As a restaurant owner, I've been down the road of third-party delivery apps and marketing platforms. I've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. Two platforms that have been on my radar lately are Owner.com and Grubhub. Having experienced both, I’ve found each has its own unique competitive advantages. In weighing their pros and cons, I found the platform that was right for my restaurant, and decided to share the takeaways from my experience to help other small business owners navigate the options.
If you’re tired of losing profits to fees and commissions… Owner
When I got started with Grubhub, I couldn’t deny that restaurant orders were up and we’d hit a new level of business volume. The problem, I noticed shortly thereafter, is that despite being busier than ever, our bottom line revenue was no better off. Commissions to the tune of 25-35% were eating away at our profits month over month, and they kept creeping higher when we’d source new promotional opportunities to stay advantageous in Grubhub’s feed.
When I discovered Owner, I was shocked to learn that there were no exorbitant commissions - just a flat monthly subscription fee of $499/month - all in. This comes out to a fraction of what we were spending in commissions with Grubhub, and even better, our business volume has been better than ever.
If you want the ability to engage with customers directly… Owner
One of the downsides I found in working with Grubhub is the lack of ability to directly communicate with my customers via its platform. It led to some prickly incidents and reviews that exhibited more frustration with the platform’s service than with the customer’s experience with my restaurant.
With Owner, I can deal with orders and deliveries directly, that way I can avoid any hangry third-party misunderstandings. Even better, I can collect data about my clients to go above and beyond in my service, like offering birthday discounts and even save their favorite orders. It’s like having a direct line to my customers, and that's invaluable.
While Grubhub was able to offer exposure to a large audience, my products often appeared alongside others, in essence diluting my brand. Owner, on the other hand, focuses on promoting my business directly, making it the clear winner for me.
If you’re a stickler for brand recognition… Grubhub
Grubhub is no newcomer to the online food delivery space, having been founded way back in 2004. They’ve had a lot of time to build brand awareness and pioneer a platform that changed our industry forever. There’s certainly value in being associated with a platform that most people have heard of, although being a large network, I’ve found it to be quite crowded.
Owner is relatively newer, having been founded in 2018, but as a younger company, I’ve found many advantages. Without trying to reinvent the wheel, Owner takes on the mission of connecting diners with the food they love, and makes it better. By extending a premium service to restaurant owners such as myself, in addition to our customers, I’ve actually found that the secret sauce to a successful business does not necessarily lie in the platform’s widespread popularity.
If you’re seeking tools for branding and customization… Owner
GrubHub offers basic marketing tools, but Owner takes it to another level with its ability to provide restaurant partners with a low-cost alternative that includes a custom branded mobile app. Combined with features like email and text marketing, loyalty programs, data collection and insights, and smart upselling, Owner ensures that I get repeat business. I’ve been able to incorporate my logo and color palette into the website and mobile app. The result? Our restaurant gained a beautiful, user-friendly site that gets compliments all the time. Our sales nearly doubled, debunking the myth that customers wouldn't download our app.
The one that made my restaurant’s profits soar… Owner
When it came down to finding the bottom line best option for my business, Owner was the hands-down favorite. Their all-in-one restaurant marketing platform has offered invaluable tools for my business, extended superior support, and put our profit margins in a much stronger position. From one restaurant owner to another, if securing your business’ future is what you need, this decision should be a no-brainer.
