Restaurants wishing to take advantage of the Internet's promotional possibilities are presented with a variety of options that leave even the savviest of marketers scratching their heads. With limited marketing dollars and a plethora of choices, businesses can't afford to waste time and money! How can one decide? It must be something that is within budget, measurable, dialoguing and a spring board to other forms of marketing. Online ordering has considerations in all four areas.

Cost: According to statistics put out by BigHoller, a leading provider in restaurant online ordering, most of its restaurants average $2,000 to $10,000 of online orders per month. These types of numbers dwarf the small rates associated with a fixed priced provider of online ordering.

Quantification: Online ordering allows a restaurant to see who its customers are, what areas in town are most responsive, what time of day works best, etc. This allows a restaurant to hone its message to the audience that returns the most in ticket sizes and frequency of orders!

Conversation: Instant feedback is obtainable via online ordering in various abstract and concrete ways. Testing the presentation of menus, specials, discounts and upselling all offer good ways of determining what works best with customers, what they appreciate and what they don't. For direct answers, a comment section or a response to a survey can give restaurants valuable feedback on what their customers are thinking. Listening to customers can payoff with a large increase in orders.

Launch Pad: According to BigHoller statistics, when a person goes to a restaurant's website that offers online ordering, better than 85% of the time they are going to click that online ordering button. That tells you that people are going to a website primarily for the purposes of ordering food online. When polled, BigHoller found that most people prefer online ordering for its convenience, ease of use, and getting their order right the first time without having to place a phone call into a restaurant.

Once you have established your online ordering audience on the web, there are many other methods that can be employed to further improve a restaurant's bottom line.

• Enhanced Website: Further your image and branding by painting a story about your restaurant and why it's such a great place to order food from. Employ search engine optimization techniques to attract even more people. Provide a feedback area to listen to what your customers have to say.
• Email Blasting: Collect emails through online ordering and at your restaurant and mail out weekly specials to keep them coming back.
• Social media builds loyalty using fun games and contests to increase your network. Make yourself interesting and you may suddenly find a large loyal following that preaches your message.