Winning repeat takeaway orders in a new area, off the platforms

3 days ago
3 min read

Updated: 2 days ago

Introduction

The delivery platforms will bring you customers immediately, which is why almost every new takeaway starts there. What they will not do is give you a business, because the commission on every order removes most of the margin and the customer belongs to the platform rather than to you.

A first order through a platform is a reasonable cost of acquisition. A hundredth order through the same platform is a customer you are renting from somebody else at twenty or thirty per cent forever.

The whole game is converting those orders into direct ones, and the leaflet in the bag is still the most effective instrument for doing it.

Winning repeat takeaway orders in a new area starts in the bag

Every delivery is a physical opportunity that costs nothing.

Put something in every order. A card with your own number, your own site, and a clear reason to order direct next time. This is the highest-return thing a takeaway does. It costs pennies per order and compounds every week.

Make the direct route genuinely better. A slightly larger portion, a free side, a lower price, faster delivery. The customer needs a reason beyond your convenience. Say what the reason is on the card itself.

Keep it simple to act on. One number or one short web address. Anything requiring an app download will not happen. A magnet works better than a leaflet.

Get the food right for the second order

Nothing else matters if the first order disappoints.

Travel-test your own menu. Some dishes arrive well after twenty minutes in a box and some do not. Order your own food to your own house and see. Do it at your busiest hour, not a quiet one.

Get the packaging right. Leaking, cold or collapsed food loses a customer permanently, and packaging is cheaper than acquisition. Test it with a full order, not one item.

Be consistent above all. A customer orders again because they know what will arrive. Variation is what kills repeat orders in this trade. Weigh portions if you have to.

Build the local presence platforms cannot own

Your catchment is small and physical.

Leaflet the streets you actually deliver to. Not the whole town — the roads within your delivery radius. Repeated drops to the same streets outperform a single wide distribution. Three drops to one street beats one drop to three.

Be findable directly. People search your name once they have eaten your food. Make sure they find your own ordering page rather than only the platform listing.

Work with the neighbours. Local businesses, taxi firms, sports clubs and workplaces order in volume and order regularly.

Make direct ordering the easier path

Convenience is why people use platforms, so remove the reasons.

Take orders by phone properly. Answered quickly, order repeated back, time given honestly. Many customers still prefer this.

Have simple direct online ordering. It does not need to be sophisticated. It needs to work on a phone and remember the last order.

Keep your own customer list. Names, numbers and what they ordered. That list is the only asset in this business that the platforms cannot take away.

Conclusion

Treat the platforms as paid acquisition rather than as your business: put a card in every single bag with a direct number and a real reason to order direct next time, and make sure that direct route is genuinely better for the customer, not just cheaper for you.

Order your own food to your own house to find out which dishes survive the journey, get the packaging right because it is far cheaper than winning the customer again, and be relentlessly consistent since that is why people reorder. Leaflet only the streets you deliver to, repeatedly, make direct ordering easy on a phone, and keep your own list of names, numbers and past orders — it is the one asset the platforms cannot take.