Restaurant Marketing 2026: 10 Profitable Strategies Without Lieferando Commissions

Times are changing – and so is the way successful restaurants reach their customers. While Lieferando and other platforms have dominated the game in recent years, more and more restaurateurs are waking up and realizing: High commissions are eating up profits, and valuable customer data remains in foreign hands.

In this article, I’ll show you 10 concrete strategies to put your restaurant marketing on its own feet, generate more direct orders, and become significantly more profitable in the process. Spoiler: It’s easier than you think.

Why Restaurants Need to Get Away from Lieferando

Let’s start with hard numbers. The average commission at Lieferando is between 13% and 35% per order – depending on location and negotiating position. For a medium-sized restaurant with €25,000 monthly delivery revenue, this means:

Monthly Delivery Revenue	Commission (25%)	Annual Commission	Lost Profit
€25,000	€6,250	€75,000	Up to €52,500
€15,000	€3,750	€45,000	Up to €31,500
€10,000	€2,500	€30,000	Up to €21,000

These are sums that can determine the success or failure of your restaurant. But money isn’t the only problem:

No customer data of your own: You don’t know who your best customers are, what they order, or how often they come
Dependency: If Lieferando changes algorithms or conditions, you’re powerless
No direct customer contact: Complaints go through the platform, customer loyalty is virtually impossible

The good news: There’s a way out of this dependency.

Your Own Restaurant App as Foundation

The first and most important step is your own app or online ordering platform. Sounds expensive and complicated? It’s not anymore.

With the right technology (like GastroSystem provides in their monthly flat rate, for example) you get:

Push notifications: Inform your customers directly about new dishes, promotions, or opening hours
Loyalty programs: Collect loyalty points, give away every 10th burger, or offer exclusive benefits to regular customers
Complete control: You determine the design, offers, and customer experience

The numbers speak for themselves: Apps generate 3x higher customer loyalty than anonymous platform orders. 67% of customers prefer to order directly from restaurants when they receive benefits for doing so.

Practical tip: Start with a simple incentive system – 10% discount on the first app order and 5% on all subsequent ones. Even with this discount, you still make 15-25% more profit than through Lieferando.

Social media is pure gold for restaurants – if you do it right. Here are the three most important platforms:

Food photography: Invest 30 minutes daily in good photos of your dishes
Stories: Show the preparation process, introduce your team, share customer feedback
Hashtags: Use local tags like #[YourCity]food #[YourCity]delivery

Facebook: Events and Community

Events: Create events for new menus, seasonal promotions, or holiday specials
Groups: Engage in local Facebook groups (without spam!)
Facebook Ads: With €50/month you can specifically reach people in your delivery area

TikTok: The Young Audience

Especially for burgers, pizza, or trendy food, TikTok works excellently. A viral video can bring you hundreds of new customers.

Case study: A döner shop in Frankfurt increased its orders by 45% in three months, just through consistent social media marketing. The investment: 2 hours per week and €80 monthly for ads.

Instagram business profile with complete contact details
At least 3 posts per week
Daily stories with behind-the-scenes content
Facebook page with online order button linked
Monthly advertising budget of at least €50

Optimize Google My Business and Local SEO

46% of all Google searches have local intent – and this is exactly where you need to be visible. Google My Business is free and extremely effective.

The Perfect Google My Business Profile:

Complete information: Opening hours, phone number, website, menu
Current photos: Dishes, interior, team
Review management: Respond to every review, including negative ones
Use posts: Regularly post offers and news

Local SEO for Your Website:

Local keywords: “Pizza delivery [Your City]”, “[Your City] order sushi”
Local content: Blog posts about local events you cater
Customer reviews: Actively ask satisfied customers for Google reviews

Fact: Restaurants with complete Google My Business profiles receive 70% more clicks than incomplete profiles.

Email Marketing and Customer Retention

Email marketing has an incredible ROI of 4,200% – that means for every euro you invest, you get €42 back. For restaurants, it’s even more effective.

Your Email Strategy:

Newsletter (twice monthly):

Introduce new dishes
Seasonal promotions
Behind-the-scenes stories

Automated Campaigns:

Welcome series: 3 emails for new app users over 7 days
Birthday emails: With personal discount codes
Win-back: Reactivate customers who haven’t ordered in 30+ days

Returning customers order an average of 67% more than new customers. With a well-designed CRM system (like the one integrated in GastroSystem), you can fully automate these processes.

“Since we started building our email list, we have 40% less dependency on Lieferando. Our regular customers now order directly through our app – and we know them all by name.”

– Maria Rodriguez, Owner ‘Tapas del Sol’, Cologne

Partnerships and Cross-Marketing

Local partnerships are worth their weight in gold and cost almost nothing:

Business Partnerships:

Office catering: Contact nearby companies directly
Gyms: Offer healthy meal-prep options
Hotels: Become an official delivery partner

Event Marketing:

Pop-up stands: Farmers markets, festivals, corporate events
Catering: Events have 40% higher margins than individual orders
Cross-promotion: Exchange with other local businesses

Practical example: Offer the gym next door a deal – their members get 10% discount on healthy dishes, in return they actively recommend you.

Local partnerships increase your reach by an average of 35% – without advertising costs.

Implement Direct Order Incentive Systems

Now it gets concrete. You need to give your customers a real reason to order directly from you instead of through Lieferando.

Proven Incentive Systems:

Loyalty Points Program:

1 point per €1 order value
100 points = €10 voucher
Bonus points for direct orders

Direct Order Benefits:

10% discount only on app orders
Exclusive dishes only for app users
Free delivery from lower minimum order value

Premium Membership:

€5/month for free delivery and 15% discount
Early access to new dishes
Birthday surprise

The math works: Even with a 10% direct order discount, you still make 20% more profit than through Lieferando.

Important: 81% of consumers are members of at least one loyalty program. They work – when they’re simple and valuable.

Influencer Marketing in the Local Area

You don’t have to pay Kim Kardashian. Micro-influencers in your city are often more effective and cheaper.

Finding Local Influencers:

Instagram: Search for hashtags of your city + #food #foodie
TikTok: Local content creators with 1,000-50,000 followers
Bloggers: Food bloggers from your region

Win-Win Deals:

Free food in exchange for honest posts
Discount codes for their followers (you track performance)
Event collaborations

Micro-influencers (1,000-50,000 followers) often have an engagement rate of 7-15% – significantly higher than mega-influencers.

Content Marketing for Restaurants

Content isn’t just for tech companies. Restaurants can win new customers and retain existing ones with relevant content.

Content Ideas for Your Restaurant:

Blog on Your Website:

“The 5 best wines with our pizza”
“How to prepare our signature dish at home”
“The story behind our family recipe”

Video Content:

Cooking videos for social media
Team introductions
“A day in our restaurant”

User-Generated Content:

Share customer photos (with permission)
Review highlights
Customer stories

SEO advantage: Good content improves your ranking for local search terms like “best pizza [your city]” or “[your city] order sushi”.

WhatsApp Business and Direct Customer Contact

WhatsApp Business is underestimated but extremely effective for restaurants:

WhatsApp Strategies:

Broadcast lists: Send offers to regular customers
Orders: Simpler than app, more personal than website
Customer service: Quick answers to questions

Use Status Updates:

Daily special
New dishes
Behind-the-scenes content

Set Up Quick Replies:

Menu
Opening hours
Order process

In Germany, 60+ million people use WhatsApp daily. Your customers are there – be there too.

Measurable Success and Next Steps

Let’s get to the concrete numbers. A successful transition from delivery platforms to direct orders takes an average of 180 days and runs in 3 phases:

Phase 1 (Month 1-2): Create Foundation

Set up own ordering app/website
Optimize social media profiles
Complete Google My Business fully
Build first email list

Goal: 10% of orders direct

Phase 2 (Month 3-4): Intensify Marketing

Start incentive systems for direct orders
Begin social media advertising
Enter first partnerships
Start content marketing

Goal: 30% of orders direct

Phase 3 (Month 5-6): Optimize and Scale

Expand loyalty program
Run automated email campaigns
Influencer collaborations
Continuous optimization

Goal: 60%+ of orders direct

Important KPIs to Track:

Direct order rate: Percentage of orders through own channels
Customer lifetime value: Average value per customer over 12 months
Reorder rate: How many customers order again?
Profit margin: After deducting all marketing costs

Average profit increase after successful transition: 15-25%

Checklist for the First 30 Days:

Week 1:

Set up own ordering app/website or optimize existing one
Complete Google My Business profile
Optimize social media profiles for business

Week 2:

Introduce first incentive system for direct orders (10% app discount)
Start email collection (newsletter signup)
First social media posts with own order link

Week 3:

Set up WhatsApp Business
Enter first local partnership
Actively collect customer reviews on Google My Business

Week 4:

Start first automated email campaign
Test social media advertising (€50 budget)
Measure success and adjust strategy

Your Next Step

The numbers don’t lie: Restaurants that focus on direct orders are more profitable, independent, and have more loyal customers. The strategies in this article have already helped hundreds of restaurants break free from expensive delivery platforms.

The most important step is the first one: Start today. You don’t have to implement all 10 strategies simultaneously. Start with your own ordering app and a simple incentive system for direct orders.

If you’re looking for an all-in-one solution that combines app, POS system, CRM, and marketing tools in one monthly flat rate – without hidden costs or commissions – then check out GastroSystem. Hundreds of restaurants are already using it successfully for their direct order strategy.

Test for free now and generate first direct orders →

The question isn’t whether you’ll get away from Lieferando – but how quickly. Your competition isn’t sleeping, and customers are waiting for a better experience. Give it to them.