Why the Smartest Restaurants Are Using Both DoorDash and AMP to Maximize Growth
Fact: Third-party delivery platforms can take between 15% and 30% or more from every order, while still limiting a restaurant’s ability to build direct relationships with its customers.
For restaurant owners, growth has never been more important—or more challenging.
Between rising food costs, labor shortages, inflation, increasing competition, and changing consumer habits, operators are constantly looking for ways to drive more revenue. For many restaurants, platforms like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub have become essential tools for increasing visibility and generating immediate orders.
And there’s no question they serve a purpose.
These delivery platforms put restaurants in front of thousands of hungry consumers looking for convenience. They can increase order volume, improve exposure, and help restaurants participate in the growing demand for online ordering.
But there’s a question every restaurant owner should ask:
What happens after the order is delivered? That’s where the real opportunity begins.
At MarketWell Solutions, we’ve found that the most successful restaurants aren’t choosing between delivery platforms and direct marketing strategies. They’re using both. One drives transactions today. The other builds relationships and recurring revenue for tomorrow.
That’s exactly why we developed the B2B Catered Accelerated Marketing Program (AMP).
The Difference Between Orders and Relationships
DoorDash and Uber Eats are designed to generate immediate orders from consumers. Their business model is built around convenience, speed, and marketplace visibility.
The challenge is that the relationship often belongs to the platform—not the restaurant.
When customers order through a delivery app, restaurants typically receive limited access to customer information, buying behavior, and future marketing opportunities. As a result, restaurants often have to keep paying commissions to reach the same customer again and again.
AMP takes a different approach.
Instead of competing in a crowded consumer marketplace, AMP helps restaurants identify and connect directly with local businesses, decision-makers, office managers, HR professionals, training coordinators, and executives who regularly purchase catered meals for meetings, employee events, training sessions, and corporate gatherings.
Rather than focusing on a single transaction, AMP focuses on building a long-term relationship.
And that’s where recurring revenue begins.
Why AMP B2B Catering Is One of the Most Undervalued Revenue Opportunities
Many restaurant operators spend significant time and money chasing individual orders while overlooking one of the most profitable segments available to them: business catering.
Think about it.
A single consumer order might generate $25 to $75 in revenue.
A recurring corporate catering account could generate thousands—or even tens of thousands—of dollars annually.
That’s why AMP uses highly targeted geographic marketing, email campaigns, CRM automation, and strategic offers to introduce restaurants directly to local businesses within a defined radius of their location.
Instead of marketing to everyone, restaurants focus on the organizations most likely to order catering repeatedly.
The result is a more efficient marketing strategy with higher-quality opportunities and stronger long-term value.
Building Assets Instead of Renting Customers
One of the biggest differences between AMP and traditional delivery platforms is ownership.
Every AMP campaign helps restaurants build valuable marketing assets, including:
- Business contact databases
- Email subscriber lists
- Catering prospect lists
- CRM records
- Customer engagement data
- Lead conversion metrics
These assets continue generating value long after the campaign ends.
With delivery platforms, restaurants often rent access to customers.
With AMP, restaurants own the relationship.
That distinction can have a significant impact on long-term profitability and business value.
The Knuckies Sandwiches & SIPS Success Story
A great example of this strategy in action is Knuckies Sandwiches & SIPS.
MarketWell Solutions implemented its B2B Catered Accelerated Marketing Program featuring the “Lunch On Us” (LOU) Campaign, designed to attract local businesses and introduce them to Knuckies’ catering offerings.
The results were impressive.
Within just two months, the campaign generated:
- 40 qualified business lunch opportunities
- Multiple redeemed Lunch On Us offers
- New relationships with catering decision-makers
- Direct CRM capture and follow-up opportunities
Even more importantly, the long-term revenue potential was substantial.
Based on typical recurring catering activity, those 40 business relationships represented an estimated annual revenue opportunity ranging from $80,000 to $400,000.
That’s the power of relationship-based marketing.
Instead of focusing on a single lunch order, the campaign created a pipeline of recurring business opportunities.
Why the Best Restaurants Use Both Strategies
Let’s be clear.
This isn’t an argument against DoorDash or Uber Eats.
In fact, many successful restaurant operators use them effectively.
Delivery platforms can drive awareness, increase visibility, and generate immediate sales.
AMP complements those efforts by building direct business relationships, creating recurring catering accounts, and establishing long-term customer ownership.
Think of it this way:
- Delivery platforms help fill today’s orders.
- AMP helps fill tomorrow’s pipeline.
One creates transactions.
The other creates relationships.
One drives immediate revenue.
The other builds enterprise value.
When used together, they create a balanced growth strategy that supports both short-term sales and long-term profitability.
The Bottom Line
Restaurant growth isn’t just about generating more orders.
It’s about creating sustainable revenue streams, owning customer relationships, and building a business that grows in value over time.
The restaurants that thrive over the next decade will be those that combine modern delivery channels with strategic relationship-building initiatives that create recurring revenue and customer loyalty.
That’s exactly what the MarketWell Solutions B2B Catered Accelerated Marketing Program was designed to do.
Because while delivery platforms generate orders, AMP generates something even more valuable:
Relationships, recurring catering accounts, and long-term business growth.
https://marketwellsolutions.com/restaurant-growth-strategy-comparison
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