boosting your f&b business in 2016
TRANSCRIPT
BOOSTING YOUR F&B BUSINESS IN 2016 INSIDE ONLINE ORDERING IN SINGAPORE
The prevalence of online food ordering has made it necessary for all F&B businesses to keep up with the trends. This guide aims to provide a comprehensive overview of online ordering must-knows in Singapore and Asia-Pacific, providing F&B businesses with a head start for boosting business in 2016.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CONTENTS
To F&B Owners in Singapore _______________________________________________________ 1
Online Ordering in Singapore ______________________________________________________ 2
Ready to Embark on Online Food Ordering? ___________________________________________ 4
Online Ordering Service Partners ___________________________________________________ 6
Delivery Partners _______________________________________________________________ 10
How to Get Started on Digital Marketing ____________________________________________ 11
Keep Your Customers Returning ___________________________________________________ 14
Other Important Things to Note ___________________________________________________ 15
Taking the First Step ____________________________________________________________ 16
TO F&B OWNERS IN SINGAPORE
Page 1 Boosting Your F&B Business in 2016
TO F&B OWNERS IN SINGAPORE
The last quarter of 2015 has observed weakening sales and rising operating costs amidst an
increasingly competitive environment in Singapore and Malaysia’s retail markets including F&B
businesses. It is thus a continuing concern of every business owner to minimize costs and mitigate
the impact of operating costs on profits. Instead of expanding brick-and-mortar store space, many
F&B owners have turned to online ordering to increase sales. While online ordering and related
resources are widespread in Western markets, Asia Pacific has merely just caught up with the trend
of transiting to online ordering for food delivery business in the past couple of years. The key reason
for going online is the growing smartphone penetration rate in Asia Pacific. Top 10 countries include
Philippines, Malaysia, Australia, Hong Kong and right at the top, Singapore with a smartphone user
penetration of 83.1%. The extensive reliance on smartphones and apps prompts the need for online
food ordering on the go.
As the year comes to an end, Oddle has embarked on this white paper because we've always
been focused on helping all F&B business grow. As you will find out from the following sections, there
are a variety of strategies that can benefit your F&B business and most importantly, you will embark
on a journey to grow your business.
Yours sincerely,
Jonathan Lim
CEO Oddle
December 31, 2015
ONLINE ORDERING IN SINGAPORE
Page 2 Boosting Your F&B Business in 2016
ONLINE ORDERING IN SINGAPORE
This section will give a brief overview of the short history and current major players in
Singapore’s fast-growing online food ordering landscape.
DELIVERY REINVENTED
Delivery is no new invention. Earlier in the days, calling the restaurant itself to order food was
common. Even today, a small proportion of food ordering is still done through phone calls and faxes.
The key change is the shift in the ordering medium from traditional phone calls to the modern Web
with the increased accessibility to go online. Food delivery started from big names such as fast food
chains, McDonald’s, KFC and pizza chains like Pizza Hut and Domino’s. In 2012, Foodpanda was
launched in Singapore and it sought out independent restaurants with either single stores or multiple
outlets. It offered these restaurants an online platform to feature their menu items and acted as a
middle man that was responsible for marketing and delivery of the food.
ONLINE ORDERING IN SINGAPORE
Page 3 Boosting Your F&B Business in 2016
MORE OPTIONS TODAY
Today, there are many online marketplace solutions with the key industry player being
Foodpanda which has become a household name internationally. Additionally, another service model
has been made available with white-label solutions like Oddle and Shopify which are customizable
apps that provide each F&B with their own unique site.
CONSUMER TRENDS & KEY PROBLEMS
On the consumer end, online ordering is increasingly prevalent, especially amongst internet-
savvy adults with spending power. Office and festive events contribute a substantial proportion to
received orders.
Despite the overall positive outlook of the business, it is undeniable that the online ordering
and delivery business has its challenges.
1. High costs of delivery
2. Maintaining quality of delivered food
3. Marketing for awareness and traffic to online menu
Depending on the scale of the F&B business and the type of food sold as well as its growth
stage, a different mix of solutions might be ideal for increasing profits through a carefully-planned
online ordering business strategy.
READY TO EMBARK ON ONLINE FOOD ORDERING?
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READY TO EMBARK ON ONLINE FOOD ORDERING?
QUESTIONS TO ASK ABOUT YOUR F&B BUSINESS
“22% of total delivery and takeaway orders stream in after restaurants’ operating hours.”
1. Do you often have long periods of lull hours without any dine-in customers?
2. Are there are too many kitchen staff around during the late afternoon?
3. Do you wish you had more space for the lunch crowd?
4. Do you often miss out on takeaway calls because you are busy with dine-in customers?
5. Do you think your volume of takeaway and delivery orders has reached a point where you
need to sort and analyze them?
6. Do you want to understand your customer in a more organized manner?
READY TO EMBARK ON ONLINE FOOD ORDERING?
Page 5 Boosting Your F&B Business in 2016
7. Do you wish to reach out to an audience that is beyond your store’s immediate
neighborhood?
8. Have your customers asked if they could pre-order food for their events?
If you answered yes to more than 5 questions above, your F&B business is ready to embark on
online ordering. The following sections will outline the pros and cons of mandatory items to consider.
Looking for specific short term goals for your online ordering business? From our sale’ team’s
encounters with various F&B business owners, there are 4 key reasons F&B owners consider
embarking on an online ordering business.
First, they may wish to grow their F&B business without incurring extra rental costs. Second, some
smaller F&B businesses may wish to cut costs for their F&B operations. Third, some of them have
already started their online ordering business but wish to try more powerful tools to manage their
online ordering business. Last but not least, an online ordering platform has helped many with
boosting their F&B business’ sales and marketing.
ONLINE ORDERING SERVICE PARTNERS
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ONLINE ORDERING SERVICE PARTNERS
WHITE-LABEL SOLUTIONS
ODDLE
A white-label online ordering management system – Oddle allows for the
individuality and autonomy of the F&B business at an annual flat rate. It serves to
simplify the tedious logistics of online ordering and optimize restaurant capacity and
productivity. Its founder’s background in F&B provides a strong awareness of actual
needs in online food ordering systems and e-commerce operations. Its marketing
arm, FeastBump, has been launched to direct corporate orders to Oddle’s existing
F&B clients, helping to establish both the offline and online presence of F&B
businesses.
SHOPIFY
Originating from Canada, Shopify is a white-label solution targeted at e-
commerce businesses in all industries. The highly customizable online store allows
for unique branding and autonomy over relationships with consumers. However, it
lacks F&B-tailored functions and thus most of its F&B clients sell F&B items with a
shelf life such as cereals and teabags.
ONLINE ORDERING SERVICE PARTNERS
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MARKETPLACE PLATFORMS
FOODPANDA
As mentioned briefly above, Foodpanda is a hosting platform that features
F&B businesses that deliver. When customers visit the site, they are prompted to
enter their postal code such that F&B businesses that deliver to them are
shortlisted. They function as both a logistics and marketing tool. Your F&B
business is then charged a commission for every successful transaction. Delivery
by Foodpanda’s riders is optional.
DELIVEROO
The latest addition to the local online food ordering scene and
positioned as the online ordering marketplace for premium F&B brands,
Deliveroo places speed over variety. When customers enter their postal code,
shortlisted F&B businesses only include those that fall within a 2km radius to
ensure that food is delivered within 32 minutes. Deliveroo has taken to
aggressive marketing strategies to help their F&B clients gain market share.
ONLINE ORDERING SERVICE PARTNERS
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THE BREAKDOWN
ODDLE SHOPIFY FOODPANDA DELIVEROO
DELIVERY
DELIVERY
REQUEST
Yes, flexible.
In-house/ Delivery Partner at flat rate
Yes, flexible.
Range of
shipping
providers
Yes, flexible.
In-house/ FP
rider
Yes, inflexible.
Deliveroo rider
ORDER MANAGEMENT
ADVANCED
ORDER
No time limit on pre-order. Ideal for festive promo sets and bakeries
No time limit Maximum 1 day
in advance
Maximum 1 day
in advance
COLLATION OF
ORDER ITEMS
Yes, for orders more than 1 day in advance
Yes No No
MENU
CUSTOMISATION Customizable variants and add-ons
Non-F&B-centric Customizable
variants
Customizable
variants and add-
ons
AESTHETICS Colors and images customizable
Highly Customizable with templates
Customizable
images only
Non-
customizable
COST
EVALUATION
Only annual flat rate
Monthly rate + Per transaction fee
Per transaction
commission
Per transaction
commission
ONLINE ORDERING SERVICE PARTNERS
Page 9 Boosting Your F&B Business in 2016
CUSTOMER
SERVICE
Customer
Success team in
Singapore
Online self-help
Local helpline
Outsourced to
overseas call
center
Local helpline
GOING MOBILE Mobile-friendly site, one-page
Mobile-friendly templates, page-to-page
iOS, Android,
Windows App
iOS App, Mobile-
friendly site
PAYMENT
MODES
PayPal, Cash on Delivery
18 modes incl PayPal
PayPal, Credit
Cards
PayPal, Credit
Cards
KEY NOTES
The table above is based on feedback we have learnt from speaking to our F&B clients and
understanding their needs for online ordering. Every F&B business might have a different situation.
The key idea is to sift out the features that are most important to you and choose a platform or a
combination of platforms that makes the best fit. More often than not, our F&B clients are on both
marketplace platforms and white-label ones if their situation allows. It serves both their marketing
needs as well as the subsequent necessity for brand individuality and reduction of costs for repeat
customers.
Other than service providers, there is a 3rd option available – engaging a website developer
to design your online ordering menu from scratch. The greatest benefit from this is the ability to
customize every single detail on your online ordering menu. On the other hand, it would be wise to
note that the site is static and any changes to be made might mean an extra fee and a long time
period of processing. If you do sell F&B goods that have a shelf life, consider Shopify as a cheaper
option.
DELIVERY PARTNERS
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DELIVERY PARTNERS
This is a possible option to consider if you wish to be flexible with your delivery options. This is
especially important if in-house deliveries during lull hours can contribute to maximizing in-house
manpower.
Marketplace options like Deliveroo and Foodpanda often make it mandatory for the F&B business to
use their riders to maintain a unified image and ensure speed of delivery. On the other end, white-
label solutions fully relinquish control to F&B business owners who can decide how each order’s
delivery be assigned and managed. Consider the following before you make your decisions:
Does your delivery partner offer complementary software/hardware tools to manage your
delivery?
Can you track and contact the rider directly without going through the delivery partner’s call
center?
Does the system allow for registration of employees so that you can assign riders to incoming
orders?
How does the rider/delivery partner return cash-on-delivery payment?
HOW TO GET STARTED ON DIGITAL MARKETING
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Is there a mechanism in place for dealing with any customer complaints as a result of
negligence during delivery?
Will there be compensation for delayed deliveries?
HOW TO GET STARTED ON DIGITAL MARKETING
The online ordering business can be a form of marketing and at the same time aim to use
other marketing tools to draw traffic to the online ordering menu.
When using online marketplaces that are well-known, getting listed or even featured
increases awareness of your F&B brand for new customers.
When using white-label solutions that allow you to upload images of food items, you can aim
to capture Facebook fans and draw them to your online ordering menu. The eye-catching menu items
are another form of branding and promoting your menu items to potential customers.
To achieve this, your menu’s aesthetic appearance and every item’s description is key to
attracting actual conversion to sales. 3 key areas to work on:
1. Images. Engaging a professional food photographer is worth the investment as food images
are the first thing that catch the customer’s eye on the online ordering menu. Another option
would be to search for free-for-use food photos. However, you would have to make sure that
it matches what you offer to encourage return customers.
2. Titles & Descriptions. While the average customer may be captured simply by a picture, do
not miss out on those who prefer words or need further convincing. Whichever service
provider that you are using, this is something that you can work on. Titles can go in two
possible directions: easily understood or intriguing. The first one allows the reader to find
what they want quickly while the latter might prompt further engagement and make your
food item stand out from other similar cuisines. As for descriptions, they are there to help
with decision-making so put yourself in the shoes of the customer and think about what
would be relevant. For example, a bakery shop that focuses on providing options for
customers with allergies can include details about nuts, wheat etc. Another way to make use
of descriptions is to provide a layman’s understanding of the exotic cuisine name such that
the customer does not just avoid ordering entirely because they don’t know what has been
offered.
3. Arrangement. User experience on your online ordering menu should be consistent to
encourage successful conversion instead of just a random visit. Place top-selling items and
set meals at the top so that busy customers can make decisions in a snap. First impressions
HOW TO GET STARTED ON DIGITAL MARKETING
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count and that is why most online ordering menus have pretty food images at the beginning.
However, neither should it go downhill towards the end. If possible, try to provide images for
every single food item that you have. Especially for items that are non-classic.
Simultaneously, it would be wise to make full use of a range of online marketing tools to further
boost traffic to your online ordering menu. Another 3 areas to work on:
1. Social Media. Hashmeta estimates social media penetration to be as high as 70% in Singapore,
giving reason to why so many marketers have hopped on to marketing through social media
platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Non-paid marketing through social media is
useful for engaging existing customers and making it easy for them to share about their
favorite F&B business with their friends. Get started on Instagram with Singaporeans’ love
for food accompanied by pretty images on their accounts.
HOW TO GET STARTED ON DIGITAL MARKETING
Page 13 Boosting Your F&B Business in 2016
2. SEO. Search Engine Optimization refers to taking actions to push your website to become a
natural (as in not because of paid ads) top result on Google Search as well as other search
engines. It might seem complicated to the beginner but you can get started with Search
Engine Watch’s 8 Essentials of SEO. When you start to get the hang of it, try the more
thorough Moz’s Beginners’ Guide to SEO. One last tip -- as all commercial blogs with
awesome SEO advocate: Always put readability before SEO. Keeping your consumer in mind
will put you into the good books of Google than any other dirty SEO tricks.
3. Paid advertising. Many have dubbed non-paid social media marketing a myth. We think it
should be a healthy combination of both in the F&B industry where maintaining a friendly
relationship with your customer is important for repeat purchases. At the same time, beyond
the small pool of existing customers, paid online ads are another efficient way to reach out
to a targeted pool of customers. Based on their location and the things they like, Facebook
and Google has tools to help push your ads to the relevant people. The most common model
for payment is PPC (pay per click). Most commonly used as expected are Facebook and
Google ads.
a. Facebook Ads have the potential to close in on users who have Likes and Shares on
Facebook related to your F&B theme or cuisine. Before starting, plan objectives for
your Facebook ads campaign with a reasonable budget to test waters. Decide on your
audience demographics and you are ready to start off with this simple guide to walk
you through. When you get familiar with how it works, try out the following to
improve on your Facebook ads:
5 Tips in Creating Killer Facebook Ads
Posting Creatives for Facebook Ads
Ways to Use Facebook Carousel Ads for F&B
b. Google Ads are another alternative for drawing in potential customers with over 2
billion searches a day. If your potential customers Google for something that is
related to your product, your ads can appear in addition to the natural search results
mentioned above. Setting up a Google Ad Campaign might be slightly complicated
but the effort is worth the detailed analysis it returns on how you should adjust your
campaign. When in doubt, return to Google’s very own guide on every little thing you
should know about your Google Ad Campaign.
KEEP YOUR CUSTOMERS RETURNING
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KEEP YOUR CUSTOMERS RETURNING
The final stage of your purchase cycle is sustaining a great relationship with your customers, whether
they are first-time or repeat customers. While you get to see them for dine-in business, that personal
touch is much lost when they order their food online.
There are still ways to engage your customers. Here’s 3 to get you started:
1. Survey your first-time customers
While feedback from loyal customers might prove to be most useful, we shouldn’t neglect those
coming from first-time customers. Do up a simple survey. What's their first impression of the café?
Did they like the food? This will be beneficial to improving your place and bringing in new customers.
It does take extra time and effort, but try implementing it with a sleek survey from Typeform. That
first-time customer might choose to visit again because they felt you cared about their experience!
2. Respond to fans on Facebook
It always creates a good impression on customers when they see somebody real from the
company responding to any comments on social media. Social media platforms are not just for one-
way communication. It’s meant for much more personal interaction between users. So why not tap
on that and kindly respond to comments. If a regular provides a suggestion that you decide to
implement, thank him personally by tagging him in a post and invite him down to see the change for
himself. Even simpler actions such as Like-ing a comment shows that you are sincerely interested in
what your fans have to say.
3. Track your customers’ likes and dislikes
Understand their preferences. If your online ordering service partner such as Oddle has a sales
data function, check out your top-selling items and those that aren't selling as well. Go online to see
what reviews are saying about your food or send an email to customers who have ordered from you
to get feedback on how to improve. Even regulars may get tempted by that new Italian bakery around
the corner. Provide little menu surprises now and then to keep that novelty in your relationship.
OTHER IMPORTANT THINGS TO NOTE
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OTHER IMPORTANT THINGS TO NOTE
This section outlines some other important features to evaluate when choosing your online
ordering service partners.
TAKEAWAY PACKAGING
With an increased interest in aesthetics and environment-friendliness, delivery packaging
becomes part of your brand image as well. It represents what your F&B business stands for. Plastic
and Styrofoam takeaway containers are often associated with “dapao-ed” food from the coffee shop.
To distinguish themselves as a more prestigious or unique brand, some F&B businesses do invest in
designing their own individualistic takeaway containers. Alternative materials are also used such as
bio-degradable plastic and corn plastic which marks the brand’s commitment to saving the
environment which might just be the plus point to gain loyal customers who care.
MENU ITEMS
Not every single item on your dine-in menu is suitable for sale on your delivery menu. Delivery
time might have an impact on the quality of your food. For example, a Japanese restaurant might
choose not to offer its ramen on its online menu as it is difficult to ensure the temperature and taste
of the noodles remain the same after delivery.
TAKING THE FIRST STEP
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TAKING THE FIRST STEP
START WITH YOUR VERY OWN ONLINE ORDERING SITE!
We can’t say we’re the best but allow us to state a fact: We are created out of a true
restaurateur’s need for an online ordering management system to offer an affordable logistics and
marketing solution to restaurateurs.
Furthermore, our versatile online ordering system has helped 800 F&B brands across Asia
boost their online ordering business, including Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Taiwan and Malaysia.
If you’ve found this resource useful or wish to learn more about managing your online
ordering business with ease, write in to us at [email protected] today.
195 Pearl’s Hill Terrace #03-05 Singapore 168976
oddle.me