Many large chain eateries take good advantage of the promotional opportunities available online. But what if local restaurants could do this too?
Last January, Web development firm WSI set up Togony.com, (www.togony.com) a service that enables local restaurants to receive and fulfill take-out orders through the Web.
Megan Miles and Marie Congalosi are partners in the Glens Falls, NY firm. To recruit local restaurants, Miles says she has gone to meetings of area business people to network.
Togony.com is also looking into running an e-mail campaign to recruit more restaurants with lists supplied by Constant Contact, a Waltham, MA company that helps small businesses market through the Web, says Miles.
So far, WSI has signed up 22 local restaurants, which join Togony.com for an undisclosed fee, says Miles. Those eateries range from local pizza places to finer dining establishments
At present, Togony.com can serve customers living as far North as the resort community of Lake George, NY and as far south as Rotterdam. Expansion down to Albany, NY is planned in the near future.
For the local restaurants, Togony.com provides such promotional material as labels, tabletop accessories, paper banners and other collateral.