Online Ordering Success Checklist
To master online ordering, start by empowering your team to champion the app, plan ongoing promotion, and offer compelling first-order discounts. Enhance the customer experience with an appetising menu and seamless digital flow, then leverage both online and in-store channels to spread the word. Strengthen customer loyalty through rewards and social proof while ensuring operational excellence with up-to-date systems and real-time insights. This ten-step roadmap equips UK & Irish restaurants to grow orders, retain customers, and drive profit.
Table of Contents
Your Restaurant Online Ordering Success Checklist
There is one big question that every restaurant has when they get their first online ordering website and online ordering app — and that's the first thing we're going to focus on with this Essential Restaurant Online Ordering Success Checklist:
1. Empower Your Team as App Ambassadors
Start with your frontline staff. Train them to ask customers if they’ve downloaded your app or used your website. Equip them with simple scripts, example messages like, "Would you like to save time and skip the queue next time? Use our app!" This personal touch builds trust and drives uptake. Incentivise staff with small rewards when they mention the app to customers, and celebrate early digital adopters on noticeboards or newsletters to build internal momentum.
2. Build a Strategic Promotion Calendar
Create a promotion map aligned to key dates: sporting fixtures, St. Patrick's Day, or even local festivals. Use this plan to schedule promotional posts, email newsletters, and push messages. Consider partnerships—like special offers for local charities or event sponsors. The goal is consistency: once the habit of promotion is formed, it becomes part of your rhythm.
3. Hook Customers with First-Order Incentives
Offer 20% off or free delivery for app-first orders. Then shine a spotlight on app-exclusive features: quick reorder buttons, loyalty points, or menu previews. Use vibrant banners at checkout, pop-ups for first-time users, and time-limit strategies—like only valid within two weeks—to create urgency. Track conversion rates so you know what kind of incentive delivers the most new users versus repeat frequency.
4. Design a Menu That Entices and Converts
Images sell food—invest in high-quality, appetising photos of your bestsellers. Organise them in an order that mirrors in-house popularity: mains first, extras, then desserts. Use quick-buy buttons for special meals or bundles. A short description (like “family combo feed for four”) paired with key tags (e.g. vegan etc.) helps customers make fast, informed choices.
5. Use Social Platforms to Amplify App Awareness
Embedding app download links in your Instagram bio, Facebook posts, Google Business Profile, and website makes it frictionless. Encourage customers to post stories or tags when using your app or ordering online. Feature user-generated content weekly (with permission!) to show others that app is working for real people.
6. Leverage In-Store Touchpoints to Drive Digital Use
Boost awareness with table tents, posters, stickers, till receipts, even packaging. Photos that feature app-first promo codes are eye-catching and drive curiosity. Ensure these touchpoints are placed in high-visibility zones like queuing areas or near condiments and payment zones for maximum impact.
7. Deliver a Faultless Digital Experience
Ensure menu accuracy: hours, prices, special offers all should update automatically from your POS backend. Don’t cancel orders unless absolutely necessary and proactively communicate substitutes if needed. Maintain a consistent experience between online and in-store service—this builds credibility and satisfaction.
8. Reward Loyalty with Targeted Automation
Use Flipdish functionality to run spellbinding loyalty campaigns: “10th order free,” “10% off if you revisit in seven days,” or exclusive access to new dishes. Combine with time-limited deals or location-based offers to re-engage quiet segments or drive weekday traffic.
9. Encourage Word of Mouth for Organic Growth
Encourage app users to share their experience or tag friends. Offer referral bonuses that reward both the referrer and the referred customer (e.g. £5 off next order for both). This kind of peer-to-peer validation is powerful and low-cost, especially in tight-knit communities.
10. Track Performance and Optimise Continuously
Use your Flipdish dashboard to monitor order numbers, bestselling items, and sales by channel. Regularly review and answer: Which items are underperforming? When is peak demand? How long are delivery times? Then adjust menus, promotions, staffing or closing times based on data trends to keep growth on track.
Conclusion & Call to Action
These ten steps form a practical, repeatable plan that drives app adoption, improves customer experience, and increases sales. Each action builds on the last, reinforcing your digital-first strategy to grow your business in a competitive market.
If you’re ready to scale your online orders and make your app a cornerstone of customer experience, contact Flipdish today. Our platform and marketing support can help you execute these strategies and see real results.
