Switching to Hotplate from another system

Whether you’ve made the decision to fully switch over to Hotplate or you’re adding us as another sales channel for your business, we’re here to help make that transition smooth for you and your customers.

The switch to Hotplate shouldn’t take long, and you can think about it in a few steps:

Migrate your customer list

One of the things chefs love most about Hotplate is our automated text marketing whenever you publish a new preorder Event. Your customers will also love that they get first dibs on your menu! If you have your customer’s phone numbers, we can help you import them into Hotplate and subscribe them to your SMS list. Start by creating a spreadsheet of your customer phone numbers, and sending them to us at  support@hotplate.com .

Notify your customers

If your customers are used to getting updates from you over email or text, you’ll want to let them know that you’re switching over to a new ordering system. This is also a great time to invite them to subscribe to your SMS list so that they never miss a sale.

We recommend that you start by sending a message through your current system, then send a custom text blast through Hotplate. Here are some example texts you can send:

Example text (through your current system)

“Hey, [first name] here from [business name]! Thank you for all your support so far. Just wanted to let you know that we’ll be switching over to a new, easier ordering system called Hotplate. You’ll get a text shortly from my new number, and you’ll also get a text every time I have new goods for sale. As a fan, you’ll have first dibs on my goods and be able to purchase immediately before I sell out!”

Example text blast (through Hotplate)

Learn how to send a text blast  here 

Example email:

“Hey, [first name] here from [business name]! Thank you for all your support so far. Just wanted to let you know that we’ll be switching over to a new, easier ordering system called Hotplate. One of the best parts of this new system is that you can sign up to get a text whenever we open up orders. When you subscribe to this list, you’ll have first dibs on my goods and be able to purchase immediately before I sell out! Add your phone number here [INSERT SMS SIGN UP LINK].”

You can find your storefront’s unique SMS sign up link at the top of your Settings page. More on that  here .

Customize your store branding

If you’re coming from another system, you likely have logos, cover photos, and theme colors already picked out. Take a few minutes to customize your storefront settings to make your store feel like your own. Here’s a  full guide  on how to do that.

Update your Social Media channels

Just like when you make any change to your business, you’ll want to create a post or story to let customers know you’ve switched to a new ordering system. You’ll also want to add your Hotplate storefront link to your bios.

Key step here is to explain to customers why they should subscribe to your SMS notifications. This might be a little different from everyone, but typical reasons are:

Here are some examples of posts that our Chefs have put out to let their customers know about the switch:

Migrate menu items

If you use an existing system with a menu, you’ll want to recreate items in your Hotplate portal so that you can easily add them to preorder Events.  Here’s a quick guide  on how to create items, and if you want some help, feel free to send your existing menu link to  support@hotplate.com  and we’ll help you migrate them all over.