It is our view that the market for online services for restaurant owners
can be divided into three categories:
This category is dominated by large website hosting companies (e.g. yahoo.com) - Low cost, cookie-cutter service, provide tools you need to have a website. Despite what you may be told, you are pretty much on your own after the sale to build, maintain, and promote your own website. These service providers typically provide incomplete, generic services not tailored to the restaurant industry with little or no post sales support.
The advantage of this model is low prices and large scale services that span multiple industries, typically with 24 hour support. The disadvantage of this model is that it requires a level of technical expertise from the customer or else they end up with a sub-standard product that becomes outdated quickly. In addition, the client is typically treated like a number, rather than a valued customer as the service fights to maintain their bare bones pricing.
This solution is typically successful for restaurants that are only interested in putting a basic website with no promotion, or for restaurants with technical expertise that want to build and promote their own website.
This category is also covered by companies that provide online restaurant menus on restaurant directory sites. This approach promises restaurants their own web page/menu on a proprietary platform. This approach is dangerous, as your success is closely tied to the success of this one online directory, your site is very limited in functionality (i.e. it is not really yours), and it is difficult to promote your site on the many other directories that contribute traffic to a dedicated restaurant web site.
This section of the market is primarily serviced by companies that either provide specialized, but limited services for the restaurant industry, or provide a full-service solution for many different types of companies. We at Restaurant Sherpa are committed to doing both - providing a comprehensive hands-on solution tailored specifically for restaurants.
The advantage of this model is a service that can meet most customer needs at a competitive price point.
The disadvantage of this model is that many restaurants are sold a low-cost, low-end solution with the promise of an easy website. The challenge is convincing restaurant owners of the return of investment they can expect from spending a little bit extra per month on a solution that works as promised.
This solution is successful for restaurants that are interested in taking advantage of the revenue growth opportunities of the internet but have limited financial and personnel resources.
This is the solution proposed by our company, Restaurant Sherpa. Our aim as your trusted partner is to carry the workload for you online, so you can remain focused on running your restaurant and satisfying your patrons.
This category is supported by custom website developers and in-house technology groups. Restaurants with significant resources are apt to look in this direction for highly customized solutions. Chain restaurants or high-end urban establishments are likely to go this route also.
The advantages of this model are a custom look and feel and the ability to add non-conforming components or multi-establishment nesting.
The disadvantage of this model is the high setup and ongoing maintenance costs, and the lack of responsiveness to the introduction of new technologies.
This solution is typically successful for either restaurant chains with significant resources at their disposal or exclusive urban restaurants looking for expensive custom solutions to reflect their unique image.
