How to run a smarter restaurant business?

The golden age of delivery is upon us. Learn how to run your restaurant smarter with this 7-step checklist, optimizing operations and boosting business efficiency

More restaurateurs are accelerating profitability with autonomous delivery tech.Now you can cut down on labor costs and watch your profits soar with driverless deliveries. Restaurant owners across the globe are shifting to a delivery-first mindset by leveraging tech to fuel their restaurant growth. In fact, restaurants that leverage delivery apps are now seeing a minimum 10-20% increase in total sales. 

The future of delivery is now

Now’s the time to jump on the delivery bandwagon before your competition does. More consumers are expecting the convenience of delivery and pickup options every time they dine out. With millions of online restaurant options, it’s vital that restaurant owners adapt to the growing delivery trend to stand out from the crowd, and Ghost Kitchen is one of them.

Here are some key facts on the subject:

Practical 7-Step Guide to Running a Smart Restaurant in 2024

1. A delivery-first mindset

Optimize for delivery. Build your digital storefront across multiple delivery apps and start reaching more customers through delivery. By optimizing your delivery app profiles online, you’ll be able to maximize visibility and bring in more online orders than ever before.

Ensure your menu descriptions are brief and are accurately highlighti/ng the flavor of each dish as well as what’s included for maximum results.

2. Explore new delivery tech

Stay on top of new trends. There are new developments coming to the restaurant industry, meaning more tools available to help make delivery easy. Explore artificial intelligence, driverless deliveries and new ways to batch orders for optimal efficiency. Cut delivery times and maximize your delivery radius by implementing and adapting to new software.

By staying on top of new delivery trends and tech, you can quickly adapt and implement new solutions to stay ahead of the competition. 

3. Tap into new revenue streams

Maximize revenue. In addition to takeout and delivery, restaurateurs are now exploring grocery stores, value added takeout, and more to accelerate profitability. More consumers are shifting to online orders, meaning more channels for you and your restaurant business to leverage.

Offer meal kits for delivery and pickup, include catering services, or even start selling branded merchandise to quickly expand and scale. 

4. Reinvent your online menu

Boost your online menu. Research what’s trending in your area and reinvent your menu to meet consumer demand. Tweak top-selling menu items to recreate dishes that are best for delivery. 

Your menu should be customizable within each food delivery app so that your customers can have the flexibility to create the order they want. This means anytime someone wants to add on an extra sauce or side dish, they can easily do so.

5. Leverage data and insights

Leverage data and insights. Gather Insights and data on each of your delivery app profiles in order to shift operations based on delivery demand. When you’re able to better understand peak pickup and delivery times for your restaurant, as well as which menu items are selling the best, you’ll be able to run at maximum efficiency.

In addition to leveraging data from delivery apps, your POS system is a data gold mine with key insights into how often customers order from you, when they’re ordering the most, and the basket size of each order.

6. Connect with your customers

Optimize for delivery. With less dine-in and more delivery activity, you’ll want to explore new ways to connect with your customers and create a memorable experience. Reach out to your customers on social media, encourage them to share their experiences ordering food from your restaurant, and leverage that content online.

Creating memorable packaging and delivering menu items that package well will also create an experience that keeps customers coming back for more.

7. Secure a prime delivery location

Get cooking to a larger audience. It all starts with location. The closer your restaurant is to a high volume of consumers ordering online restaurants, the more customers you’ll be able to reach.

And that doesn’t mean you have to pay for expensive real estate. In fact, ghost kitchens can be found in neighborhoods with cheap real estate, where you’re still able to maximize your reach online.

Let’s fire up those grills

With tech-enabled kitchens located in the heart of delivery demand, CloudKitchens provides you with the tools you need to future-proof your restaurant. Interested in seeing a CloudKitchens facility for yourself?