◆ Playbook

How to get more direct orders. 10 practical steps.

Published July 2026 · Updated July 26, 2026

Quick answer

Restaurants get more direct orders by making the direct channel the easiest one to find: point the Google Business Profile ordering link at your own site, put QR codes on every receipt, bag, and table tent, drop a box-topper insert into every marketplace order, run SMS and email reorder campaigns to your opted-in list, point social bios and phone-hold messages at your ordering page, and keep the marketplaces for first-time discovery. Most of the ten steps below are free, and restaurants running the full playbook typically shift ~25% of marketplace volume to direct within 6 months.

Run the free grader → Get started →
The playbook

Ten steps. Mostly free. Vendor-neutral.

Every step works with any direct-ordering stack. Zayos happens to run most of them out of the box, but the mechanics are yours either way.

1

Step 1. Claim the ordering link on your Google Business Profile

Ten free minutes on the highest-intent search surface you own.

In your Google Business Profile, open Food ordering, add your own ordering URL, and mark it "Preferred by business". Google shows that label prominently in Search and Maps. Until you do this, third-party providers occupy your own Order Online button by default, so diners searching your name land on a marketplace paying 25-35% instead of your site paying ~3% processing. Also confirm "Accepts orders on your profile" is toggled on, or the button disappears entirely.

Free
to point Google's Order Online button at your own site
Ordering best practices →
2

Step 2. Put a QR code on every receipt, bag, and table tent

The physical-to-digital handshake that turns one-time diners into direct repeats.

Every order leaves your kitchen with a printed receipt, a bag, or lands on a table. Put a QR code on all three pointing at your direct-ordering site, with a small first-direct-order incentive ("$5 off your next direct order"). On the Zayos playbook this typically converts ~18% of marketplace diners to a direct first order within 90 days, but the mechanic is vendor-neutral: any QR generator plus any ordering page works.

~18%
typical marketplace-to-direct conversion within 90 days of QR distribution
QR code ordering, explained →
3

Step 3. Drop a box-topper insert into every marketplace bag

Your packaging is ad space the marketplaces cannot charge you for.

A printed card on top of the box: "Order direct at your-domain.com. Pay less, get it faster." It is honest, too: LendingTree found the same meal costs consumers 79.5% more on average through delivery apps than picking it up in person, so the diner has a real reason to switch. You are printing on your own packaging, not contacting marketplace customer data, but review your merchant agreement, since platform terms on promotional inserts vary.

+79.5%
what the same meal costs a diner on a delivery app vs pickup (LendingTree)
The commission-free guide →
4

Step 4. Text reorder offers to your opted-in list

SMS is the shortest path between a hungry regular and your checkout.

Once a customer orders direct, you own the record. Name, phone, order history. A short SMS campaign ("Order direct tonight, $5 off, no app needed") to properly opted-in numbers moves repeats off the marketplaces fast; direct customers on the Zayos playbook reorder ~1.7× more often than marketplace customers thanks to saved cards and faster checkout. Do it right: register A2P 10DLC, get explicit opt-in, keep frequency low, honor STOP instantly.

~1.7×
reorder rate, direct vs marketplace customers
How Zayos runs this →
5

Step 5. Send a monthly reorder email

Low effort, compounding return: one email, your top sellers, one button.

A monthly email to your direct-customer list. A photo of the best seller, one paragraph, one "Order now" button. Keeps your restaurant first in mind between cravings. Diners want this channel to exist: Tillster's Phygital Index found 71% of US consumers prefer ordering through a restaurant's own website or app over a third-party platform. The list only grows if direct ordering exists to feed it, which is why this step compounds with steps 1-3.

71%
of US consumers prefer ordering direct from the restaurant (Tillster)
Ordering best practices →
6

Step 6. Point every social bio link at your ordering page

Your Instagram bio is a storefront. Send it to your checkout, not theirs.

Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook bios each allow one tappable link. Make it your direct-ordering page, not a marketplace listing or a linktree that buries it. Pin a post showing how to order direct, add an "Order" story highlight, and put the ordering URL in every post caption that shows food. Zero cost, five minutes, and every follower who was about to open a delivery app now has a one-tap route to the commission-free channel.

1 tap
from social bio to your own checkout
Do you need an app? →
7

Step 7. Sell direct on your phone line

Every hold message is a free ad read to a customer who already called you.

Record the hold message and voicemail greeting to say one thing: "Skip the wait. Order at your-domain.com and your food starts now." Give staff a one-line handoff script for pickup customers ("next time, order on our site and skip the line. There's a QR on your receipt"). Phone callers are your highest-intent customers; the message costs nothing and runs every time you are busy, which is exactly when direct ordering helps most.

Every call
becomes a direct-ordering pitch while the caller waits
Ordering best practices →
8

Step 8. Brand the packaging itself

The meal travels to the diner's kitchen. Make the box sell the next order.

Beyond the bag QR from step 2: sticker seals, cup sleeves, napkin bands, and box-lid prints carrying your domain and a QR. Marketplace orders arrive in your packaging. That surface is the one part of a marketplace transaction the platform does not control. A diner who ordered on an app tonight should be looking at your direct-ordering URL while they eat, so the second order starts on your site instead.

3 surfaces
bag, box, cup, each one a printed route back to direct
QR code ordering, explained →
9

Step 9. Migrate marketplace regulars honestly

Keep the marketplaces for discovery. Win the second order, not a policy fight.

Do not delist from DoorDash, Uber Eats, or Grubhub. They are genuinely good at putting your food in front of first-time diners. And do not try to contact marketplace customers directly: the platforms do not give you their data, and merchant agreements restrict soliciting with it. The honest migration is structural: discovery happens on the apps, the handoff (steps 2, 3, 8) makes the direct channel visible, and the incentive makes it worth trying once. After that, saved cards and a faster checkout do the retention work.

25-35%
blended marketplace cost you stop paying on every order that moves direct
The full DoorDash playbook →
10

Step 10. Measure direct share monthly

One number tells you if the flywheel is turning: direct orders ÷ total orders.

Give each placement its own promo code (receipt vs box-topper vs SMS vs bio link) so you know which surface converts, and track direct share of total orders monthly. On the full playbook, restaurants typically shift ~25% of marketplace volume to direct within 6 months and 50-75% within 12. If your number is flat, the usual culprits are a buried Google ordering link (step 1) or a checkout slower than the apps. The grader benchmarks your current mix in about 60 seconds.

25→75%
typical direct-share trajectory, months 6-12 on the full playbook
Run the free grader →
The implementation option

Run the playbook yourself, or let one platform run it.

Do it yourself

Every step above is vendor-neutral: a Google Business Profile is free, QR generators are free, box-toppers are a print run, and any SMS/email tool handles campaigns. What you assemble yourself: an ordering page fast enough to beat the apps, coupon logic for the incentives, A2P 10DLC registration, and per-placement tracking. The best-practices guide covers the standards each piece should hit.

Or Zayos out of the box

Zayos ships the stack behind steps 1-2, 4-6, 8, and 10: a branded direct-ordering site, auto-generated QR codes per brand and location (print-ready for receipts, stickers, and table tents), tracked incentive coupons, CRM with SMS and email reorder campaigns, and direct-share reporting. Flat $499-$699 per location per month, no setup fee, month-to-month, restaurant keeps 100% of food revenue and tips, and most operators are live in under 2 weeks. See pricing →

Straight answers

Getting more direct orders, answered.

What counts as a direct order?
An order placed on a channel the restaurant owns, its own website, its own app, or its own phone line. Rather than through a third-party marketplace. On a direct order the restaurant pays no 15-30% marketplace commission (only ~3% card processing plus whatever its ordering software costs), and it keeps the customer record: name, contact, and order history it can remarket to.
What is the fastest way to get more direct orders?
The two same-week wins are step 1 and step 2: point the Order Online button on your Google Business Profile at your own ordering page and mark it "Preferred by business" (free, about ten minutes), and put a QR code with a first-order incentive on every receipt and bag. Both put the direct channel in front of people who already chose your restaurant, no ad spend involved.
Can I ask DoorDash or Uber Eats customers to order direct next time?
Not by contacting them. The marketplaces do not share customer contact data with you, and merchant agreements restrict solicitation using their data. What you control is your own packaging and your own premises: box-topper inserts, bag QR codes, and printed URLs are your channel, though you should review your merchant agreement since platform terms on promotional inserts vary. The honest framing is structural: apps for discovery, direct for repeats.
Do I need my own mobile app to take direct orders?
No. A mobile-optimized ordering website does the job for almost every independent restaurant. Diners will not download an app for a single restaurant, but they will tap a QR code or a Google ordering link that opens a fast checkout in the browser. The app-vs-website tradeoff is covered in detail on the online ordering app page.
How much does a direct order actually save?
The three major marketplaces publish base commissions of 15-30%, and most independents land at a 25-35% blended real cost once processing, ads, and promotions stack. On a $30 ticket that is roughly $7.50-$10.50 per order kept instead of paid out, before ~3% card processing that applies on any channel. On Zayos specifically, the restaurant pays a flat $499-$699 per location per month, keeps 100% of food revenue and tips, and the diner pays a $0.99 pickup or $2.99 delivery order fee.
How long does it take to build meaningful direct volume?
On the full playbook, restaurants typically shift ~25% of marketplace volume to direct within 6 months and 50-75% within 12 months. The compounding driver is the reorder differential: direct customers reorder ~1.7× more often than marketplace customers, so every diner who tries the direct channel once is worth multiple avoided marketplace orders over a year.
Sources

Where the external figures come from.

The ~18% QR conversion, ~1.7× reorder rate, and 25→75% direct-share trajectory are Zayos playbook figures observed with early operators (Naya Grill, in production since June 2026), stated as typical rather than guaranteed. Full sourced commission data lives on the delivery commission statistics page.

Keep reading
QR code ordering →
How the receipt-and-bag QR mechanic works end to end.
App vs website →
Why most independents do not need their own app.
Ordering best practices →
The standards a direct channel has to hit to beat the apps.
Commission-free buyer's guide →
Every legitimate commission-free vendor evaluated.
Also: stop paying DoorDash commission · ghost kitchen startup costs · calculator · pricing

Make direct the easiest way to order from you.

Run the free grader to see what your current marketplace mix costs you per month. Then start with step 1: it is free and takes ten minutes.

Run the free grader → Get started