If there’s anything food brands and restaurants have learned during the pandemic, building a good relationship with direct consumers is crucial to success.
That’s where the D2C (Direct-to-Consumer) business model comes into play. Online D2C channels allow restaurants to set up their digital storefront and manage online orders without an intermediary.
While the D2C channel movement is nothing new, it gained much traction over the past two years as restaurant operators scrambled to compensate for lost revenue. Since the pandemic, countless restaurants and F&B companies worldwide have started creating direct-to-consumer sales channels.
And it’s not just restaurants: FMCG brands are jumping on board the D2C train, getting their products directly into customers’ homes.
Should your restaurant also sell directly to consumers? Here are three benefits of the D2C approach for restaurants.
#1 Own the customer experience
Creating an excellent customer experience unique to your brand is essential to any successful business.
But when you partner with third-party delivery apps, you must rely on others for your customer experience. While the partnership gives you access to many partner resources, what happens next is out of your hands as soon as your food leaves the kitchen.
Even so, 80% of end consumers blame the restaurant - not the delivery provider - when they have a bad ordering or delivery experience.
When you take the D2C route, you regain control of the customer experience. This business model enables you to customize your direct ordering channel and packaging and provides customer and after-sales service the way you like. You can select and train your drivers and riders using your own delivery fleet. Getting all these essentials right will work wonders for your brand’s reputation and customer loyalty.
While we’re on the subject, you can read up on our best practices to take your restaurant’s customer experience to the next level.
#2 Build a direct connection with your customers
Whether you run an independent restaurant or a big chain, nurturing a relationship with your product’s consumer is critical to offering the best possible service, fostering loyalty, and scaling your business.
But here’s the catch: when a customer orders a meal through a third party, there’s no interaction with the restaurant they order from. That makes it nearly impossible for restaurants to connect with their customers or get direct feedback - a common concern voiced by restaurateurs around the globe. Additionally, restaurants don’t have access to the customer information collected by their delivery partners, making it even harder to connect with guests.
Taking your food D2C can help you build better customer relationships. When you sell food through your direct channel, you can use valuable customer data from each transaction, like demographics, buying habits, and even contact info.
Restaurants can then leverage that information to improve their service, personalize marketing campaigns and offers, and, ultimately, increase repeat business and profits.
#3 Boost your bottom line
Offering third-party delivery and takeout impacts restaurants’ ability to connect and communicate with customers. It also affects their profit margins, which are lower than in most other industries.
By selling directly to consumers, restaurants can eliminate third parties’ commission fees and focus on profitability while retaining customer interaction. And thanks to new fulfillment and last-mile delivery solutions, it’s easier than ever to embrace D2C sales and deliveries and preserve profits.
Eliminating the intermediary can help you offer more attractive pricing and special deals to attract a more extensive customer base. You can allocate more funds towards other areas by removing the need to pay delivery partners. This enables you to enhance the overall customer experience and focus on targeted spending for greater efficiency.
Leverage technology to enable D2C sales
Direct-to-consumer sales can be a powerful distribution channel that gives you complete control over the customer and brand experience. Restaurants can count on innovative digital solutions to help them build a solid D2C model.
Thousands of restaurants worldwide use the Deliverect Online Ordering solution to nurture a customized direct-to-consumer channel aligned with their brand. With Online Ordering, setting up your online store and managing incoming orders is quick and easy, so you can focus on your core business while answering your customers’ needs for convenience.
With Deliverect Dispatch, restaurants can work with fulfillment partners on their direct channel if they don’t have their delivery fleet or need to supplement it. Dispatch helps you take control of the delivery process, reduce costs, and improve customer satisfaction.
Deliverect also offers convenient menu management tools that can save your staff hours of labor. The solution allows restaurants to manage all their menus from one Menu Builder and push changes to their direct sales channel (and third-party platforms).
D2C is an essential part of your restaurant strategy
Increasingly, both FMCG and restaurant brands across the globe are rolling out direct-to-consumer strategies to build a better relationship with end consumers, get back in charge of the delivery and customer experience, and improve profits.
There’s no better time than today to start setting up your D2C model to bring in more customers and revenue, retain customer interaction, and inspire long-term trust in your brand and customer loyalty.
Innovative restaurant and food tech solutions like Deliverect can help you explore D2C channels, create a personalized brand experience, and increase operational efficiency. Schedule time with one of our experts today.
