If there’s one thing your restaurant should be getting right (besides perhaps the food itself), it’s the menu. Your staff may change, but the menu will always be a constant part of your restaurant experience. It’s more than just a list. It’s a guide. It’s a core part of your restaurant. And you want to ensure it’s as perfect as possible.
Whether you’re designing a new menu, or you just want to improve the one you’ve got, here’s five easy ways to improve it.
Make sure your menu is pleasing to look at. First and foremost, your menu should be clean and visually pleasing. If your menu has too many visual elements going on, it can be hard for customers to know where to begin. Avoid clutter at all cost. That’s not to say you need to be overly minimalistic with your design choices. But a little restraint will go a long way. Also, make sure your fonts are easy-to-read. You don’t want your guests squinting at their menus all night.
Don’t write an essay for every entree. Speaking of easy-to-read, make sure your descriptions aren’t stuffed with unnecessary fat. It can be tempting to write lavish descriptions detailing every aspect of a certain dish, but at the end of the day, most guests won’t take the time to read through it all, and it may dissuade them from finding the right dish.
Keep your menu tonally consistent with your brand. Your menu doesn’t necessarily have to be a fine art, but at the bare minimum, it should represent the brand you’ve established for your restaurant. The menu should look like it belongs. It should mesh with your decor, your logo, your style. All the elements that give your brand some visual distinction. A menu for an Italian bistro should look vastly different than a menu for a sushi restaurant.
Too many options isn’t always a good thing. Choice is great, but unless it’s one of your specialities, you don’t need to list a dozen burgers on your menu. Especially if a list of toppings can accomplish essentially the same objective. Menus that are too long tend to be a tad overwhelming. On top of that, the bigger the menu, the bigger the strain on your kitchen.
Emphasize your most profitable items. Different menus make use of a variety of tricks to sell the items that make the most money. Bold text? A star marking a “Chef’s Favorite”? Just a box? The list goes on. These subtle recommendations can help sway customers toward ordering the right item, but also make their menu experience easier as a whole. It’s also heavily beneficial to your bottom line.
Promote Your Menu With CoGoBuzz
Ready to start promoting your menu at the digital level? It’s all possible with CoGoBuzz.
Our affordable digital-marketing service leverages your wireless HotSpot to connect with your customers – cluing you into their interests, likes, and more. After logging in through email, social media, or phone number, they’ll be taken to a custom landing page tailored to your restaurant. There, they can access your menu, specials and deals, sign up for your brand new text-based loyalty program, and more! Through advanced WiFi, SMS, and Email solutions, CoGoBuzz connects you directly to customer mobile devices, and packs a diverse feature sets focused on heightening engagement, loyalty, and sales.
Click here to learn more about CoGoBuzz!
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Have any menu tips to share? Let us know in the comments!