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How to Increase Sales at Restaurants Through WordPress

Apr 21, 2023

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You're incredible. The restaurant you run is thriving post-pandemic. You've demonstrated your strength and demonstrated a lot of grit and management skills. This is likely the reason you're here!

The rising costs and the slowing economy could make some entrepreneurs stick their heads into the sand, but you're not like them. You know you need to be proactive and progressive to improve sales in your restaurant and continue to grow your business.

This tutorial will show you how to configure your WordPress website so that you can directly accept orders without a third-party platform. You will also be able to take complete control over online orders.

Additionally, we'll assist you in unlocking the potential that your web presence and community hold for your business.

Read on to find out how you can make the most of your WordPress website, and profit from the membership movement that's taking the restaurant industry by storm.

What Tools You'll Need

If your site is merely the place where you can post your menu as well as offer contact details for reservations You're in need of catching up to do. But that's ok.

Just a couple of plugins and integrations to transform your WordPress website into a powerful sales tool and compete with large chain stores.

Best of all it's super simple with just a bit of inside information. It doesn't require a lot of skills in the field to accomplish this.

WordPress as well  and have made it simple for people who are not tech-savvy to operate their businesses online. It is not necessary to program.

Here are the tools that you need:

  1. WordPress: The most well-known Content Management System (CMS) powering approximately 810 million websites.
  2. Easy Affiliate Easy Affiliate: The "all-in-one" Affiliate program plug-in for WordPress

How to increase sales at restaurants Through WordPress

Step 1: Choose the WordPress host and theme.

If you haven't already got an WordPress site (sorry however, popular builders like Wix and SquareSpace do not have the required features) you'll need choose a web host.

When the domain has been registered, you'll be required to choose an WordPress theme to design your restaurant.

Step 2. Install the plugin

is the most popular WordPress membership and monetization plugin with a good reason. Its growing library of integrations and add-ons makes it extremely flexible, which means you can design the perfect subscription program for your clients.

Watch >> for instructions on for instructions on how to install wordpress

You can do:

  • take advantage of a rising trend in the world of restaurant business, which is based on subscription-based services with recurring annual or monthly fees.
  • Increase sales in restaurants by offering loyalty incentives or members-only discounts increase sales at restaurants through loyalty incentives or discounts for members onlyfor regular diners.
  • and create a community of valued and loyal customers.

There are many chains of all sizes that are taking advantage of subscription service. In the future, we'll dive into more detail on how restaurants that are all kinds of sizes are taking advantage of their websites to create innovative membership programs.

Step 3: Install WPCafe and WooCommerce The Plugins

You've put in a lot of effort to design a great menu, provide outstanding service and increase your base of customers. Why, then, should third-party platforms charge extortionate fees and commission rates?

DoorDash charges a whopping 30 percent for its full built-in marketing program. Even if you decide to decide to opt-out of their marketing and pay their 15%delivery charge, your company is being promoted alongside the competition.

You could also refer your customers to these apps from third parties. But who's to say you'll not lose to competitors spending money on marketing that is prioritized?

What's more, you're subject to the platforms' ever-changing terms and conditions.

With WPCafe it's simple for you to create your own menu and define your operating hours as well as the amount of reservations that are available, cancellation policies, and more.

With WPCafe and WooCommerce it is possible to retain full independence and controlover your business operations for a one-third the cost of hosting platforms.

Step 4: Upload Your Menu

It's now time to add your menu items to.

In WooCommerce Under the category Products add descriptions. include tags and categories such as starter, main, soft drink, cocktail, gluten-free, vegetarian, etc.

You also have the option to upload photos of your dishes so people are able to see the food they're eating.

Step 5: Build the Customer's loyalty by implementing a Membership Program

You now have everything you need to run your restaurant online without a third-party platform, it's time to get creative and think of ways to create trust with your customers.

Here's a happy statistic: a 5% growth in customer loyalty results in more than 25% rise in profit.

It's important to keep the existing patrons coming back.

 However, customer loyalty is in crisis.

The rising costs are changing how consumers perceive about their favorite brands.

Below are a few not-so-happy statistics About a third (30%) of consumers say that price increases affect their trust with brands. In addition, 22% believe they feel their loyalty to brands is decreasing.

Businesses need to find ways to provide value (or at least perceived value) to their customers. And membership programs could be one way to do it.

Through a membership program it is possible to reward repeat business with exclusive offers as well as online content. It is also possible to use your new platform to cross-sell or upsell products and drinks.

Keep an eye out for helpful ideas and examples of how to run successful membership programs.

This setup can provide predictable and reliable income - making budgeting and forecasting a much easier.

Furthermore, if your restaurant offers various levels of membership, your customers are able to upgrade their plans in the course of becoming more involved with your restaurant.

It's all possible and made easy with.

Step 6: Drive the Snowball Effect With Simple Affiliate

In the industry of restaurants the goal of increasing customer satisfaction has an additional effect, which increases overall sales: it brings many more patrons in!

Food outings are social. Restaurants are different to, say, retail outlets. The majority of people seek out a top place to eat and then be able to share their experience with friends, family, or even their partner.

It's the reason customer loyalty is particularly importantin the world of restaurant. Make sure your customers come back, and they'll bring more and more people to them. Remain loyal to their guests, and they'll bring many more guests along with them.

Take a look, you have what's called an snowball effect!

Membership programs can enhance this"snowball" effect. You can offer rewards for inviting friends or family members to your restaurants and invite them to join the program as well.

So you're not just keeping your regulars coming back and bringing more customers to your doors.

 Affili-what?

An affiliate program is where you can earn a reward to promote your company's services to others. Every "affiliate" is given an individual hyperlink to your site. When someone purchases or signs up for membership using their hyperlink, you may reward them!

Through Easy Affiliate, you can reward your members for successfully in bringing their family and friends to become members. How do you do that.

  1. Include Easy Affiliate's plug-in on your WordPress dashboard
  2. Within on the WordPress dashboard, navigate to the Easy Affiliate menu > Setting.
  3. Choose your Affiliates tab.
  4. Then, where it says Registration Typeat at the top, select private.
  5. Turn On the Auto-Add Affiliates feature so new members are automatically sent an affiliate link for your site.
  6. Click on The Advanced tab.
  7. Make edits to the Welcome emailto clarify how the system works to your members.
  8. You can also select and edit the Send Affiliate Sale Emailto instantly send an email that contains, for example, the chance to win a gift card every time someone registers by using the code.

Note: Easy Affiliate is designed to give affiliates the possibility of earning a cash commission for every sale from their unique link. If you'd prefer to offer vouchers that they can redeem at the restaurant, be sure that you change the settings as well as Ts&Cs to reflect this.

Ideas to Reward Members as well as increase restaurant sales

Incentivize frequent diners with special Deals

Remember, by keeping your loyal customers satisfied and loyal, you'll save on costs in the future.

If you're nervous about squeezing the margins of your business already strained Offer discounts on items from the menu that have higher markups like drinks and appetizers.

Set minimum orders

There is the option of setting a minimum-order rule (e.g. free drinks when you pay $X for your main) to make sure you're still benefiting from the offer.

Have a happy hour for members only

You could also offer only for members happy hour promotions to drive sales in slower times. Whatever makes the most sense to your business, while increasing perceived value to your clients.

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Always ensure that the house wins!

Make a Plan to Increase Order Size

Having a restaurant membership program will give you plenty of opportunities to increase sales and up-sell or cross-sell items.

 It's time to get strategic.

Explore ways you could leverage promotions on your membership program to get members to increase their spending.

A common method is one way is to use package or combo deals. The customer who typically takes a main dish or soft drink of $20 could be lured by a combination deal with wine and dessert worth $28.

You can use data from existing customers' purchases to tailor offers based on what they've bought previously.

If, for instance, a client is likely to order the same dish when they come to your restaurant, you can offer the customer a discounted wine that pairs well with the meal. You can also offer a special deal on a meal at a higher cost that shares a similar taste profile.

You might just develop your own new one, a costlier order, that customers will keep coming back to.

Create an Exclusive Online Hub

A membership program doesn't have to be just about offers and discounts. It could also be an area where customers feel valued and as a part of a community that is exclusive.

The installation setup process is quick and simple, and bbPress provides you with a unified admin area where you can easily control and moderate forums.

If your customers are getting the most benefits from their membership and the more time they'll hang around and keep using your establishment. Both parties.

5 Examples of Membership Programs to boost restaurant sales

1. Drink Clubs

With their high markup, relatively low cost, and high perceived value, beverages are an excellent choice for offers and memberships.

Offer them discounted drinks, and guess where they're choosing to dine out? At your joint obviously.

Three examples of businesses that have centered their membership programs around drinks:

 Cooper's Hawk Wine Club

Cooper's Hawk restaurant offers monthly registration to their wine club.

Members get to take home 3 bottles of the restaurant's "wine of the month" with tasting notes as well as pairing recipes.

The club can be chosen from red, white, sweet, or the variety of wine clubs based on their preferences. They can either enjoy the wines in the comfort of their homes with meals or have them delivered.

The members also have access to various other benefits like a birthday reward 10 percent off take-out or catering and also discounts on wine-tasting events.

Cooper's Hawk also offers gift membership! A great option for those who love wine as well as corporate gifts. It's a great avenue to increase restaurant sales and to introduce new customers to their business.

Boris and Horton Coffee Club

East Village's very first pet-friendly café offers a monthly coffee subscription.

Members can enjoy 8 drinks per month (which typically costs between $40 and $45) at a cost of $25.

The program is particularly for small independent businesses with a solid community. This is the case with B&H's dog-loving patrons.

 Panera Sip Club

Panera rolled out the $8.99/month unlimited coffee plan beginning in February 2020 and it was a great popularity. By July of the same calendar year customer loyalty had exceeded 40 million..

Three years later, Panera has extended its offer to include a range of cold and hot drinks.

Interview in an interview with Fast Casual, Panera's chief branding and concept officer Eduardo Luz, explains how the company's free drink model:

"Subscription services can be considered table stakes in many different industries. Coffee was a service we could see fitting into that model for a better and economical alternative [...] as well as providing the opportunity to earn recurring income."

2. Frequent Diner Member

With this membership model, diners are charged a fee for access to deals and discounts. If more people dine in your establishment, the more they can save as well as the more business that you can earn from them. everybody wins!

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Everyone is a winner!

 Blood & Sand

At St. Louis restaurant Blood & Sand Members are charged $15 for entry to a wide range of discount coupons, such as:

  • 20percent off of their bills
  • 30% of wine for take-away
  • Complimentary sparkling wine and appetizer
  • Welcome bonus for new members
  • Tables of preference
  • Midweek reservations with guaranteed reservations
  • Free cocktails are served each time you visit 10 times.

3. A VIP, Exclusive Experience

With this model it is possible for members to pay more to feel extra special. The idea isn't to create the value of your customers, but rather, providing them an extravagant, luxurious, exclusive experience.

 M Den

In London, Gaucho steakhouse and M restaurants have collaborated to in the creation of M Den, a private members' club with exclusive discounts and invitations.

The annual membership for all venues is PS1000 (about around $1240) and comes with VIP benefits including:

  • Invitation to the "M means Monaco" Formula 1 Grand Prix weekend event.
  • The bottle is personalized with a premium spirit of their choice.
  • Members only Lounge access to events only once every year.
  • Reservations for guaranteed restaurants and VIP line.
  • Unlimited Members Lounge access to five guests or more.
  • Four tickets to attend exclusive events featuring sports stars.
  • Monthly gatherings for networking.
  • Full concierge service for travel, accommodation, and other events.

Members are also able to access The Portal - the online portal that provides details of upcoming events and extra benefits.

4. Community-Supported Restaurant Memberships (CSR)

It is an excellent solution for restaurants who are in the need of cash upfront. It works on similar lines to GoFundMe or Kickstarter however, it is for restaurant owners.

The patrons pay upfront to redeem the same amount (or even) in services and food over time.

Benefit from immediate injection of capital to help pay for things like renovations or expansions, and your customers benefit from higher returns.

 Lenoir

Austin's Lenoir restaurant offers patrons the chance to be part of their CSR.

There are 3 levels of investment:

  • $1,000 gets you $1200 in the house account.
  • $2000 gets you $2500 on their account for house.
  • A $5,000 investment will get you a house credit of $3,000 and a five-course private complete dinner for eight people either at your residence or the dining area ($3,000 value); 2 free sharpenings of knives, first access to certain events and prior reservations.

5. Content Hub Membership

If your restaurant is well-established with solid branding and strong, authentic roots to its cuisine You have the ideal recipe for creating an exciting website that provides members with content.

Create behind-the-scenes videos sharing techniques for cooking, recipes Food stories, pairing ideas.

 L'Oca d'Oro

Based in Austin, L'Oca d'Oro is a restaurant that has won awards. a strong connection and branding to the Italian food.

The company offers two types of subscription through their website. Foodies can opt for Fiore's Regional Pasta Club, priced at $90/month, while aspiring winemakers can opt for The Wine Share Club at $65/month.

Each month, participants who belong to The Pasta Club not only receive ingredients and pantry essentials, but they also get to immerse themselves in Italian traditions.

Participants join Chef Fiore Tedesco for a trip through the countries and cities that inspired his cuisine, sharing stories and recipes as he goes.

L'Oca d'Oro combines subscription deals and online content for a unique exclusive experience for their customers.

We hope these examples inspire you to create a membership program that rewards loyalty, brings you regular revenue and eventually boosts the number of sales.

Conclusion

We've shown you how it's done, and now it's your turn!

It is important to configure your site to accept delivery orders so you're not in the hands of the third party platforms that host your website. Take back control of your website by using WPCafe.

Then it's time to get creative! Think strategically about which membership program type is the most suitable for your restaurant, and then get your revenue flowing!

Here's a reminder of the steps you need to take to increase restaurant sales via your site:

  1.   Choose the WordPress host and theme.  
  2.   Install the plugin.  
  3.    Include WPCafe as well as WooCommerce extensions.
  4.   Upload your menu.  
  5.   Create customer loyalty through an active membership program.  
  6.   Create the snowball effect with Simple Affiliate.  

Have you discovered an interesting program for restaurant members? Do you have any suggestions for how you can increase restaurant sales with WordPress? Please share them by leaving a comment below.

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