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Technology has changed almost every aspect of our lives, sometimes making things easier and sometimes making things more difficult. However, for businesses, especially those in the food industry, technology has transformed the way they operate. Online food ordering has become popular for several reasons. For one, it’s easy for customers. And two, it’s great for business. If your restaurant has been slow to adapt to new technologies, such as online ordering, there’s no better time than now to invest in an online ordering system. Below, you can find the top 10 reasons that online ordering is the key to business success. Customer Experience Perhaps the best reason to setup an online ordering system is that your customers expect one. The restaurant business is all about customer experience, and that means making sure your customers have a great dining experience, whether that is in-house or online. Without a convenient online ordering system, your customers, disappointed, can easily click over to a different competitor restaurant that does offer online ordering, which means you lose a sale. Edge Out Competition Small restaurants need every advantage over their competition in order to survive. As mentioned above, online ordering can make the difference between losing multiple sales a day or gaining loyal customers who prefer to order online. If you’re the only small restaurant of your specific cuisine around that offers online ordering, you will have a competitive edge over all your competitors. Order Accuracy Order accuracy is one of the best reasons to have online ordering. Often, orders taken over the phone can get lost in translation, which can lead to incorrect orders and unhappy customers. Online ordering allows customers to customize their orders and choose exactly what they want without any confusion. Employee Productivity Online ordering can also lead to increased employee productivity. As they no longer have to spend precious time on the phone taking and going over orders, your employees will be free to work on actually putting orders together and on other tasks. Easy Marketing Marketing can be made easy along with an online ordering system. You will be able to offer exclusive online coupons or promotions to customers ordering online, leading to increased sales. Generate Website to Social Media Traffic Online ordering can also help you increases your online traffic by encouraging customers to go from your social media pages to your website and vice versa. If a customer sees you on Facebook, they can easily hop over and order from you, and if they are already an online ordering customer, they may be interested to learn more about you on your social media pages. Capture Customer Email Address Building an online newsletter can be difficult work, as no one really wants to give out their email address to every business they frequent. However, an online ordering system instantly captures customers email addresses for you, without you having to ask for anyone to signup for anything, and you can easily add those email addresses to your email list. Promote Gift Card Sales Since customers are already hanging out on your website to make their online order, it’s easy to also promote the sale of electronic gift cards. You can offer the option of adding a gift card to their order or can setup special deals on gift cards to help increase sales. Analytics and Reporting Online ordering is a great way to get insights into your customers through the use of analytics and reporting. You will be able to understand the demographics of your online customers, what items are selling best or least, and what times customers are ordering. You are then able to use this data to improve sales and customer experience. Increase Revenue The last and best reason your restaurant needs online ordering is that it will increase your revenue. Outside ordering systems take a bit of the profit from you; however, having you own online point-of-sale system means you get to keep more of the profits. Additionally, as online ordering is only growing in popularity, more and more food sales will be online orders, and without an online ordering system of your own, you will be missing out on a ton of sales.

You can use a few primary techniques to ensure your email makes a positive impact on recipients. Consider this simple advice when designing a great email newsletter. Design Your Email Well Marketing research suggests that an email subject line should be between 60 and 70 characters to be most effective. Expert marketers recommend designing an email newsletter using a single column layout to suit most audiences and keep readers from wandering around the page for information. Avoid adding tons of graphics into the email as some pictures and visual effects may take longer to load on various devices and in some mailboxes. Use the recipient's name in the subject line and make reference to the product, service or course the individual is familiar with, so that he or she doesn't mistake the email as personalized spam. Focus your Content An email newsletter that drones on and on is likely to repel readers who are pressed for time. Stick to defining a few specific points or benefits, and expand upon them using direct, clear language as much as possible. Use subheadings in your email newsletter to organize it and help readers skip ahead to areas of interest. Concentrate on providing only useful content that subscribers will want to read. Keep It Simple and Aim for Conversion If you think your email newsletter is too long or overly packed, then it probably is. Remember that your goal is to magnify your message, and then invite the consumer to buy a product or service in the process (if applicable). Using soft sales techniques can work to your advantage in your email newsletter. However, avoid placing vigorous sales advertisements in every email newsletter you send, or you may turn off some of your subscribers. Set a Frequency for Your Emails and Maintain It Many successful small business owners don't send more than one email newsletter a week. However, entrepreneurs in various niches may send emails on a biweekly, or even a monthly basis. If customers are bombarded with lengthy email newsletters multiple times a week, they may block your emails. Then again, if subscribers receive your newsletters on a casual basis, they may believe it is not necessary to proceed with your brand, and you will lose the chance to demonstrate the value of your email program, product, or service. Once you set an ideal number, stick with sending subscribers the newsletter at the same frequency. Deliver it At the Perfect Time If you create the perfect email newsletter but it is never read by your recipients, then it is ineffective. One way to increase the odds of your email being read is to send it at the right time of day, between 9 and 11 am (after breakfast), or 1 and 3 pm (after lunch). Sending emails on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are recommended so the emails are not lost on a busy Monday or deleted in haste on Friday before the weekend. Tons of businesses design and send email newsletters, but few send those that are actually read and appreciated by subscribers. Keep in mind what your readers like and what they are looking for to make solid decisions regarding your email newsletter. If you follow these tips, you can get your email noticed and read more.

The most cost-saving way to assemble a website is a do-it-yourself website builder, but is this ultimately costing you more in the long run? Is your time better spent elsewhere? Will the limited capabilities and costly add-ons become too much of an obstacle? First impressions are lasting impressions ! Your website is often the first touchpoint that you’ll have with potential customers. You want to make the best impression you can, solve their problems, help them navigate your website with ease , and convert those site visitors into customers. To create an online experience that increases visitor engagement with your business depends on the overall design and the content. Here are some questions to bear in mind while building a website: Does the website support your business goals and amplify your brand? Is the website serving my target audience? Is it offering relevant and adequate content that aligns with the overall marketing strategy? Are the pages interactive and have an excellent flow? Can visitors find information quickly? Is the website aligned with the latest changes in Search Engine Optimization techniques? To answer these questions, you need to merge your business goals, industry standards offerings, trends in web design and online marketing. Any disconnect means that the visitor may leave your website for a competitor. If you do not have all the answers and are not sure how to navigate building a well-designed website , you may want to consider hiring an experienced web designer and an online marketing professional. This option is a little more costly upfront but will ultimately benefit your business in the long run. You’ll be able to tap into professional experience, industry knowledge, best practices, and advice on how to increase quality traffic and conversions . A small professional team can provide you a project estimate based on the hourly rate. The key points that determine the cost of web design are the number of pages and the features. The more features, the more time is spent to build a customized website that delivers an optimal experience for visitors. There are other factors such as, planning, consultation, editorial, and changes to the scope that may result in additional costs. At editile™, we partner closely with you to understand your goals, identify opportunities, and create a customized online experience for your target audience that stand apart from your competitors. Let’s connect and build that experience together.

If you're on the fence about whether or not you should blog and create useful content on your website, check out these five reasons that will hopefully push you over the edge. Gives Others Access to Information The reason the internet is so popular today is that it fulfills a massive need that the world was missing before its inception: the need for information. By writing a blog, you can help people in their quest for information whether you're writing about how to stay healthy on a diet or the latest popular television show. Whatever the case is, sharing your expertise allows others to glean value from your writing. Helps You Understand Tough Concepts It's often said that the best way to learn something is to write it down. By writing a blog, you allow yourself to flesh out some of your most complex ideas and come to understand them better. Writing is an amazing way to give your powers of comprehension a big boost so that you more fully understand the things you write and also better remember some of the more intricate details of the topic. Boosts Your Online Presence Blogging inherently makes you become more active on the web. Creating an online presence is great for giving you a leg up in marketing if you are involved in any kind of business online. It enhances your credibility and allows readers to associate your name with a human person. Gives You Access To A Network Blogging will put you in contact with other people who share your interests and maybe even goals. It will help you create a network of others with whom you can converse and share ideas. Once with framework is created, there's no telling how far it could take you and what kind of great partners you might meet along the way. Not Blogging Can Be Detrimental As much as not having a blog can help you achieve your goals, not having a blog can detract just as much. In today's world, people almost expect you to have some sort of medium for sharing your ideas if you expect to have any sort of internet presence. Blogging is the perfect way to do that. These five reasons are only the beginning of why you should get started today. Blogging truly has the potential to transform the way people see you, so every day you don't start is only time lost.

Here are the target demographics for five major social media networks as well as a few tips for how to use each one effectively. Facebook With one billion users, Facebook is by far the most popular social media network. It is most popular with middle aged men and women, though people of all ages use it. In order to use Facebook effectively, you should: encourage interaction by asking questions and hosting giveaways and contests. Invite followers to share, comment and like your content so your content will be shared with their friends as well. Also, understand that only about thirty percent of your posts will be seen by your followers unless you pay for advertising. Twitter Twitter is an ideal platform for reaching both men and women. Forty-five percent of Twitter users are between 18 and 29 years old. With Twitter, you only have 140 characters or less to get your message across. Make all of your tweets short and to the point. Use relevant hashtags to make your posts searchable, and do not be afraid to tweet multiples times a day. The average shelf life of a tweet is only one hour. LinkedIn LinkedIn is most common among business professionals, and it is more common among men than among women. It is known for being a professional networking platform, but that is not all that people use it for. In order to use LinkedIn effectively, you should: answer questions with LinkedIn’s Question and Answer function to establish your company as a knowledgeable and helpful leader in your field, and network to find professionals who would be interested in your company’s product or service. Pinterest Pinterest is significantly more popular with women than with men. Pinterest users love cooking, fashion, entertainment, crafting and home decorating. If your small business is related to one of these interest categories, you absolutely should be on Pinterest. In order to use Pinterest effectively, you should: use high quality, engaging images and “pin it” buttons on every page of your web content. Include your logo on your pictures so when people share your image, they share your company name as well. Also, use hashtags in your Pinterest pin descriptions to help your content show up in searches.

There are many ways to go about marketing on the Internet, with one such way including blogging. On the downside, however, many businesses lag behind in being able to create useful content on a consistent basis. Because of this, their blogs render ineffective; thus, meaning customers fail to read them because they find them uninteresting. Thankfully, though, there are several ways to overcome this major challenge. Let's dive right in and take a close look. Tip #1: Answer Questions Consumers tend to have questions in regards to the services and products that a business has to offer. Answering these questions on a blog is a great way to create useful content. Tip #2: Use Existing Content Use company books to create new posts. Use educational blurbs to link back to existing posts. Transform case studies into blog posts. Tip #3: Find Resources Interesting content often comes from a wide variety of sources. When blogging about other people's work, it is always of the utmost importance to link back to the source. Tip #4: Things that Need to Be Included All blog posts need to include: Language that is non-technical and easy to understand Specific details Facts and/or statistics Concise themes Short and to the point Tip #5: Ask All Workers for Ideas Although not every employee within a company is responsible for creating blog posts, there is a good chance that the most of them have some great ideas in regards to blog post topics. It is important to ask for ideas, followed then by creating blog posts focused around such ideas. Tip #6: Take a Few Moments and Think Sometimes the best ideas take some deep thought. Brainstorming is a great way to come up with interesting content. Generally, a brainstorming session should last about 30 minutes, and it can include an individual by him or herself or a group of workers. Tip #7: Ask Someone for Content Just as important as it is to have internal employees create content, having guest bloggers is a great way to obtain high-quality content. Tip #8: Write About Opinions Readers want to know what a company is thinking, and the best way to do this is to write about opinions that are related to the services and products a company is selling. Tip #9: Outsource the Content Don't have time to blog as often as you should? There are thousands of professional writers out there who will provide high-quality content for an affordable price.

An email list is different than other forms of marketing; it’s a voluntary sign up, which means the consumer is already listening to you. You no longer have to get their attention. When you promote a product, they’re much more likely to buy into it. However, the key lies in building that list: how do you do it? It’s easier than you may think. Hold a contest and give away prizes to the winner. Running a contest on your website or blog is a surefire way to entice more people to sign up for your list. Make that a requirement for the contest, as well as sharing your page on social media, and then do a random drawing. Sure, you’ll lose a few subscribers after the contest, but you’ll keep a lot more. Use a BIG, visible button for the sign up form. If people have to search for your email list’s subscribe features, they won’t sign up. Make sure it’s in a very visible, prominent place on your site – and it doesn’t hurt to have it on every single page. Include a free item for those that sign up, such as an eBook. People love free stuff, and an eBook that provides them with valuable, useful information about the niche they’re in a a great way to get more subscribers. The key is to make the book an attractive offer; something they can find anywhere else isn’t going to net you too many new sign ups, but making it unique and worth selling will. Make sure the book has actual monetary value, and it will be successful. Use social media to your advantage -- tap into your network! Chances are good that if you have a large social media following, some of them will want to be part of your email list. Just announce through Facebook, Twitter, or your platform of choice that you have an email list and invite them to sign up. You’ll be amazed at the response. Attend networking events and business gatherings to make in-person connections. When you go to networking events, business conferences, and more, you end up with tons of business cards and contact info. Ask if it’s alright to add those people to your email list, then do so – the in person connection means they’re more likely to pay attention to the information you send out than someone who has no connection you.