Marketing to takeaway owners

[bigfoodie]

Hi guys, I work at a company that is in the online food delivery space (similar to Just Eat)

We are looking to release an app which will help takeaways manage and track their drivers and send push notifications to customers with live order updates.

It's been very tricky to get in touch with takeaway owners - cold calling has resulted in roughly 1 out of every 15 calls getting through to a takeaway owner and the majority do not want to hear about new services (we've tried with several different people and angles)

The app is going to be ready within the next two weeks. We're trying to garner as much initial interest as possible prior to the launch. The way we see this now is getting the name and mobile number of the takeaway owner as they don't use email much (I know, we're trying to get them to download an app later....tricky stuff!)

We've tried direct mail, cold calling and emailing (despite the known lack of use). Do you have any other suggestions?

The only one I have thought of now is contacting suppliers (whether food or packaging) of these takeaways and seeing if we can market through them - i.e. download and use our app and we will give you £50 worth of drinks from your wholesaler.

Any suggestions MUCH APPRECIATED!!

 

[Mark T Jones]

Have you tried to tell owners about your app, or have you given them a concise reason (or 2) how it will benefit them?

As a non techy myself I would be instantly put off by someone describing an app, but might be engaged by would have some attention span for one or 2 key benefits

Put another way, nobody gives a toss how uber works, but they love the idea that they press a button and a taxi appears.

 

[bigfoodie]

Awesome comment, thank you Mark!

Yes I have but it seems tricky to actually get a hold of the decision maker. It's tricky getting in front of the actual owner/manager - that seems to be a huge hurdle at the moment.

Thanks again!

 

[sunnyway]

Awesome comment, thank you Mark!

Yes I have but it seems tricky to actually get a hold of the decision maker. It's tricky getting in front of the actual owner/manager - that seems to be a huge hurdle at the moment.

Thanks again!

It's only tricky if you don't call at the right time. I worked for the guy who started a now very popular food delivery company in the UK. He has the same issue back then so we changed the calling hours and also your PITCH.

 

[bigfoodie]

Thanks for your advice Sunny, PM replied

 

[bigfoodie]

Hi guys, any other suggestions?

Have gotten plenty of wholesalers interested in marketing to their customers here in London as well but would love to expand the operations a bit more

 

[ethical PR]

Hi guys, any other suggestions?

Have gotten plenty of wholesalers interested in marketing to their customers here in London as well but would love to expand the operations a bit more

It sounds like you are trying to sell your service without marketing it first. Go back to the market research you carried out when you decided there was a market for your app. What are you offering that your competitors don't? What did your marketing strategy identify as the best ways to market your new app.

 

[TotalWebSolutions]

How about visiting the takeaways themselves in person if this is feasible? Most likely, a takeaway isn't going to want to deal with cold calls as they will be expecting calls for orders and you are unlikely to get the owner this way. Much better if you could call in a demonstrate the app to them.

Failing that are there any takeaway forums that you could market on?

 

[bigfoodie]

Great observation. Yes that is Phase 2 as the app isn't ready just yet and this was about generating initial interest pre-launch.

I actually haven't found a single forum that is dedicated to this actually!

 

[The Byre]

It's very simple!

We get several calls a day, pitching for something. Apps, software, supplies, financial services, investment schemes, energy management schemes, pension schemes, water, sewage, you name the sucker and some hopeful is trying to sell us whatever it is that they are pitching.

That and a few hundred emails every bloody day!

The very moment that we realise that you are trying to sell us something, we just click off. What is known as a 'hard-no' in the nuisance-call business!

If you are not a customer, or someone important, you get disconnected - it's really that simple!

But we do check the mail. And yes, I do look at flyers and brochures and if something is best read by somebody other than me, that person will receive that flyer or brochure.

Once a day, the postman drives into our yard and delivers and the mail is sorted a bit like triage at an emergency - must-read, can-read and bin. Invoices, regular letters, etc. are must-read. Brochures for interesting stuff (Big-Dug, Tool-Station, Screwfix, horse saddles and equipment relevant to our business are all can-read).

Flyers for Saga tours, funeral schemes, investment schemes, charity begging letters - well, working out where they go should be easy!

So what happens to the more interesting flyers and brochures?

They will have a website - so (for example) the woman who does the books, may look at some funky new accounts programme to see if it is worth trying out. Or I may look at something that interests me. We click - we look - we contact or download.

A bit like a movie script - put it in the mail and I'll try to get around to reading it.

And if we like it (here it comes!) don't call us. We'll call you!

 

[bigfoodie]

Thanks for that! Funnily enough the calling did actually work to an extent, but it isn't a practice I am for (spamming people in that way) and that's why am looking for ways to put the idea out there in other ways (such as talking with wholesalers, etc). The amount of direct mail you guys get must be insane and because of that (and the costs associated with it) it's often a big loss rather than a conversion generator.

Of course you could argue on the design and proposition being strong enough - of course. But nonetheless 99% of these leaflets do land in the bin and at this stage a conversion isn't worth the cost - it's more about providing takeaway owners with a better way of connecting with customers and keeping track of their fleet team a it were.

Thanks again!

 

[Krystsina]

Hey there,

I believe that you should work on your social media presence as well apart from contacting food suppliers you are planning to work with. Think of the image of your ideal customer - what is his/her age, lifestyle, etc. You will be able to understand which platforms you should use in order to reach the biggest amount of your potential clients. There is a very detailed guide on boosting social media presence of businesses, it might be useful for you to read it.

I would also suggest you to make a special event to celebrate the launch of your app - it always works to attract more people.

 

[GetPaidToAdvertiseYourBiz]

True! Social media plays a huge part!

 

[Carl "Excel-Expert" Nixon]

I don't know much about the industry, but could it be that the take away owners dont want another "Just Eat" service that they have to maintain? I go to my local take away and they are on 2 or 3 of these type of services already and I presume they manage their own presence on these sites. i.e. they keep prices, products and opening times up to date. So why would they want to sign up to a 3rd or 4th service meaning more work for them?

Is there something they would get from your app that they wouldnt get from the other apps?

Genuine question as I have no idea about the industry you are in - so they are based on personal observations only

 

[bigfoodie]

Hi there Carl, great question!

The idea is to BECOME less 'mainstream' like these other services and provide more to the takeaway than just a standard platform. Takeaways have a lot of problems with drivers: they often show up late, don't show up at all, take extra long to do deliveries, etc. It's a common problem but not well addressed. The app we're developing allows them to take control of their team.

They can know exactly where they are during shifts, contact them with one tap, and issues orders to them with just another tap. Additionally, traditional takeaways not part of big providers are unable to provide their customers with order updates apart from when the customer calls to complaint and demand to know where their order is. Our service automatically sends push notifications to customers via SMS, letting them know where their order is, when it's going to arrive, etc

Your average takeaway simply doesn't have access to these features unless they sign an exclusivity clause with one of the big guys, rather than have as many marketing streams as they want.

 

[Carl "Excel-Expert" Nixon]

Ahh thanks BigFoodie

So is your major selling point that you are delivery management system (i.e. managing the drivers out on the road) rather than an order taking service? which side of the app do you lead with?

I suspect that every take away owner has seen a million and one "Just Eat" wannabe's that process orders - so as they hear anything along those lines they switch off. But the driver management side of things sounds like it maybe a unique angle and where you need to focus the marketing.

Could the driver management side of things become a product on its own without the food ordering side of things? And would more take aways find than more appealing than both products tied together?

 

[Steve Alphabet]

What problem does your app solve for your target market? And how is your app better than https://ubereats.com/london? A restaurant client of mine uses this to deliver food, so they're two of the first questions they'd ask you.

There's definitely room for new entrants. Hungryhouse etc take a big chunk of commission, so if you can offer a tool to help takeaway owners compete then you definitely have a chance. I reckon look at the Uber/Deliveroo model and try to differentiate your offering in some way.

 

[bigfoodie]

Thanks Steve,

The problem solved is takeaway owners being able to easily manage and know where their drivers are. No more 'taking longer to deliver food than usual' or drivers simply having gone home (more common than you think right in the middle of a shift)

Also, customers from ALL takeaways (not just through exclusivity) will be able to send live order notifications to their customers via text message (similar to what you see on UberEATS but for all takeaways in the country)

Thanks for your contribution!

Best wshes