Technology is no longer optional for food-service businesses — it’s an industry standard. Diners expect their favorite restaurants to offer convenient tech solutions, such as mobile ordering, contactless payments and QR-code menus.

If you’re planning to sell on Grubhub to meet these demands, you’re not alone. Restaurants often partner with food delivery apps to streamline the technology integration process. With Grubhub’s industry-leading platform, it’s easy to add mobile ordering, reach new customers, increase revenue, create loyalty programs, and market your business.

The importance of delivery

Food delivery is an essential part of your restaurant’s operations, especially post-pandemic. The delivery market doubled in 2020, and though growth has slowed, it’s still expected to increase dramatically in the coming years. By 2027, experts expect the U.S. online food delivery market to reach a value of $95.68 billion — $33.25 billion more than the market was worth in 2022.

It’s important to note that as delivery service becomes more popular, customers have developed high expectations. At a minimum, they want seamless online ordering, easy payments and real-time order tracking. They also want flexibility to opt for pickup on days when they prefer to eat takeaway meals.

What does that mean for your restaurant? It’s not enough to simply offer delivery — you also need to offer a fast, convenient experience. That starts with a high-functioning online ordering system.

At a minimum, your system should:

• Securely store customer payment information
• Create a fast, easy checkout experience
• Come with built-in marketing and promotional tools
• Offer on-platform branding for your restaurant
• Provide access to customer data

A comprehensive ordering platform benefits your customers and your restaurant. Customers can order and pay quickly, so it’s easy to satisfy a craving without unnecessary roadblocks. Each order goes right to your kitchen, reducing labor requirements and streamlining order management. And because you have access to customer data, you can encourage repeat business with targeted promotions right inside the platform.

Ordering systems such as Grubhub also help protect your reputation by connecting you to professional delivery drivers. They know exactly how to pack and transport each meal so it arrives hot and on time.

Boost your restaurant marketing

When you’re learning how to sell on Grubhub, marketing is a key part of the process. Done well, it helps you reach new diners, increase order revenue, and build customer loyalty. With Grubhub, you’re not on your own — your restaurant account comes with marketing tools and resources to help promote your business, both online and offline.

It all starts with the Grubhub Marketplace, which automatically boosts your visibility among local customers. Grubhub is more than a food delivery company; the platform also doubles as a discovery engine. In fact, more than 70% of Grubhub’s 33+ million users have used Marketplace to find new restaurants.

Once you’ve set up a restaurant account, you have access to Grubhub’s resources and built-in marketing tools. The restaurant marketing guide helps you set goals, establish a budget and design a promotional strategy that’s targeted to your audience. You’ll also discover the key elements of restaurant marketing, including an optimized website, a social media presence, email marketing, professional photography and a loyalty program.

Grubhub also offers additional marketing resources.

• Marketing tool kit. Let your dine-in and takeout customers know that you’re on Grubhub by downloading free, professionally designed window signs, order inserts, social media graphics, and email marketing templates in the marketing tool kit.
• Free menu photo shoot. Grubhub accounts include a free professional menu photo shoot to showcase your restaurant.
• Free branded ordering website. As soon as you’re on the Grubhub Marketplace, you get free access to Grubhub Direct. This service enables you to build a custom ordering website with ownership of customer data and no commission fees.
• Promotion and loyalty tools. Some account types come with access to Grubhub’s promotion and loyalty tools. With a few clicks, you can create special deals to bring in new customers or establish a loyalty program to keep past diners coming back for more.

Each account comes with different resources; check out Grubhub pricing and fees to find the option that’s right for your restaurant.

Why Grubhub?

Running a restaurant can be challenging; that’s why Grubhub goes to great lengths to create an easy, seamless food delivery experience. You can sign up for free and try the platform with no commitment.

After that, there are a few simple steps to getting started with Grubhub:

1. Set up and manage your menu. Add each of your restaurant’s dishes to your menu, write descriptions and upload photos. You can also assign categories, create different size options, add modifiers and schedule when the item is available. You can edit or manage the menu at any time. Grubhub also enables you to sell alcohol for delivery as state and local laws allow.
2. Add a payment account. With Grubhub, you can choose to be paid by a monthly check or direct deposit on a weekly, semiweekly or fortnightly basis.
3. Integrate Grubhub technology. Your Grubhub welcome box comes with a tablet you can use to accept and manage orders. You’ll also need to connect a compatible printer to print orders. Alternatively, you can integrate Grubhub with your POS system to ensure each delivery order flows right into your system.

That’s it — your restaurant is ready to start accepting delivery orders on Grubhub. Once you’re up and running, it’s important to monitor and respond to reviews. Professional, helpful responses improve your reputation and build rapport with customers. The reviews themselves can help you tweak and optimize your system for the best possible customer experience.

In addition to the easy setup and built-in marketing tools, Grubhub offers a variety of benefits that make it the ideal strategic partner for your restaurant:

• Established trust and name recognition
• Easy menu management
• Professional, streamlined food delivery
• Flexible account options
• Convenient ordering via app or website
• Dedicated account advisor
• Restaurant data insights
• Options for customers who want to order delivery or eat takeaway

Get started today

If you want to expand your restaurant’s food delivery service, Grubhub makes the process easier. You can join for free, with no platform or maintenance fees. The Grubhub service fee varies based on the account type you choose but can be as low as 5%.

Ready to get started? Signing up is quick and easy — just enter a few details about your restaurant. As soon as you create an account, you can add users, set business hours, and create separate hours for customers who want to order delivery or eat takeaway.To try Grubhub for free for 30 days, get started today.