How to serve up a tasty takeway app for your customers

Whether you’re a cool food truck serving up globally inspired street food or a long time member of your local community with a trusty menu of old favourites, having a mobile app for your takeaway business can seriously set you apart from the competition.

In an always on world where we want what we want now, an app is a great way to stand out from the crowd, delight your customers with thoughtful features and keep your kitchen busier than ever. From the smallest independent takeaway to established chains in multiple locations, these are the features that your mobile app should have…

Mobile ordering

It’s an obvious one but so important – mobile ordering should be an integral part of your takeaway’s mobile app. In fact, it’s a good bet that this very tool is what will drive many of your customers to download your new app in the first place!

Your app should make it quick and easy for your customers to place their order. In addition to an easy t o navigate menu, consider allowing customers to save their favourites. If someone orders the same Friday night treat or Saturday blow out each week, one click ordering of their favourite can save valuable time, add buckets of convenience and make your customers feel like they matter.

There’s more you can factor in to ordering though to really delight your clients and ramp up customer loyalty (not to mention orders). Give your diners the choice of pick up or delivery, make it easy for them to customise their order and add a note to advise of any food allergies. You could even take a leaf out of Domino’s book and have a feature showing how long until their freshly cooked food will be ready to enjoy.

Call and pick up

No-one likes waiting in line… so why not give your app users a perk by giving them a call and pick up option? All you need do is allow calling from the app so your diners can place their order. They can then pop in and pick up, with no queing or waiting needed. Brands like Starbucks make this a premium feature of their app to give app users the sense of having an advantage and you can also employ this tactic at your takeaway.

Social media

Integrating your app with your social media channels is a great way to grow your community. Encourage your diners to engage with you on social media and they can help you spread the word about your takeaway business.

Analytics

Now, analytics might not seem like a natural fit with a food business but data is essential to good business decision making. Having access to information such as how many dishes of a certain type have been ordered, average order values and how much each customer spends can give you a real sense of confidence when it comes to growing your business and making changes to menu, pricing and offers.