Summary: This article outlines a food industry application that our company in India created for a company in Western Europe. The application aims to market restaurants in Western Europe and increase their exposure locally and internationally. In addition to improving the quality of a restaurant's image and customer service, it also helps increase business in an efficient and affordable manner.
That special someone I plan to escort that special friend a la important client to that new restaurant that's popped up on the waterfront and I want the evening to be purr…fect and worth remembering. I would definitely feel more confident if I knew what I was going in for, what kind of menus to expect, see a picture of the restaurant and get a feel of its ambiance. Now, if I could take a look at the kitchen, the master chef and see if his/her food were worth a sample, am I asking for too much?
The insatiable food critic
Being a food critic I like to sample food at small, mom-and-pop ethnic restaurants, national chains, high-priced spreads, the trendy and the posh, all I want is my money's worth. I expect good food properly prepared, prices in line with the decor, and an efficient, congenial, but not patronizing staff doing its best to assure return business.
Now, if all restaurants in a particular region had an online presence? Where menus, images, catering and other services are on display online and from where I can read about a particular restaurant that hand rolls thousands of meatballs everyday or makes their lasagna from scratch. Whether a café faces the Mediterranean Sea or is perched on a treetop, this sort of information when available online entices me to explore the place and look forward to a great dining experience.
The restaurant owner
As a restaurant owner I would like to advertise and promote my restaurant through as many channels as possible. I know that my business depends on word of mouth referrals and so, if an online presence gave my restaurant more visibility, won't I be reaching a wider customer base? With assorted restaurants serving multicuisine and gourmet foods, what I need primarily is Enhanced visibility.
If I plan to open a restaurant chain and sell permits to fellow restaurateurs, one way to track all of them is to ensure that all the restaurants are online. A website where new entrants to the restaurant/bistro/café circuit can register and upload all the information about their restaurants in a few minutes. A visitor to the site can then choose the region of his choice, and check out restaurants there. Or even avail catering services. By allowing customers to register and avail member privileges like a list of my favorites on a menu, access articles that give nutritional information and interesting food facts, kitchen tips and good cooking techniques, I am ensuring repeat business. After all, repeat business depends on high quality, carefully prepared food and personalized service.
Visitors: Those who would visit the website looking for information about restaurants and other facilities provided on the site.
Members: Visitors who would signup to avail the benefits offered to members like choosing a particular service offering, maintaining a list of favorites, uploading any personal information and then managing this information easily.
Restaurant Owners: Restaurant owners who would signup with FoodEU.com to display their restaurant information online and become a part of the valuable chain of restaurants existing on the website. This option can be exercised by the owner himself or in the case of a lack of Internet facility, a sales man from the original website could visit the restaurant and take digital pictures of the restaurant and upload the information for the owner through a laptop.
Administrators: Staff can input and manage advertisers information and advertisements.
Employers and job hunters: The online interface helps both employees and employers to upload and download information. A search criteria that caters to the specific needs of both clienteles, the employer and the employee that allowed a search based on the job type, employer type, salary range, years of experience, male/female, age, location and languages spoken.
The employer or advertiser
With an online job requirement posting, I can employ veteran waiters or entice that super chef that I've been wanting for a long time now. And that super chef who's interested in moving restaurants can do so without any fuss.
Reap the paybacks! Read on for a description of the web application that we created for the web site, www.foodeu.com
Lets take a look at the solution from the customer's point of view first:
The customer solution:
Online profiles of a multitude of restaurants in the region: An interface that showcased a spectacle of online menus, restaurant images, services and products. Order online: The customer could select items on a menu from a particular restaurant of his choice and order online. The restaurant would receive this information instantaneously by fax and then call the customer and confirm the order. Home delivery: The selected items on the menu would be delivered home and the customer could then make the payment. Favorites: The customer could create a member area that would give him a list of his previous orders, or favorite menus or even order histories. Multilingual content: The web site would be available in a set of 5 languages. The customer selected the language of his choice and from then on all the content that he viewed would be in that language. Search facilities: The customer could enter queries about the food industry and if the results didn't match the query in totality they would offer the nearest possible match. Avail latest information: The latest information about the food industry either in terms of articles, recipes or employment opportunities and advertisements can be accessed freely. They can also take part in polls, chat forums and the like.
Essential features of the website we created
A well-designed, elegant and professional looking website.
A well-designed, elegant and professional looking website.
Easy management of micro sites: Members can sign up online and upload their own information so that the micro site is created for them automatically.
Ability to process credit card transactions online: Process end-user purchases such as home delivery, merchandize sales and restaurant reservations
A search facility that would strive to return the closest match to a user's query - this means that if an exact match does not exist, the search engine would strive to give the closest approximate result.
Easy to use interactive site with different interfaces based on the type of user.
The restaurant owner's solution: 1. Exclusive online presence on the foodeu website: A restaurant owner can sign up and avail an exclusive web page that would display all the information about his restaurant, be it online menus, the chef's recommendations, the soup of the day or any other service or product that he wants to promote. Also, the multilingual features helped owners put up their content in the language of their choice. Restaurant owners who are interested can sign up online and upload their own information so that the microsite is created for them automatically. This facility will help them manage their information as they chose. For people who don't have access to a computer and online access, a company representative can enter the information, take digital photos and load them onto the site.
There are 3 levels of service on offer here. Basic, Silver and Gold, each of which come under separate pricing plans. There are 2 price options here - either the customer loads all his own information himself or the administration staff or sales men do it for the customer.
2. Order management: On-line reservations, online takeout and home delivery services The restaurant could receive online orders and deliver food to a customer's home and receive payments.
3. More than just an online brochure: As the content appeared in different languages it ensured that search engines from various languages show the website, thus giving it enlarged visibility.
4. Product sales online: A restaurant owner can sell any kind of product online, whether it is a T-shirt that endorses the brand name of the restaurant or any other kind of merchandize that may be of interest to a customer.
5. Advertisements: If a restaurant is in need of exclusive promotion, the owner can advertise on this site with an advertisement and track the hits on that ad. Not just a restaurant, a member who'd like to advertise his products like ingredients, resources, services, packaging materials to a targeted community of buyers, suppliers and customers. Each page has a facility that allows the placement of banner ads that rollover every few seconds. The member or administrative staff can select the page that the banner ad appears on, the length of rolling, the date the ad is to start and when it is to finish. Meanwhile, a record of the advertiser, the date contracted, the price paid, their contact details, the number of times their ads get clicked upon is maintained in the database. Also, if a visitor searches for a restaurant in Munich, only those ads that are relevant to Munich will show up.
The unique selling point of the site being the fact that any owner could create his own website (termed microsite) within the existing one and promote his business online. The multilingual features of the website don't just help in offering a customer content in a language of his choice, but also helps the website get a favored listing in various multiple language search engines.
In short, an easy to use and affordable e-business solution designed for all kinds of restaurants, even those with little or no Internet experience.
In short, an easy to use and affordable e-business solution designed for all kinds of restaurants, even those with little or no Internet experience.
We provided a comprehensive suite of
e-business solutions;
For Restaurant Owners:
Enhanced current business relationships,
Reduced cost savings from faster transactions online,
Timely communication,
Reduction of paper-based errors,
Comfort and flexibility of communicating via email,
Invaluable industry information,
Strengthening of relationships through new efficiencies and cost savings.
Access to new markets,
Significantly Enhanced customer service and reduced customer service costs
Reduced order taking costs
Easy online Recruitment
Customization services like banner ads and sponsored content
Multilingual content
For Restaurant Goers:
Ease of locating new restaurants and catering services and ordering online.
If what you've read matches with your requirements, please contact us and share your ideas. Or if you'd like to read more about our services and see if what we offer interests you, please click here.
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