I’ve mentioned here that every innovation or idea in a small business carries with it the possibility of wild success…or colossal failure. Actually, that also applies to large businesses and even the initial launch of a business. It’s hard (impossible?) to know what customers will really go for.
I say “really” go for because customers can say one thing and then do another. For example they can say they want minimal packaging but then they want an extra box in case there are leftovers at the party.
So last week’s launch of the Last Minute Menu and free delivery was, like all other things we’ve introduced, a roll of the dice. I am happy to say that it looks to be a good thing. Without advertising it (we did a stealth launch of the new online ordering page last Tuesday), there’s been an immediate response with people ordering more frequently from the limited Last Minute Menu as every day goes by.
A couple of questions are:
- would those customers have ordered anyway but for a later date i.e. with the LMM introduction are we getting incremental business or is it just being delivered or picked up earlier?
- how do we staff for the delivery service in this in-between period was we ramp up? At times it is simply very busy for the existing delivery team and at other times we are capping deliveries for certain time periods because the current team can’t take on more.
I’m not sure there’s a way to know the answer to the first question. The second answer will be the topic of a meeting on Monday with our catering coordinator; head of customer service; delivery manager; Carly and me.
But this is for sure: it is more fun to be dealing with the issue of “too much” business than wondering why something isn’t taking off as expected (I’m looking at you, DIY Birthday Party Kits).
