To help merchants achieve their business goals, we're unveiling a reimagined Merchant Suite to highlight the many ways restaurants can grow on our platform — and make it easier to choose the DoorDash products that best support your unique needs.
87% of DoorDash merchants have the goal of attracting new customers. DoorDash enables restaurants to reach new customers through in-app marketing, including Sponsored Listings and Promotions, which provide a simple way to get noticed by hungry customers and offer incentives that encourage them to place orders.
Keep reading to learn how The Melt used Sponsored Listings to acquire more than 500 new customers in just two months.
Elevated comfort food
Started in 2011, The Melt is a California-based fast-casual chain with nine locations spanning from San Francisco to San Diego. The restaurant is known for its gourmet burgers using 100% all-natural Angus and Wagyu beef, grilled cheese sandwiches, milkshakes, and more.
Sean Reiter serves as the Director of Brand Revenue for The Melt. When it was time to open its newest location in the Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego, Sean wanted to get instant visibility within the DoorDash app to capture new customers.
“I’m a big believer in delivery service partners. I think that it is a partnership. A lot of restaurateurs position themselves as if the relationship is parasitic and I don’t think it is,” Sean says.
Getting the word out with Sponsored Listings
Trying DoorDash Sponsored Listings was his first choice. Sponsored Listings help restaurants get prime real estate on the DoorDash homepage and search results and get noticed by new customers looking for specific foods.
Sean had used sponsored listings with other third-party delivery services before (where restaurateurs are charged per click or view) but liked that he only had to pay only a customer places an order through the ad with DoorDash Sponsored Listings. Sean also enjoyed the control he had over The Melt’s Sponsored Listing and how simple it was to use.
The thing I find compelling about the DoorDash Sponsored Listing is you only pay when people buy.
With Sponsored Listings, The Melt’s new Gaslamp location appeared prominently in the DoorDash app. Sean only had to pay for the ad when people used it to order from his store — so he was only paying for the ad when it worked. Also, Sean ran Promotions such as discounts or free items to encourage customers to try and spend more per order. “I think just doing one promotion is a mistake,” Sean says.
As a former restaurant operator turned marketer, Sean loved that he could see the impact Sponsored Listings had on sales — especially when competing with popular restaurants on the DoorDash app. “Sponsored Listings has helped us to open stronger at Gaslamp. I am happy with the strength of the ordering,” he says.
The Sponsored Listings ad for The Melt’s Gaslamp location has brought in ~500 new customers, over $13,000 in sales, and over 50,000 impressions in just under two months. “I think of Sponsored Listings as getting the word out and having a competitive advantage,” Sean says.
Sean used Sponsored Listings to get visibility for the new location and Promotions to motivate customers to try The Melt on DoorDash.
$13,000
Sales in under two months driven by Sponsored Listings
~500
New customers to The Melt’s store on DoorDash due to Sponsored Listings
Advice for other businesses
Sean considers himself a big advocate of DoorDash and encourages other restaurateurs to utilize the full range of DoorDash’s tools for success.
Using DoorDash's marketing services like Sponsored Listings has allowed The Melt's delivery sales to grow from 5% to 50% of its overall business – "the great pivot," as Sean calls it.
For me, Sponsored Listings is like getting a billboard on the big highway DoorDash has built. It’s like paying a guy to have a sign on the side of the road and only paying him money for anyone that comes to my restaurant and orders. That's what DoorDash is doing—and it’s why they're superior to others because I’m not paying money for everyone that passes by.
Learn how Sponsored Listings and Promotions can attract new customers
If you’re looking to acquire new customers, try DoorDash's in-app advertising tools. Sponsored Listings put your business in highly visible places in the DoorDash app, like the homepage and the top of search results. Promotions let you offer discounts or free items to encourage new customers to place orders. Select merchants can try DoorDash Marketing with $100 credit per store.*
Sign up to become a DoorDash partner today to reach new customers and boost sales for your business.
*This is a limited-time offer for select merchants in the US valid until terminated by DoorDash; DoorDash may end this offer at any time. Eligible merchants will see the offer available in the Marketing tab in DoorDash's Merchant Portal. Stores that have previously participated in Promos or Sponsored Listings are not eligible for the credit. After the $100 credit is consumed per store, merchants will be automatically charged for the remainder of the campaigns per store. No cash value. Non-transferable.
