Creating and managing an online ordering system for your café, restaurant, or other small business isn’t easy. You need to think about a lot of things before you begin creating your online ordering management system. There are so many different factors that come into play when you are putting things together, which is why you must go in with your eyes open.
The more time you spend thinking about the different aspects of an online ordering management system now, the easier it will be for you later on. This article will give you some pointers regarding what to look out for when choosing an online ordering management system for your business.
Staff Training
One of the first things you should think about when choosing an online ordering system is how your staff will be trained to use it. There are many different kinds of online ordering systems out there. Some are designed for restaurants, and others are designed for cafes or other small businesses.
Some have a very user-friendly interface and are incredibly easy to use. Others have a very complex interface that’s not so easy to figure out. This difference in ease-of-use is down to things like the color scheme used, the layout of the different menus, the types of buttons used, and many other factors.
Before deciding on an online ordering system, you need to make sure your staff will be able to use it effectively. Spending a bit more time on the front-end will be worth it if it means your staff can use the system more effectively.
User Experience
Next, you need to consider the user experience. What does your online ordering system look like?
How does it feel to use it? This may not seem like an important factor when you’re choosing an online ordering system, but it is. The point of an online ordering system is for customers to be able to order from your business from anywhere at any time. If the only way for them to do that is through a computer, then you won’t be able to reach as many customers as you could otherwise.
The reason for this is that not everyone uses a computer. Many people in the world don’t have access to a computer, or may not feel comfortable using one.
These people might be the type who would normally order takeout or eat in at your business if they could. These customers are being left out because of the way your online ordering system is set up. The only way for them to order is by using a computer.
Security
Next, you need to think about your customers’ security. How does your online ordering system keep your customers’ information safe? Unfortunately, hacks are becoming more and more common these days. People are stealing other people’s information, including their credit card information, and using it to make purchases.
Why is this a problem? Well, food businesses are heavily regulated by the government. If you are using a third-party online ordering system that’s not approved by the government, you could get in trouble. This is because when a customer orders food and uses their credit card to do so, the credit card company has to know about the transaction.
They need to know where the transaction took place, who the transaction was with, and the amount of the transaction. The only way for the credit card company to know this is if you have a system that is approved by the government.
User Interface and Design
Now let’s talk about the user interface and design again. You should also consider how your online ordering system looks. This includes the colors you use, the images you include, the fonts you choose, etc. Even though we live in a digital world, humans are still heavily influenced by visual stimuli.
This means the way your online ordering system looks is likely to affect the number of customers who order through it. Different colors have different connotations. For example, red is often associated with feeling hungry or excited, while blue is often associated with feeling calm or relaxed.
Why is this important when choosing an online ordering system? Well, depending on what sort of restaurant or café you have, you might want to use different colors to influence your customers to order certain things.
Dependability
You also need to think about your online ordering system’s dependability. How often is your online ordering system likely to crash? How often are there likely to be outages?
These things are likely to happen from time to time. No matter which online ordering system you choose, there is a chance that something will go wrong. Your online ordering system is likely to be more reliable if it’s hosted in-house or if it’s a cloud-based system.
Since these types of systems are hosted in a data center, they are less likely to crash. They are also less likely to have outages because they are hosted by a large company that is likely to have a large number of redundancies in place.
Functional Requirements
You also need to think about your online ordering system’s functional requirements. What functions does it need to perform?
How many orders do you expect to receive on a daily or weekly basis?
How many customers will be coming to your website to place an order?
What other services do you need your online ordering system to provide?
Asking yourself these types of questions will help you figure out what type of online ordering system would be best for you. You don’t want to choose an online ordering system that is incapable of handling the number of orders you are likely to receive.
At the same time, you don’t want to choose an online ordering system that offers features you don’t need. This is going to cost you more money, and it will be more difficult to manage.
Conclusion
Choosing the right online ordering system for your business is an important decision. It can make or break your business. Getting it wrong can mean lost revenue and unhappy customers. When choosing an online ordering system, you need to think about a lot of different factors.
You need to consider the staff training, the user experience, security, user interface and design, dependability, and functional requirements. You also need to go into the process with your eyes open.
You need to know what you’re looking for in an online ordering system and what things to avoid. This way, you’re more likely to pick the right online ordering system for your business.
