During the lockdown, restaurants had to show resilience and adaptability to survive in the conditions set out by the government who wanted to ensure the safety of the general public regarding the coronavirus pandemic. One of the ways restaurants did this was to start using delivery services like the Uber Eats app.

Apps like Uber Eats started adding features following restaurant restrictions during lockdown. Eat-in dining was restricted and many restaurants had to focus on take-out and delivery operations. Now this app is offering new functionality to give restaurants even more benefits.

Why should restaurants use sponsored listing?

In August, Uber Eats in the United States launched their sponsored listing functionality and it will be available in other countries by the end of the year. What this means for restaurants is that they can pay so that they appear higher in listings and they will be more likely to attract customers.

Would you be willing to pay to have your restaurant get a preferential listing on the app? In the United States Uber Eats offered $25 million in free credits for restaurants using sponsored listing and they showed a return on investment in early tests. According to Uber Eats, the listings meant substantially more impressions for restaurants. For each $1 spent restaurants saw $5 in revenue.

How does sponsored listing work?

Every time a customer clicks on a restaurant’s page via the listing, they pay a fee. Restaurants set a budget for the week and choose how much they will pay for each click. They can also target customers and make use of data about ordering behaviour, location and even dietary preferences.

Restaurants will be able to advertise specific promotions or promote their loyalty programmes. They will also be able to boost their restaurant’s ranking in the Uber Eats home feed. And, as with other digital marketing methods, restaurants will be able to use data to improve their performance and make adjustments to their strategy as they go.

This innovation will undoubtedly help restaurants reach more clients, stand out from their competition and ultimately boost their income. Find out more about Uber Eats sponsored listings here.

Don’t forget your Google searchability

Even if you’re still relying on customers coming to your restaurant in person, you can enlist technology to help you. It’s common for tech-savvy patrons to search for “trattorias near me” instead of looking up your restaurant by name. This means that you have to optimise your restaurant’s Google searchability.

There are a few approaches you can take to achieve this. You can invest in Google Ads, claim your listing on Google Maps, or optimise your website’s SEO so your restaurant ranks highly in organic Google search results. If any of this sounds foreign to you, consider enlisting the help of a digital marketing specialist or take an online course for some basic training.

Want to incorporate the benefits of technology into your business? Our Mobile PoS provides convenience, efficiency and most importantly opportunities. For more information check out our Mobile PoS guide.

Author : Rudi Badenhorst

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