Delivery apps are ingrained in the restaurant industry, but Owner.com wants you to take back your online presence and ditch the costly commission fees.
Any restaurant owner using third-party delivery apps, like DoorDash, Grubhub, and UberEats, doesn’t need me to tell them how brutal the 30% commission fees can be.
In an industry where profit margins are already paper thin, you’re almost guaranteed not to make money on delivery and to-go orders.
You don’t have delivery drivers, and you don’t have an online ordering system to process these orders, even if you did have a fleet of drivers ready to go.
But, consumers have shown us that they value food to go. So what are you supposed to do?
Many restaurants are turning to a start-up called Owner.com.
Owner.com has been helping restaurants eliminate the insane 30% commission fees while still using PostMates, UberEats, and DoorDash’s driver network.
They’ll also build you an easy-to-use online ordering system and restore the direct-to-customer relationship taken from you by third-party apps.
All of this sounds great, but let’s talk about the elephant in the room.
How can there be no commission fees?
Delivery
Many third-party apps offer a white label, flat fee service (DoorDash calls it “a la cart delivery”).
Meaning, if you can process all of the orders yourself, all you have to do is set up the delivery service connection, and they’ll come pick it up—without charging you a 30% commission fee.
Using their driver network means still dealing with problems that arise from drivers, but now there won’t be a middleman to get in the way when there is an issue.
Customers can call you directly, and you’ll be able to handle it how you see fit.
Door Dash’s flat fee ranges from $6.99-$10.99 per order.
You’ll still be charged for delivery, but it’s remarkably cheaper. And it’s affordable enough that you could have your customers pay the fee or split the cost with them.
The important thing is that you’re no longer paying 30% commissions, and a flat fee means your customers are also saving money.
The tricky part about using this flat fee service is setting up the online ordering system to manage all your to-go orders.
Online Ordering System
Building and maintaining an online ordering system is complex and time-consuming.
Many other companies provide this service, but Owner.com is the only one that bundles all the tools you need to run your online presence effectively.
These are the tools that make them stand out:
- Delivery without commission
- Online Ordering System for to-go and pick-up
- Built-In Loyalty Programs
- Reengagement Email & Text Notification
- Measure Marketing (tracks where your online business comes from)
- Dish Reviews
- Automatic Upsells
Taking the time to dig through several of their partner restaurant’s online systems; I was impressed with how easy it is to use and how they never miss an opportunity to gently nudge a customer towards an item upcharge, show you crowd favorites, or help you find items that pair well together.
Their system does this without being annoying or getting in the way of trying to just buy your food and get off the site.
Ease of use is crucial if you’re serious about controlling your presence on the internet.
Your online ordering system must be impeccable.
The first thing customers look at when considering your restaurant is your menu. If your online menu is clunky, difficult to navigate, or hard to understand, people will leave quickly, taking their money with them.
For a breakdown of how Owner.com will build you a website and online ordering system, go here.
Marketing
If you look at this breakdown sheet from DoorDash, you’ll see that 20% of the 30% commission fee goes towards marketing.
Besides the outrageous cost, the problem here is that you have no way of knowing or measuring what these companies are doing for your marketing needs.
How can you determine if your restaurant has seen any growth as a result of spending that 20%?
In what way are they spending your money that directly affects your restaurant?
Owner.com has shown that, on average, their customers see a 270% bump in online orders within the first 90 days of implementing their marketing strategy.
If you switch to Owner.com, you’ll be able to see your marketing efforts clearly, and most importantly, you’ll be in complete control of the process.
Let’s not forget about GrubHub buying up restaurant URLs and creating fake websites without restaurant owners’ knowledge or consent to justify their “marketing channels” fees.
Yuck.
Cost
All of this sounds great, but how does Owner.com make a profit?
Instead of taking a percentage of every order going out the door, Owner.com charges a monthly flat fee for their service. Just like Netflix charges you a flat fee for access to all their shows.
And they say there are no hidden costs.
Why do they take this approach?
Just like Poached, Owner.com’s staff is filled with lots of people from the restaurant industry.
People who saw firsthand how bad third-party apps could be during the pandemic.
Owner.com was tired of seeing greedy corporations take advantage of small business owners, especially throughout the pandemic when restaurants had no other choice.
They decided to create a platform that actually helps people instead of focusing solely on profits.
To back up their claims, Owner.com came up with the “You Gotta Be Crazy” guarantee.
If you are not happy with the system for any reason, within 90 days, they will cut you a check for $1500 for “failing to amaze.” No questions asked.
The title is a little corny, but I think it says a lot that they are willing to give back that much money based on “failing to amaze.”
The Future of Online Delivery
Third-party delivery apps’ days are numbered.
The system is not sustainable, so these companies are price gouging for as long as they can before it collapses. They’ll have to revert to the growing flat fee system if they want to survive.
It’s why they already offer “a la cart delivery”; it’s just a matter of time before it becomes their full-time model.
Forward-thinking companies like Owner.com can see the need restaurants have and are ahead of the curve in creating a model where everyone wins, especially restaurants and their customers.