Why Your Best Takeaway Customers Aren't Ordering Directly From You (And How to Fix It)

You see the order ping through on the tablet. It’s from Sarah, a proper regular. She orders the number 12 with extra chillies every Friday. You know her order, you value her custom, but tonight, instead of feeling good about it, your stomach tightens slightly. The order has come through a third-party delivery app, and you’ve just kissed goodbye to 30% of the revenue before the wok is even hot.

Sound familiar? It’s the great paradox of the modern takeaway business. The very customers who love you the most are often costing you the most in commission fees.

To fix this, we first need to stop blaming the customer. Sarah isn’t ordering through an app to spite you; she’s doing it because it’s easy. We need to understand the powerful market forces at play and then build a practical strategy to fight back and protect those wafer-thin margins.

The Uncomfortable Truth: Why Customers Default to Delivery Apps

Before we can change behaviour, we have to respect it. Customers use third-party apps for three powerful reasons:

1. Consolidated Convenience: The apps are a masterclass in user experience. One login, stored payment details, and a menu of every takeaway in a five-mile radius. They have turned the question "What's for dinner?" into a seamless, tap-and-scroll experience. They are, in effect, a universal remote for food.
   

2. The Power of Habit: People are creatures of habit. Once ordering via an app becomes the default, it takes a compelling reason to break that cycle. Just having a website isn’t enough to change a learned behaviour.
   

3. Discovery: Let's be honest, these platforms are incredible customer acquisition engines. They put your menu in front of thousands of potential new customers who would never have otherwise found you.

   
   

The commission you pay isn’t just for delivery; it’s a fee for convenience and marketing. The strategic error is paying that fee for customers you’ve already won.

The Three-Step Strategy to Reclaim Your Customers (and Margins)

You can’t out-spend the tech giants, but you can out-smart them by offering something they can't: a genuine, rewarding relationship. The goal is to make ordering direct not just an option, but the obvious choice for anyone who plans on ordering more than once.

Step 1: Make Your Direct Channel Flawless

This is non-negotiable. If your own website is clunky, slow, or looks untrustworthy, you’ve lost before you’ve begun. Your direct ordering process must be as frictionless as the apps. It needs to be mobile-first, visually appealing, and remember customer details to make that second order even easier than the first.

Step 2: Market the Direct Option Relentlessly

You have to actively teach your customers that ordering directly is the best way. This means a low-tech, high-impact marketing push.

• Sticker every single bag and box that leaves your kitchen with a simple message: "Love our food? Get your 10th meal free by ordering direct at https://www.google.com/search?q=ourwebsite.com."
  

• Include a flyer in every single delivery app order promoting your direct channel and its exclusive benefits.
  

• Train your staff. When people phone up, have them mention the new online loyalty programme.

Step 3: Create Exclusive Value They Can't Get Elsewhere

This is the killer blow. Customers need a selfish reason to change their habits, and that reason is value. A direct order must come with a tangible benefit that is completely unavailable on the third-party apps.

This is where a simple, powerful loyalty programme becomes the heart of your entire strategy.

You need a system that’s as easy for the customer as using a delivery app, and as easy for you as putting a flyer in a bag. That system is STAMP by meed.

Instead of a flimsy paper card that gets lost, STAMP is a digital stamp card that lives on your customer's phone without requiring another app download. They scan a QR code on their first direct order, and they’re in.

Now, that sticker on the pizza box has real power:

• "Order direct and get your first digital stamp towards a free garlic bread."

• "Every $10 you spend direct gets you one step closer to $5 off."

• "Collect 8 stamps by ordering direct and your next main course is on us."

Suddenly, every time Sarah thinks about ordering, she’s faced with a choice: order through the app and get nothing extra, or order direct and get one step closer to a freebie. You’ve changed the entire value equation.

Direct Ordering for Your Takeaway

The delivery apps are a necessary evil for finding new customers. But your profit is made from the regulars. By combining a slick direct ordering channel for your takeaway with a compelling, easy-to-use loyalty programme like STAMP by meed, you give your best customers a powerful reason to come straight to the source. You stop paying tax on your own loyalty and start building a more profitable, sustainable business.