3rd-Party-Pitfalls...

🤨 I’ve become a what?

Picture this: It’s Friday night. You go to YOUR website only to find your fiercest competitors—prominently listed on YOUR website!

WTF? You start rage-clicking in disbelief— it gets worse, hundreds—thousands of restaurants aggressively promoting hot deals with juicy photos—on YOUR website! Freaked out, panic stricken, confused… you blink—hard.

😬 “Customers—you’ve worked like Hell to cultivate are now landing in a sea of OTHER restaurants they can choose to order from.”

If you’re using GrubHub, DoorDash, UberEats—that’s already happening. YOUR customers are flowing to THEIR platforms where they are being trained to order through THEM, not you.

Make no mistake—YOU are working for THEM.

In this edition:

• Third-party pitfalls (they’re nasty)

• Keep what’s yours

• Take what’s theirs

• PRO Tip (even works for Jethro)

• Feature Spotlight: 30-grand a year—in your pocket? Maybe

• What’s breaking your brain?

Let’s do this…

DEATH TRAP

🤨 What Could Possibly Go Wrong? 

🤑 Big companies will bring me new customers and deliver the order right to their front door? You’re shitin’ me? Where do I sign up?

Problem: Third-party online ordering services (3PO) murder your profits, burn your customer list, and torch your online reputation. 

And that’s on a good day! These pimps are bending you over—9 ways to Sunday:

1. Outrageous Fees: These greedy pigs slap you with bank-busting fees ranging all the way up to an insulting 30% per order. Profits for you? Fuggetaboutit. Can you afford to keep getting skinned alive as they fatten their wallets?

2. Hijack Customers: Promoting these vermin on your website? Say goodbye to your customers—they're being trained to go “third-party” and explore a whole slew of new restaurants.

3. Brand Suicide: Your identity fades away with every order as the sharks plaster THIER logos and promotions all over YOUR packaging.

4. Exponential Competition: Just like the marriage-mail cage fight—you’re slammed in with local competitors, slugging it out tooth and nail in the discount arena where the lowest-price takes the crumbs.

5. Customer Service Nightmares: Of course you’re the scapegoat for their delivery blunders. Late, cold, wrong, missing food, driver demanding a bigger tip? You get the call—the aggravation lands on you.

6. Negative Reviews: Restaurants using third-party services often see a spike in negative online reviews. Why? See number 5 above. This tanks your ability to attract cash-in-hand customers on the hunt for a new restaurant.

7. Data Blackout: At a magical time when restaurants finally have the power to print money with customer data, they surrender that power to giant conglomerates—who use it to crush them.

8. Price Trap: Sure, you can hike up prices on their platforms to offset the fees—but now you’re easily dismissed as expensive by consumers with endless options and a never ending parade of price-cutting competitors.

9. 😈 Gambling With Satan: The Grim Reaper holds the winning cards. They have your customer data. They own the relationship. And the more customers you shove onto the table, the more they win.

🔥 You smelling the scorched earth here?

Think about that. These jackasses are ripping you off, taking your customers, killing your brand, adding competition, pissing off your customers, trashing your online reputation, stealing your data, pricing you out of business, and cleaning your clock. You gonna sit for that?

MARKETING MATTERS

😁 Turn the Tables on Third-Party

We just bulldozed through nine ways these third-party pirates are burning your profits. Sobering, for sure. But, it's not all doom and gloom.

Instead of them stealing your customers—why not steal theirs? 

Used correctly—These digital dicks can offer you some solid benefits, like:

• Sending you NEW customers from their pool of habitual app users (that you can convert to high-profit regulars)

• Handling some of your pesky delivery chores with their on-demand delivery drivers (DoorDash Drive)

Let's muscle now—through the murk and learn the simple tricks to harness the upside of 3PO platforms without suffering the damage.

KEEP WHAT’S YOURS

Order Up: Amp Your Direct Game to Cut the Middleman

Before you battle the third-party vampires, you need to supercharge your own online ordering system—so it becomes the default, “go-to” habit for YOUR current customers.

It MUST be so slick, intuitive, and rewarding—that customers can't help but bypass the middlemen and come straight to you.

Here’s how to crank up your direct ordering to full throttle:

1. Website Optimization: Make it impossible to miss the "ORDER NOW" button. Position a bold, high-contrast call-to-action at the top of every page on your website.

PRO Tip: Adding that little “hand” to your order button activates neurons in the viewer’s brain that prepare them to “click.”

2. Mobile Mastery: Provide a mobile app that streamlines the ordering process and allows customers to reorder their favorites with a tap. Now your kitchen is just a click away from their cravings.

3. Real-Time Updates: Keep customers informed with “On-The-Way” notifications; the “wow” factor is delicious.

4. Loyalty Rewards: Hook customers with a loyalty program that offers points, perks, and exclusives—only when they order directly from you. Make it a no-brainer for them to bypass the middleman and get more bang for their buck.

5. A Picture’s Worth a Thousand Orders: People eat with their eyes first—so invest in high-quality, mouth-watering, 🤤 drool-inducing photos of your dishes.

PRO Tip: Consider bartering with local photographers—your mouthwatering meals for their mesmerizing images.

6. Social Sizzle: Turn your social media into a direct ordering powerhouse. Post tantalizing photos and drop direct links that lead straight to your online ordering. It’s not just about food though; it’s about connecting and engaging.

Nail these 6 elements—and you’ll stop bleeding customers to the 3PO overlords, build a solid fortress around your online ordering revenue, and set the stage for converting 3PO orders into direct orders.

TAKE WHAT’S THEIRS

🎉 From Third-Party to Your Party—in 3-Steps

Here’s the game plan: Turn third-party platforms into a one-way street—your street. Use them to reel in NEW customers, then slam the brakes on the round trip. You’re not here to share customers; you’re here to steal customers. Let’s roll:

1. Sell What Travels

Optimize your 3PO menu with dishes that travel like champs and represent your brand. Your crispy wings stay crispy, your pizza stays piping hot, and your reputation stays intact. If it doesn’t hold up in transit, it doesn’t make the list. You win or lose on first impressions. Let’s win.

2. Packaging Power Play

Packaging is your Trojan horse. Since third-party platforms will snatch anything obvious like flyers, go stealth mode with custom-branded packaging for third-party orders.

Include:

1. Your direct ordering URL or QR code front and center.

2. 🤗 The irresistible perks of your rewards program.

3. A tamper-proof sticker that reads: "Sealed With Care: Your order is secured to ensure it arrives just as it left us, untouched and ready to enjoy!" It’s your promise of quality and security, plus it stops drivers from tampering or removing your marketing.

Every order they deliver becomes a stealth conversion tool.

3. Local and Lethal: The Personal Touch

Here’s the deal—3PO companies are cold, faceless evil empires. They don’t know your neighborhood, your customers, or your story. But you do. You’re not just slinging food; you’re part of the fabric of your community.

But, do your customers know any of this?

Fact is: Few people actually know the owner of a local business. And this presents you with a wicked advantage.

That’s because of basic human psychology. People are much more likely to do business with, and stay loyal to “Bob” than they are to “Bob’s Pizza.”

When people feel they know you (the owner) personally, it builds a natural bond of trust and community. They “feel important” because they “know the owner.” And they will naturally:

• Trust, support, and stay much more loyal to you

• Go out of their way to promote you

So you need to introduce yourself. Tell your story. Let your customers know the human behind the hustle.

💌 Relax. This is easy…

• Craft a brief “welcome” letter for third-party newbies

• Spell out the benefits of ordering direct

• Include the url (and/or QR code) to your Rewards sign-up page

• Hand-sign each one with a blue pen

• Insert into an envelope with hand-written “Welcome”

• Include with each third-party order

You don’t want this looking like a promotion or coupon. It needs to have a personal touch. Here’s a sample…

Join Our Direct Order Community: Save More, Get More!

Thank you for choosing [Restaurant's Name] today! We're thrilled to serve you through [Third Party Service Name]. 

Did you know? Ordering directly through us offers even more perks!

• Rewards: Earn points, rewards, and “members-only” specials by ordering direct.

• Savings: Avoid the (up to) 30% markups on third-party apps by ordering directly from us.

• Support Local: Your money stays in the local community, helping us provide outstanding food, service, and local jobs right here at home.

Plus, it’s easy! Just visit [Reward Enrollment Page] and the rewards will start flowing. We're here to serve you, and ordering directly helps us serve you better.

Thank you again for your support. We look forward to serving you again soon!

Warm regards,

Andy Dell
Papa Kelsey’s Pizza

Ready to make the third-party predators your biatch?

Yes, there’s work ahead—but winners do what losers won’t do. Put in the effort now, and start banking the extra cash tomorrow. This is your business. Own it. 

PRO TIP

😧🥤🥗🍰 Driver Item Reminders

ARRRGGG! Don’t you hate those calls? “The driver forgot my 2-liter!!! You better give me a REFUND! You better send another driver… I’m pulling Yelp up on my phone RIGHT NOW!!!!!”

We’ve all experienced it. The order arrives… but it’s MISSING something. You obviously want a refund for the missing item. Or you want it delivered—and fast! 😠 Plus, you’re pissed.

Incomplete orders are costly:

• Refunds: Lost profit on forgotten items

• Labor Cost: Cost to send the driver again

• Negativity: Zero upside to having pissed customers

📋 Fear not. Arrow includes a handy Driver Reminders tool that makes you shine on every delivery. It provides a delivery-item checklist so drivers (even the dumb ones) don’t forget the most commonly forgotten items like drinks, salads, and desserts.

👉 Driver Reminders are easy to set up and they keep customers happy.

Need a hand? Contact our friendly support department