INTRODUCTION
According to Statista, Uber Eats holds the second-highest share of the food delivery market in the United States. In addition, it ranks third for the most popular delivery service in the country, behind Door Dash and the Dominos app, and it has approximately 900,000 restaurant partners.
If your restaurant is currently using Uber Eats for online ordering and delivery, you should take advantage of the various tools and resources they offer to better connect with customers and increase order volume.
Following are some ways you can promote your restaurant on Uber Eats.
USE PROMOTION TOOLS AND ADS
Uber Eats has a variety of tools you can use to reach more people within the “Marketing” section of Uber Eats Manager.
One way is through Promotions, or special offers, that entice people to order from your restaurant. For example, you can offer a free item with a minimum purchase value, buy-one-get-one deals or a discount on specific menu items.
Select the promotion(s) that best matches your goals, set your budget for the promotion and determine your audience. For instance, you can choose to target everyone within your delivery radius or only target new customers. Your promotion will appear in your merchant card, on your menu page and in customers’ search results.
Sponsored Listings are another way to get your restaurant in front of new customers, as it positions your business higher in the feed. Set your weekly budget and your bidding method, then set targeting parameters and launch the campaign. Placements for your sponsored listing will depend on the relevance of customers’ searches and past order history, as well as on the strength of your bid compared to other Uber Eats merchants.
Promotions and Sponsored Listings will run until you hit the maximum budget you set, and they can be paused at any time. Plus, you can run multiple campaigns at once to strengthen the visibility of your restaurant on the platform.
CREATE A LOYALTY PROGRAM
In addition to reaching new customers, you can also use Uber Eats to generate repeat business by creating loyalty programs.
To start, go to the Marketing tab in your Uber Eats Manager dashboard, then select an order-based or spend-based program and choose the reward you want to offer. For instance, you can enter a cash value that can be used toward a future purchase or offer a free menu item.
Customers earn rewards after placing a set number of orders (order-based program) or spending a set amount of money (spend-based program) and have 90 days to redeem them.
Restaurants with a loyalty program may also get noticed by new customers, as they get special branding and may appear in priority sections of the Uber Eats App.
RESPOND TO REVIEWS
Gain insights about your service quality and manage your reputation by reading and responding to reviews on Uber Eats. Thank users for positive reviews or send them an offer to encourage repeat business.
At the same time, you can also use negative reviews as an opportunity to apologize for less-than-desirable experiences, offer an incentive to try your restaurant again and show customers that you care.
Uber Eats will send you an email notification when you receive a review. You can click “Reply now” or “View more” to see recent reviews. You also can log in to your Uber Eats Manager account and select “Feedback” then “Reviews” within the dashboard.
From there, click “Reply” next to the appropriate review to add your direct response. The customer will be notified by email after you reply.
BECOME A TOP EATS LOCATION
Uber Eats rewards qualifying restaurants with a “Top Eats” badge and premium placement within the app. This can help boost visibility and establish trust with customers, as the badge signifies that your location is dedicated to providing quality products and services. In addition, customers are able to filter by “Top Eats” locations.
To become a Top Eats establishment, you must meet goals in five key areas:
- Average Star Rating – The higher the rating, the better. Highly rated reviews help Uber Eats identify your restaurant as a quality establishment.
- Completed Orders – Successful and timely deliveries are key for building confidence with potential customers, as well as with Uber Eats.
- Online Rate – Try to keep delivery open whenever possible. The more available you are to take orders, the higher your score will be in this area.
- Missed Order Rate – Strive to accept and fulfill as many orders as possible so you can keep this number low.
- Inaccurate Order Rate – Preach consistency and accuracy to your staff so you can earn high marks in this category.
Uber Eats automatically assesses performance every 90 days–there is no special enrollment to participate. The platform also offers a guide for each metric in the Top Eats dashboard within the Uber Eats Manager, as well as actions you can take to improve.
CREATE MERCHANT STORIES
Launched last year, Uber Eats Merchant Stories allow participating restaurants to post regular updates to their in-app storefront and engage with potential customers. You can use Stories to announce new menu items, share business updates or promote special offers.
Go to the marketing section in your dashboard to create a Story. From there, upload the image you’d like to use and add text for the headline and body of the Story. Once submitted and approved, the Story will be visible for seven days.
INTEGRATE UBER EATS WITH INSTAGRAM
If your restaurant is active on Instagram, you can now integrate that account with your Uber Eats storefront. According to the announcement, which also introduced Merchant Stories, restaurants can connect the two platforms in less than 10 min.
Log into your Instagram account and Uber Eats Manager on a web browser. Under “Settings,” select “Connect to Instagram.” Then authorize third-party access from your Uber Eats account to confirm the integration.
Once connected, recent photos from your Instagram feed will appear in a “Photos from Instagram” carousel above your menu. This will help customers get to know you and your offerings better without adding additional work. Plus, Uber Eats users can opt to view the image in Instagram, which could help you build your Instagram following as well.
Of note, only grid photos will be shown, as stories, Reels and tagged photos are not currently supported. In addition, only your newest images will appear–you cannot specify which images to show or hide at this time.