Your menu can be a deciding factor when it comes to making a positive impression on customers — it can mean the difference between making a sale or encouraging people to move onto a competitor. Lengthy, stale menus that don’t encompass the latest trends can be an automatic turn-off for patrons. These days, restaurant customers expect a memorable, unique experience, no matter where they’re dining. To ensure that your business is consistently providing a positive experience to its customers, take the following tips into account when creating your menu.
1. Deploy a few mind tricks
There are a few psychological tricks you can incorporate into your menu to capture your customers’ attention. For example, you may want to ditch the dollar signs — one study recently found that guests spend less when dollar signs are included in a menu. Another tactic you may want to try is using buzzwords, such as “fresh,” “artisanal” or “sustainable.” These words can convey current food industry trends and attract the attention of customers.
2. Make sure your menu is a manageable size
Think about what your kitchen is capable of producing before you add new items to your menu. Ideally, you want to offer a range of options to your customers, but not so many items that the patrons — and your kitchen — become overwhelmed. Preparation-wise, your dishes should also be quick and easy for your kitchen to create efficiently. Doing so can help keep food costs down by ensuring that chefs get each meal right the first time and use every ingredient to the fullest.
A Hatco/Suntec waffle maker, for example, can make it simple for your kitchen to prepare popular breakfast options. This unit has an exclusive heating element that creates an even heat distribution across the surface for consistent cooking, meaning the end-product is perfect every time.
3. Don’t shy away from symbols and inserts
Making a sale is all about highlighting the best of what you have to offer. For this reason, you may want to consider inserts to showcase your specials or best-selling dishes — doing so can immediately draw attention to certain items on your menu that you want to sell. If you don’t want to use inserts, consider utilizing special symbols throughout your menu to grab the attention of customers.
Moving on from a bland, boring menu.
Predictable, stale menus can leave customers yearning for more, and ultimately stop them from returning, resulting in less profit. With easy-to-prepare meals on the menu and a simple list of dishes that shine, you can stand out from the competition.
With foodservice equipment from Hatco, you can hit the ground running with your menu and exceed customer expectations. For more on how to deliver a top-notch customer experience and keep your customers coming back for more, read up on how to create the ultimate epicurean experience.
