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If you’re a restaurateur, you know that having a strong brand is important. But what makes restaurant branding so vital? And how can you make sure your brand is as effective as possible? Simply put, restaurant branding establishes your business as a unique entity in the minds of consumers. It communicates the essence of who you are and what you offer, helping customers understand what to expect from your restaurant. Strong branding can help you attract new customers, encourage them to return, and even inspire them to spread the word about your products and services. Conversely, when customers experience a poor brand experience, you will begin to lose brand integrity. In other words, the value of your brand to consumers diminishes. The Pros & Cons Of Third-Party Food Ordering Platforms Third-party food ordering platforms are becoming increasingly popular, with more and more people using them to order takeout or delivery from their favourite restaurants. The role they played during the Covid-19 pandemic cannot be underestimated as entire communities, cities and even nations were placed under lockdown for weeks and months on end. These platforms in Malaysia, such as Grabfood and Foodpanda played a critical role to serve the home-bound public. More importantly, they kept thousands of restaurants in operation through a very difficult and uncertain period. While these platforms offer a number of benefits, they also come with a fare share of disadvantages: 1. High commission rates Third-party food ordering platforms have become a bittersweet partnership that many restauranteurs find themselves in. They enjoy the sales and automated delivery arrangements but pay a heft price in commissions. 2. You lose brand exclusivity Imagine investing time and money on advertising to drive customers to your online restaurant located in an online ‘food court’ (like most third-party food delivery platforms) with no control over customers existing your restaurant to buy from other brands. You’ve essentially spent money to drive customers to other restaurants. 3. Your brand takes a second seat With third-party platforms, your brand plays a minor role in the larger more prominent branding of the platform. 4. You are essentially serving third-party platform customers Like it or not, with third-party platforms you are serving their customers not your own. Diluted Brand Experience With Multiple Service Platforms As we see digitalisation in the food and beverage business, service providers have begun providing services (or order types) that provide services such as table reservations, deliveries, pickups and dine-in ordering. This is how it can be bad for your brand: 1. Fragmented brand touchpoints What we have noticed is how fragmented this space can be for the customer. Customers end up dealing with one service provider after another for each service they select. 2. Customers experiencing different brands So not only is the service experience different, your brand experience is diluted as the service provider’s brand takes prominence in each experience. 3. Multiple order management platforms Your staff end up dealing with multiple platforms for multiple tasks not to mention multiple customer databases as well. This in turn can contribute to increased human error in having to manage complicated setups. The Better Alternative At FoodVillage, we understand the pain of a fragmented brand experience and have consolidated all these services within one platform with your brand in the foreground. This is how you will benefit: 1. Keep the integrity of your brand with your own branded ordering platform Here’s how: Usage of your own domain name (website address) or subdomain for multiple outlets or if you already have a website. Example of a subdomain: www.branch.yourwebsite.com. Usage of your own corporate fonts, colours and logo. 2. Set your own policies, terms and conditions that are consistent with your brand With your own ordering platform, you are no longer subjected to policies of third-party food ordering platforms that may conflict with the desired brand experience. 3. Customers enjoy one consolidated brand experience With FoodVillage, any combination of these order types is kept within one platform: With an all-in-one food ordering platform, the brand experience is consistent eliminating the need to learn a new order process each time, no matter what order type they choose, 4. Customer purchase history is kept in one place Your customers would appreciate the convenience of being able to reorder orders they had made before, regardless of the order type, with a single click. 5. Your staff will focus on what truly matters rather than managing orders on multiple platforms Are your staff tired of managing hundreds of orders from multiple platforms daily? Sometimes forgetting or messing up orders? FoodVillage can help! With our systematic and automated food ordering platform, your kitchen staff can focus on what truly matters – making great food and providing an excellent customer brand experience. A strong brand is essential for any restaurant. It can help you stand out from the competition, and attract while retaining new customers. If you’re interested enjoy these benefits, contact us today for our obligation-free walkthrough of our platform and see what our clients are already enjoying.