should climb steadily. When it does, you can move to a cheaper app plan, or keep apps only for the busiest nights.

Don't switch the apps off overnight

Turning apps off before your own ordering is established loses the customers you haven't moved yet. Keep them running for discovery while your direct share grows, and decide from your numbers, not in one go.

gofood gives you the pieces in this guide in one place: your own storefront, coupons, loyalty, customer accounts, and email and text campaigns with opt-in at checkout. To see what apps cost you today, read what delivery apps really cost.