Pizza Talk - Old Uses for New Tools
by Rudy Vener
May 8, 2007
The other day I received an email from one of my clients, "Sharon." , Sharon had a problem. She wanted to add a new section to her online order system and was having trouble. Sharon is one of the rare clients who likes to operate her online ordering system's control panel herself. She is forever making adjustments to her menu and adding or changing new specials.
"What's the new section?" I asked.
"Healthy Eats," she replied.
Visions of tofu and seaweed pizza floated through my head, but I refrained from making any disparaging comments. After all, Sharon was one of my best clients.
Instead, I focused on her problem which was quickly solved. Later that day though, I checked to see what kind of food she had added under the new section.
With no great surprise I saw that seaweed tofu pizza was not among the listed items. Instead, they consisted of a bunless hoagie and several choices of specialty salads.
Only later did it occur to me that Sharon was doing something very clever: she had found a new use for her online ordering system. Sharon was testing a brand new menu section without the expense and risk of printing new menus.
She has a large online customer base who email her to let her know exactly when she is doing something right, or wrong. Sharon can tweak her online menu based on feedback she gets from her online customers. Then she can see how well her new menu items actually perform.
Not only is this extremely inexpensive, but it is also fast. Sharon can make changes that show up immediately instead of days or even weeks later.
Her cost is essentially the time it takes her to make the changes, which can take as little as a few minutes. Once made, they are available immediately for online ordering.
Email is a great way to stay in touch with your customers without disrupting your day to day operations. One of Pizza Galaxy's benefits is the way it can simplify email communication between you and your customers. If you are not using email in this way, you are missing out on a great resource: your own customers' desires and opinions. Think about how impressed your customers would be if you could react with lightning speed to their feedback.
Rudy Vener
Restaurant owners, make it easy for your customers to find you online and order from you using the Internet. Get our free report: The Top 7 Ways for Restaurants to get Customers Online. Click Here to get your free copy.
