A good restaurant online ordering site should include the ability to pin certain items or information at the very top of the page. You can do exactly that by using the featured cards on our SpeedDine ordering platform. But to understand the true capabilities of these feature cards, check out these 15 examples of how our customers are using them.
1. List Available Pizza Sizes
Terms like small, medium, and large, are often used by restaurants, but these terms are a bit vague. How big is your medium pizza compared to the pizzeria down the street? Do they need two mediums or one large? Let them know by posting dimensions for the featured items section at the top of your ordering site.
2. Advertise Sides & Desserts
Rather than scrolling through countless categories of food, you can make it easy for the customer to complete their meal by putting popular desserts, drinks, and sides at the top of your ordering site.
Another effective way of getting customers to complete their meal is by using online ordering upselling prompts on checkout. According to a recent SpeedLine survey, this is something that about 65% of pizzerias currently overlook, leaving money on the table.
3. Advertise Alcohol Offerings
Alcoholic beverages typically make up between 20 to 25% of a restaurant’s total sales. So shine a spotlight on your best-selling alcoholic drinks by putting them in the featured cards section.
4. Meal Specials
Have a special deal going on right now? Let your customers know about it by putting it front and center on the home page of your ordering site. Package deals raise ticket totals while making it faster for customers to order, so they’re win-win. (Read more about how to design value meals in this post.)
5. Frozen Versions of Food
Offering frozen versions of your food allows your customers to buy in bulk and then enjoy their meal when it’s convenient. To increase frozen or take-and-bake sales, use the featured cards section to host some of your best-selling selections.
6. Weekly Specials
It’s common for restaurants to offer a different special deal for each day of the week. Let your customers know what today’s special is, and what they can look forward to during the rest of the week, by putting the weekly specials in the featured card section.
7. New Coupons
Discounts are a powerful tool for a restaurant, so make any active coupon codes front and center by putting them in the featured cards section. This can help encourage customers to place larger orders or try new items.
8. Price Updates
If some of the prices have recently changed, or only apply to specific items and/or under certain circumstances, keep customers informed by placing this information within the featured cards section.
9. Newly Accepted Payment Options
Let customers know that they can now pay for their order with a gift card, debit card, bitcoin, or whatever else it may be by plugging this information into the featured cards section of your ordering site like the example below.
Over 2,300 businesses in the U.S. accept bitcoin as a form of payment.
10. Order Pickup Instructions
Spend a lot of time explaining instructions for pickup orders? Try putting the details for things like curbside pickup at the top of your ordering site to minimize confusion on the customer’s end.
11. Ordering Site Navigation Instructions
A good online ordering site will be intuitive and need no explanation. But that doesn’t mean you can’t ensure the ordering process is seamless by providing some site navigation instructions within the featured cards.
12. Safety Updates
Whether it’s the COVID pandemic or flu season, you can keep both your staff members and customers safe by including safety instructions at the top of your site. This makes it easy for customers to comply with your latest safety measures.
13. Abnormal Closing Times
Whenever you need to close early or shut down the store, you can keep customers informed well ahead of time by including it as part of your featured cards.
14. Upcoming Local Events
Restaurants that are active in the community may have fundraisers or social events that they want to inform their customers about. The featured cards section is the perfect place to do this. And if you host live music or other live entertainment, then you can help pack the house by advertising it on your online ordering site well in advance.
15. Advertise Media Appearances
Being interviewed for an article or appearing in a show can be a great way to promote your restaurant. So make sure customers know about any recent media appearances you’ve had by placing them at the top of your site, much like the example below.
Find out everything SpeedDine can do for your restaurant by booking a demo with our sales team.
