Making Better Food

If you own a pizza parlor, increasing your dining room sales is always your number one goal. But one area many owners overlook is the revenue from pizza delivery service. There's a lot of competition out there, especially from the big chains, but with a careful analysis of your current and potential customer base, you can dramatically increase delivery sales as well. Here are three ways you can compete with the big guys.

Deliver Late

While it may not pay to keep your dining room open until 3 a.m., especially during the week, it probably will pay off if you keep your kitchen open late on Friday and Saturday nights, especially if no one else in your neighborhood is doing it. Do some market research. See what kinds of food are available for home delivery to the after-hours crowd in your area. Chances are, no one is offering delivery service this late. Hungry, inebriated customers who can't drive can be a very lucrative client base. Consider adding easy appetizers and late-night munchies to your menu as well. Alternately, if you live in a shift work factory town, it may pay more for you to have the kitchen open at 7 a.m. Many owners are there anyway, making the dough and getting ready for lunch service.

Offer Something Unique

Every pizza restaurant offers the usual ingredients like pepperoni and sausage. Create a few tantalizing pizza combinations that no one else offers. Diners are becoming more and more sophisticated, and they want distinctive ingredients. Evaluate your numbers and determine which ingredients you use the most. Maybe it's mushrooms. Use that information to create a new combo. If your customers know they can order your signature wild mushroom and goat cheese pizza with a garlic cream sauce from you, even if it costs more than a national chain, they will. You can also easily add other items that will make a pizza feel more like a meal, such as a fresh salad. Don't forget to consider the growing gluten-free customer base as well. People with wheat allergies are always willing to pay extra if it means they can just call up and order one of America's most beloved foods.

Invest Money In Promotional Goods

Order refrigerator magnets with your name and number on and give one out with ever pizza. You can also include little personalized plastic spatulas or box tripods, the little plastic "table" that keeps the cheese from sticking to the box. Don't forget vehicle magnets for your delivery driver's cars and to-go menus with every order.