COVID-19 Case Study: Pivoting to Profit

Pho MPH will soon be opening a second location in Austin, thanks in part, to technology that enabled the restaurant to accomplish the pandemic pivot. 

Prior to restaurant lockdowns in March 2020, the establishment received the majority of its business through dine-in customers. Although they did have online ordering in place utilizing third-party delivery services, the processes were not efficient and changes needed to be made to successfully manage the influx of online orders, owner Dani Mai explained. 

Mai needed to move quickly and, after reviewing options for a few weeks, chose to work with Your Fare and Pronto to set up their own online ordering system. The integration allowed Pho MPH to streamline all online orders, including third-party delivery and direct from their website, into one user-friendly platform. 

Your Fare works directly with third-party delivery apps to set up customized targeting within each delivery service. They use data that is compiled directly within the software to reach new and existing customers. Your Fare also handles any photography updates to Pho MPH’s third-party delivery pages to catch customers’ eyes as they decide what to order, ensuring their most attractive dishes are featured. In addition, Your Fare allows Pho MPH to utilize multiple third-party delivery platforms, exposing them to the platforms’ built-in audiences. Pho MPH also highlighted their delivery options on their social media channels.   

In May 2020, Pho MPH’s online order count totaled just 92. In June 2020, that number skyrocketed to 601 after the restaurant began utilizing Pronto. Of the 601 orders, more than 40 percent were a result of Pronto. In addition, Pho MPH’s gross profits increased by more than 600 percent from May to June 2020.

“By shifting to our new system, we kept our profit margins high by capturing a significantly higher volume of online orders,” said Mai. “We have remained confident in knowing that managing our new system on the backend is easy and efficient, and that the Your Fare and Pronto team has our back if we need support.”