Six considerations for maximizing off-premise restaurant sales

Thursday, March 31st, 2016 - 3:12 am
Six considerations for maximizing off-premise sales
By Neil Lester
October 3, 2013
Considerations for maximizing off-premise sales

Building off-premise sales can be an effective tactic to improve productivity and efficiency for any restaurant.

Quick service restaurants have always known the benefits of maximizing off premise sales. These restaurants can easily have 70 per cent or more of total revenues resulting from drive-through and take out service.

In recent years, other restaurant categories have been catching on to these benefits to maximize their sales. Fast casual, casual and even fine dining restaurants are all expanding their revenue base with various “outside the four walls” tactics.

To maximize your restaurant’s off-premise sales, it is important to look at the opportunity as a business within a business – not just an extension of the restaurant. Customers who purchase food for take-out or pick up may have visited the restaurant before, so they know what they like and what to expect. Being able to provide the convenience of their favourite menu items in a different venue is an added bonus for them and for you.

  1. Choose tactics that work best for your concept or menu.
  • The more complex forms of off-premise sales are where you bring your products to the customer.
    • Catering services
    • Food trucks
    • Delivery (either by your staff or a contracted delivery service)
  • Tactics that involve the customer coming to the restaurant to pick up food include :
    • Phone in or faxed in orders
    • Online ordering
    • Drive-through service
    • Curbside service
  1. For food being picked up at the restaurant, customers expect full menu availability and price equity with your dine-in service. Having add-ons or other costs added to the menu price may create a negative impression and be detrimental to building this area of your business. Although the cost structure for off premise sales may be different than inside the restaurant, it should not require a price premium or menu restriction.
  1. Food that is brought to the customer, such as through catering or delivery, has the added convenience of having their food delivered and available when they want it. This service can warrant a price premium or delivery charge. These types of services often involve food being prepped or assembled on site, so certain restaurant menu products may not be able to be offered.
  2. There are many operational considerations with off premise sales. Having the right packaging to maintain quality and food safety, providing the proper condiments or utensils and having an efficient order taking process are all part of making sure the customer has an enjoyable experience even though they aren’t at your restaurant.

    Order accuracy systems are critical to insure customer satisfaction. An excellent meal can be ruined if something is missing, and your ability to remedy the problem is very limited once the customer has left the restaurant.

  3. Marketing off premise sales should focus on the fact that your menu products are  available in a location more convenient for the customer. Off premise customers may or may not be familiar with your restaurant, so your marketing strategy should highlight both the menu and the convenience associated with off premise sales.
  4. An effective follow up system with your off premise customers will create repeat business and provide the opportunity to correct any issues that may have arisen. Service or quality concerns inside the restaurant are often caught and fixed before the customer leaves. Measuring customer satisfaction for off premise sales requires follow up on the part of the overall experience that occurs after they leave.

Maximizing off premise sales can help build both average check and customer transactions. It can provide the opportunity to broaden the reach of your brand by accessing customers in places you may not normally serve with a dine-in experience.

See also:

About the author:

Neil Lester is founder of FirstOak Hospitality Consulting Inc. Lester is a seasoned restaurant executive with over 30 years experience in the Canadian hospitality industry. As Principal of FirstOak Hospitality Consulting Inc. he is focused on adding value for his clients in the areas of franchising, business planning and cost efficiency. Contact at [email protected] or visit www.firstoakconsulting.com/index.html.

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