​Allow guests to order from where you connect with them online

Where do your guests interact with you online? If you have a strong social media following and a consistent presence on select platforms — or even if you have plans to launch social media-based marketing campaigns in the future — you could probably benefit from social media ordering. The recent announcement that Deliverect was acquiring ChatFood, a company specializing in social media ordering, is likely to make the capability far more common. Restaurant Business reports that Deliverect works with about 41,000 restaurants around the world and roughly one-third of them are located in the U.S. The deal will give restaurants that use Deliverect a new stream of orders: People can order food from these restaurants directly from their Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp accounts without having to leave the app and place their order from your website or a separate app. Restaurant food is often an impulse purchase and the social media ordering functionality removes some of the barriers that currently exist between your food and potential guests. Imagine sending someone in your loyalty program a WhatsApp message with a targeted offer. Instead of leaving WhatsApp to visit your app or website to order, all they have to do is reply. They can even use the same app to coordinate the order with their partner.

---