The result is that while premises remain closed, income and jobs are still a possibility.
By the first week of April, ACE Radio hopes to have more than 100 regional businesses accepting orders via ACE Order, a service that’s free after a low one-off set-up fee.
ACE Radio Digital manager Grant Johnstone said the scalability and quick turnaround time required meant slight restrictions, but clients hadn’t seemed to mind.
“In terms of product, each retail outlet is limited to 30 items, and there are no variations to the page structure,” he said.
“Having said that, no-one has seen this as a limitation – in fact, it forces owners to concentrate on their best-selling products and highest margin offerings.”
Letting the people know
Mr Johnstone said each participating business received a unique URL.
“This can be promoted on-air or in The Weekly Advertiser or accessed from an Order Online button on their existing website. ACE Radio will feature all vendors on station websites and as well in on-air mentions and promotions. Having a unique URL makes sharing easy across all social media platforms,” he said.
Mr Johnstone said Sale Greyhound Club launched the new ordering platform last Friday.
“The first results are in, and everyone from club management to the punters are extremely happy,” he said.
“On Friday morning, Graze Restaurant in Sale wanted a solution to handle online ordering and payments.
“By 1pm we had their ACE Order module tested and in place and by 5pm they took their first order. The results at the end of the night were fantastic. Over 100 meals ordered, delivered or picked up, and paid for using ACE Order. Management and staff could not have been happier.”
Back to the future
ACE Radio chief executive Mark Taylor said offering clients more than what was considered ‘a radio only’ solution made good business sense and the new way of doing business in the future.
“ACE Order is a product of extraordinary times and is our way of giving something back to our communities,” Mr Taylor said.
“It is also part of a larger strategy that involves a deeper understanding of a client’s business. Any ACE radio client can have ACE Order and after they pay the $100 set-up cost, it’s free of charge.
“This is just the start of working even more closely with clients and coming up with world-class technical solutions that are right out of the box.”
ACE Radio Horsham general manager Brendan O’Loughlin said survival of the business sector across the Wimmera, Mallee and Grampians fringe during the COVID-19 crisis was critical for the health and vitality of the region.
“We have long had a deep understanding of the relationship between business and communities and this is at the foundation of why we’re always exploring ways of strengthening this partnership,” he said.
Business operators seeking more information about ACE Order can call Brendan O'Loughlin on 0417 507 303, Mark Sulic 0407 313 456 or individual account managers.
