SWIPEBY

Tag: delivery

  • Why Owning Your Customers Matters More Than Ever

    Why Owning Your Customers Matters More Than Ever

    And why giving them away to third-party apps is costing you more than just money

    Imagine this: you go to book a flight directly on United Airlines’ website and instead of completing the purchase there, they send you to Expedia. You’d probably raise an eyebrow. So why are so many restaurants still doing the same thing when it comes to online ordering?

    The truth is: if you’re sending your customers to DoorDash or any other third-party platform, you’re handing over your profits, your data, and your loyal customers. And those platforms? They’re not loyal to you.

    Let’s talk about why owning your customer is one of the most important things you can do as a restaurant operator and how to take that power back.

    You’re Giving Away Margin You Could Be Keeping

    Yes, you can raise your prices on DoorDash to offset their 20–30% commission. But if your customer is willing to pay $24 for that entrée through DoorDash… why not offer it for the same price through your own online ordering and keep the full margin?

    With ordering on your own website, your customers see your branding and place orders directly with you. That means no commission fees and you keep the entire transaction.

    Bottom line:

    If customers are already paying more, you should be the one benefiting not the middleman.

    You Lose the Relationship (and the Repeat Business)

    DoorDash owns the order. DoorDash owns the customer. DoorDash sends the confirmation, handles the receipt, and follows up with their app not you.

    When a customer orders through your own website:

    • You get their contact info.
    • You control the message.
    • You can follow up with AI-powered remarketing to bring them back without lifting a finger.

    And when they come back? They come back to you not whoever’s paying DoorDash to run a promotion that day.

    Loyalty Can’t Be Outsourced

    You work hard to build your reputation. But DoorDash doesn’t care about your brand. They care about keeping people ordering through them, not from you.

    If a new restaurant opens across the street with a bigger DoorDash ad budget or better photos, guess what? They get the same visibility as you or more. Your loyal customer becomes their new one. No thanks.

    When you own the guest journey from start to finish, you build loyalty on your terms, from remarketing to reputation management.

    You Miss Out on the Data That Drives Growth

    When customers order through third-party platforms, you don’t get:

    • Their email
    • Their order patterns
    • Their visit frequency
    • Their lifetime value

    With orders through your website, all of that becomes part of your toolkit, so you can make smarter decisions, target the right offers, and personalize your marketing with the help of AI.

    You’re Investing in a Platform That Will Never Prioritize You

    At the end of the day, DoorDash works for DoorDash, not for your business.

    Your restaurant is just one of many. Promotions, rankings, and customer recommendations are based on algorithms that prioritize their goals not yours. And when the next shiny new spot opens up? You’re back to square one in the app.

    When you own your own system you’re building equity in your brand not someone else’s.

    Take Back What’s Yours

    Your customers.
    Your data.
    Your margins.
    Your brand.

  • Tired of Third Party Delivery Fees? Here’s How You Can Keep More of Every Order.

    Tired of Third Party Delivery Fees? Here’s How You Can Keep More of Every Order.

    If you’re a restaurant owner frustrated by how much DoorDash, Uber Eats, or Grubhub is taking from your margins, you’re not alone. Third party delivery fees can hurt your bottom line.

    Third-party delivery platforms often charge 20–30% per order, making it tough for independent restaurants to stay profitable. And while they bring visibility, that visibility comes at a steep cost. You lose control over your brand, customer relationship, data, and bottom line.

    Let’s break down what you’re really paying for with third-party apps, and how to cut delivery costs while taking back control.

    What Are Restaurants Really Paying for with DoorDash and Other Apps?

    • You pay commission, and your customers often pay a higher fee for each menu item and service fees.
    • If a customer orders $50 worth of pizzas on Uber Eats, you’ll get $35-40. That means even if you’d like to adjust your price to be profitable, you have to be competitive in the marketplace against the large chains that enjoy economies of scale. 
    • You’re paying for visibility, but the customer loyalty and brand awareness go to the app. Plus, if someone is searching for something like “Mexican food near me,” DoorDash marketplace will show your competitors along with highlighting promotions they’ve arranged with the large chains.
    • No customer data or remarketing access means the third party company has the information they need to encourage your customers to order from your competitors through their platform.

    Why Third-Party Delivery Apps Aren’t Built for Restaurant Profitability

    • Lack of control over customer experience means potential guests don’t see your best food photos or the important history and culture that makes your restaurant and menu items unique.
    • Menu markups can hurt your brand.
    • Customers become loyal to DoorDash, Grubhub, or UberEats and not your restaurant. So that means you’re missing all the personal connections that keep bringing people back

    Alternatives to Paying Third Party Delivery Fees: How Restaurants Can Cut Costs and Keep Orders In-House

    • Offer online ordering from your own website along with the ability to earn rewards points to get discounts when they order directly from you. (If you don’t have a site, SWIPEBY can create one for you included with any AI team subscription any AI team.)
    • Use an integrated delivery option, like SWIPEBY’s no-commission delivery that prioritizes the closest, least expensive delivery driver for your pickups.
    • Hire local drivers for deliveries during high ordering periods. SWIPEBY offers a simple toggle on/off feature to make this easy.
    • Incentivize direct orders through loyalty or discounts.

    How SWIPEBY Helps Restaurants Keep More Revenue

    • Online ordering branded for your restaurant
    • White-label delivery solution (you’re in control)
    • No per-order commissions like third-party platforms
    • You own the customer relationship and the data
    • AI-driven automated remarketing helps drive repeat orders

    Macita’s, a small Columbian Restaurant & Bakery in Cutler Bay, was getting delivery customers through Uber, DoorDash, and Postmates paying 15-30% per order. They decided to switch to SWIPEBY for savings but also to control menu prices and build their brand for customer loyalty. As a result, they’re making $4000+ per month from online ordering + an extra $3200 from SWIPEBY’s AI remarketing feature that uses guest data to drive return business. That’s guest data Macita’s wouldn’t have if they stuck to 3rd party delivery.

    Tips to Get Customers Off DoorDash and Onto Your Platform

    • Update your Google Business Profile with your ordering link (SWIPEBY can help.)
    • Promote “order direct” on social, your menu, and signage
    • Offer perks for ordering direct (free appetizer, points, etc.)
    • Put flyers with your website QR code into to-go bags letting people know they can save money and earn rewards points by ordering directly from your site. (SWIPEBY can create these for you.)

    In conclusion, you don’t have to rely on third party delivery apps that take a big bite out of your revenue. With the right tools and strategy, you can offer seamless delivery, build customer loyalty, and keep more of what you earn. Want to see how SWIPEBY can help? Schedule a demo today.

  • How a Growing Cookie Shop uses Online Ordering & AI for Growth

    How a Growing Cookie Shop uses Online Ordering & AI for Growth

    We have a client that is shaking up the baked goods restaurant market by delivering fresh, warm cookies and brownies along with ice cream and milk to their customers. Pretty ambitious, right?

    They brought SWIPEBY onboard to facilitate online ordering and delivery and then added AI remarketing and AI reviews management. They wanted to bring customers back with personalized emails and to help people know how great they are with 5-star reviews.

    How is it working out so far?

    In the last 30 days they’ve added 413 new customers placing online orders totaling more than $10,000. Not bad for a small cookie shop! AI-driven remarketing emails started going out a little more than two weeks after they started with SWIPEBY, and they’ve already gotten more than $1,000 in sales from return customers. And in the last 30 days they’ve earned 38 5-Star reviews from people who placed online orders.

    All of this happened automatically so the owners could focus on making amazing cookies.

    We developed flyers for them and provided some marketing tips to help drive even more orders and reviews. (We love doing extra for our clients.) They’ll be opening a new location soon, and we are super excited to help them thrive.

    If you’re curious how AI can help your restaurant or physical business, schedule a demo. We’d love to listen to what your challenges and goals are to see how we can help.

  • Ease Your Restaurant into Catering

    Ease Your Restaurant into Catering

    If your restaurant is humming along, you might be considering adding catering. It’s a good time to explore the option as people head back into offices and parties bounce back post-pandemic.

    Becoming a full-service caterer on top of your thriving restaurant business may be overwhelming. You may not have the time or want to deal with the complexities of hiring and scheduling staff for cooking, serving, and cleaning up after events and weddings.  

    Fortunately, you have the option to simplify the service by offering drop-off catering. This model is typical for office breakfast and lunches and small parties. Even if this seems much more simple than black-tie affairs, you need to consider some things to help with a successful expansion.

    1. Review your menu for current items that work well for drop-off catering. Trays of bagels or muffins, boxed lunches, fruit bowls, and single-portion desserts are popular for office meetings. If you can form your catering menu as a subset of your regular menu, it will be easier for you to start taking orders.
    2. While you may not have to add staff, you’ll want to figure out how to frequently make bulk orders while still serving your in-store diners and regular take out guests.
    3. You’ll need a method for taking and delivering orders. We have customers who take phone-in and email orders, then the staff uses our Dispatch feature to arrange for a delivery driver at the required time.

    Consider starting small. Maybe reach out to a couple of local offices letting them know what you’re doing and giving them a discount on a small breakfast order. This will help you and your staff figure out a process for fulfilling orders in a high quality way and on time. Once you’re ready to ramp up, you can put flyers in your restaurant, include information on your website, and use social media posts to market your new service.

    The Performance Food Service blog post, Five Tips to Start a Restaurant Catering Program might be helpful. We’re a PFS OneSource Partner, so be sure to let us know if you’re one of their operators.

    If you’re curious about SWIPEBY and our Dispatch feature, reach out. We’d love to have a conversation to see how we can help you be successful.

  • How a Pizzeria Uses AI to Streamline Time Consuming Tasks

    How a Pizzeria Uses AI to Streamline Time Consuming Tasks

    Pizzerias can get super busy! We recently sat down with one of our clients in Canton, OH, to talk about how he uses AI to improve his efficiency.

    His top three favorites are:

    • AI phone answering – He doesn’t have to stop everything just to give someone hours, directions, and specials.
    • AI remarketing emails – There are a lot of customers who reorder when they get a personalized email asking them to come back. He loves that he doesn’t have to do anything because it’s all automated.
    • AI reviews management – Being a popular pizza spot, he gets a lot of reviews. Before he started using the feature, he would do his best to answer them, but it takes a ton of time. Now he just scans the draft, edits it if he wants, and then posts the reply.

    If you’re curious about using AI to help you, we’d love to arrange a quick demo of SWIPEBY with AI. Oh – be sure to mention if you’re a Performance Food Service customer!

  • Superpower up Your Online Menu

    Superpower up Your Online Menu

    If your online menu was a superhero, what would its powers be? Maybe a photographic memory like Captain America? Whatever the situation, most superheroes need to go through a transformation to develop superpowers. Here are some potential ‘transformations’ you can use to superpower up your online menu.

    Make the order online button on your website prominent. Having a link button at the top, middle, and bottom of your website makes it quick and easy for customers to order directly from your restaurant. That’s important because if you link to a marketplace or third party delivery company for online orders, you won’t control your brand, have a loyalty program, or own your customer data + they’ll potentially drive your customers to area competitors. In many cases, you won’t be able to control how your menu looks or the prices. Here’s an example of a local sushi restaurant’s menu compared to the DoorDash menu. There’s a mark-up on every item + a delivery fee that the restaurant has no control over. (Note: this is not a SWIPEBY customer. We work to help get our customers off DoorDash.)

    Set up your Google profile and add a link to your online menu. Just like making the order online button prominent on the website, you want it to be easy for people searching Google to quickly click to order directly from your restaurant site. If you don’t yet have a Google business site, these instructions will help.

    Add online ordering to your Facebook page. If you have a Facebook page where you share photos of your delicious food, specials, and discounts, your regular customers will follow your page. You want to make it easy for them to order from you and take advantage of what they’re seeing in your posts. These instructions will help. 

    Add pictures. Research shows that this increases what and how much customers order by 35%. Even if you’re a premium casual restaurant that doesn’t have photos on your printed menu, including them on your online menu can make a big difference.

    Hopefully these tips will help you maximize what your online menu does for your business. If you’re curious about SWIPEBY, please reach out. We’d love to talk about your business and how we can help with challenging areas. No cape needed.

  • What’s Up with Your Customer Data?

    What’s Up with Your Customer Data?

    Pretty much every time someone does business with you, there’s a data trail. If they order from you online, there’s a bit more data. If they order from you multiple times, the data starts to get rich and fertile with opportunities for deepening your relationship with them.

    Why Does This Matter?

    Because if you’re using a third party delivery service, like DoorDash or Uber, they own the data and the relationship. You don’t. They use the data to market to your customers and build loyalty for their service. Not for your business.

    If you use a point of sale (POS) system, like Toast or Square, they give you access to the data. But to get value from it, you’d need to download it and then perform analytics over time so you could figure out how to best engage with each customer. Let’s say you want to reach out to customers who haven’t ordered for a month. You’d download the customers from last month, separate the ones who didn’t order this month, write an email, then send it through a system like Mail Chimp. It would be kind of impersonal. To save time, you could always hire a data analysis firm and a marketing agency. That gets expensive.

    Another option is to tap into artificial intelligence (AI). You can use a tool that constantly pulls the data, crunches it, and then uses it to your advantage. All day, every day, 24/7.

    What Does That Look Like?

    • A customer clicks the Order Online button on your website.
    • A customer might also call you and get an AI-driven answering service that sounds just like you. That service can text a link to your online ordering. It also takes those busy-busy-busy calls off of your staff – like hours, location, and specials of the day.
    • Your online ordering system recognizes the customer and greets them with their Loyalty Program status. (This encourages them to order more to get the discount or free appetizer with points.)
    • As the customer places their order, an AI-driven assistant gives them suggestions for additional items they might like. (This is one way Amazon continues to break sales records.)
    • After check out, your customer gets a personal thank you note included their text or email receipt.
    • If the customer doesn’t order after 20 days, AI triggers a completely unique email encouraging them to reorder. You can even offer a discount.
    • When the customer gives you an online review, AI generates a response that you can post or edit. (People typically look at reviews, and research shows that responding to all reviews – good and bad – drives business.)

    The thing is, if a customer goes into your physical store, you and your staff can provide a personal touch. If a customer places an online order, that’s more difficult. The more you use data to replicate the in-store experience, the more likely a customer will be loyal. AI is a terrific tool to help you with that.

  • A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

    A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

    In 1911, newspaper editor Arthur Brisbane uttered the idea that a picture can save 1,000 words at a time when Instagram wasn’t even within the realm of possibilities. Now that the average attention span is 8.25 seconds, restaurant operators need to capture the interest of potential eaters lightning fast. A user-friendly menu with high-quality images can increase ordering rates by 35%.

    But many operators don’t have the time or money. That’s why we thought introducing AI generated images would be a huge help. While we do have customers with set-in-stone menus that never change, the majority have fluctuating menu items based on ingredient cost, seasons, and other impacts. About 80% of restaurants using SWIPEBY don’t have menus populated with images.

    Restaurants with set menus typically invest in a photography session that takes a ton of time and expense. They must prepare all their dishes to look perfect when they can lock in a professional food photographer to capture images that can be used on their website, marketing materials, and menus. Because their menu rarely changes, the images are long-lasting, and operators feel it’s worth the investment.

    For owners of restaurants with changing menus, SWIPEBY Snapshot gives operators the ability to create AI generated images based on their menu description. They can get very specific, very quickly. They can generate an image for a “Chicken Philly sub with roasted peppers and mushrooms” or add “on a wood board with a brick background.” Because Snapshot is integrated into the SWIPEBY platform, images for online and printed menus, websites, and marketing materials can be updated with fresh images as needed in seconds.

    The power of AI integrated into our platform helps make the lives of independent restaurant owners easier by providing enticing images that quickly communicate menu items to the consumer without a lengthy description. A picture is worth 35% more online orders? Maybe it isn’t quite as catchy, but those additional sales are definitely appetizing to a restaurant owner.

  • You Can Help Consumers with Mobility Issues

    You Can Help Consumers with Mobility Issues

    Think for a moment about someone who has difficulty getting around. They may struggle with getting in and out of a vehicle. Maybe it’s someone who needs a wheelchair or some kind of support.

    There are other reasons people can’t safely leave an unattended vehicle. Parents of small kids and pet owners are examples. About 40% of US families have children under the age of 18. 70% of US households owned a pet as of 2022.

    That’s a lot of people who have extremely limited choices when they are out and about. Fast food places, a handful of mega-chain restaurants, and some huge convenience store chains with curbside or drive-thru are typically their only options.

    Why can’t they have a housemade specialty dish from a local restaurant? What if they want a really good cup of coffee?

    The solution is easy. Independent restaurants and convenience stores can quickly add a virtual drive-thru. It doesn’t have to be expensive, overwhelming, or even complex. You certainly don’t need to renovate to add a drive-thru window.

    Consider the technology SWIPEBY offers for a virtual drive-thru or look for other options. With SWIPEBY you’ll be able to customize the experience for the customer and your staff. You simply toggle to offer curbside, pickup, no commission delivery, and/or self-delivery when it makes sense.

    Check us out, and start helping customers with mobility issues.

  • Delivery Without Losing Your Toque

    Delivery Without Losing Your Toque

    It’s true that by depending on a 3rd party delivery app, your guests get a slick user experience.

    But there are many downsides; an expensive price of up to 30% per order is a big one that may leave you losing money.

    percentage of costs

    There are others.

    First – limited brand awareness for your restaurant. Instead of ordering on a site with your logo & colors, your customers see the 3rd party brand.

    Next – they are a marketplace. When your customer logs in to place an order, they are often served up with specials and coupons from your competitors.

    Finally – they keep your customer data. You don’t have the opportunity to build loyalty or engagement with your own customers.

    Building your own delivery platform is costly and complex, so what are your options?

    You could bring aboard a software solution like SWIPEBY that includes no commission delivery as one of its features. Our tech is set up so that you get access to a huge number of drivers from across national and local delivery companies.

    There are also aggregator companies that supply delivery at a lower fee.

    How Do You Get Customers to Order From You Instead of the 3rd Party App?

    Promote it. Offer discounts for customers that order directly from you.

    Spread the word on social media and through word-of-mouth of your regular customers.

    Launch a loyalty program (SWIPEBY has one). A lot of the 3rd party delivery companies have loyalty programs, so yours can help lure customers away.

    Limit favorite menu items so that they can only be ordered directly through your online menu.

    Customers really do prefer to order directly through the restaurant, so by including delivery as an online ordering option, you’re giving them what they want – without losing your toque!

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