You must’ve seen a few episodes of Kitchen Nightmares, right? Who hasn’t?
Those intriguing and chaotic KN episodes must have told the world one thing for sure: a mindless menu can’t keep your business going.
If you own a restaurant you’re finding difficult to manage, you may start with the menu. It’s a corrective step; an optimised ala carte menu design can improve your conditions. Thus, you can serve what your customers exactly want on their plates.
Let’s discuss six telltale signs that your restaurant menu should be revised, making your customers go from ‘it’s good’ to ‘it’s great!’
Start with the Obvious: Mindless Menu Design
Just put yourself in the customer’s shoes and imagine you’re at a high-end gourmet restaurant in a prime location. Picking up the menu, it feels like you’re handed a piece of soft drinks list like found at the corner of the alley. It’s all colourful and charming, but it lacks the persona of that restaurant. You feel somewhat cheated and feel like creeping out of the restaurant at any moment.
Now, back to your true roleplay: Does your menu design live up to your restaurant’s reputation? Does its design and hues of colour emanate the right vibe? It’s important to know because if your menu design puts your customers off, you lose money without knowing your fault.
So, redecorate your menu in a way that speaks to your restaurant’s environment, culture, and brand.
Customer Feedback Isn’t Good
Who else can tell you about the quality of your food other than the customers? They scan your menu about a hundred times a day or more, pick the foods they like, and order them. So, if their feedback doesn’t seem reasonable, it’s a big sign that your menu must be redesigned.
If you have an online food ordering system, you can use a designed online menu to examine your customers’ feedback over time on your restaurant’s app. Customers who have dined in at your place or taken takeaway services can instantly give their feedback on their devices. This will give you a clear idea of which dishes they love, foods they’re okay with, and those they absolutely hate.
Once you’ve filtered out the unwanted dishes, remove them from your menu and redesign it with the ones most of your customers prefer to order.
The Numbers Don’t Look Good!
A dip in sales constantly worsening is a big sign that you need a new menu design. Often, restaurant owners or chefs neglect customers’ food preferences.
Customers order almost unwillingly with limited options and are served items they dislike. As a result, your restaurant doesn’t see many customers returning, and your sales go down.
So, consider revamping your menu with items that are not only in demand but also lure food lovers to your place. Nowadays, designing menus online is easy. You can do it yourself or outsource the menu design and printing task to a professional.
Some Dishes Don’t Sell
A list of items on your menu may look wholesome, but it’s not good for business if most items aren’t selling. You must have what your customers love to order, not convince them to order things they don’t like.
An extensive menu only makes you spend money on ingredients that won’t sell. Your ingredients will expire, and you will have to re-order them for the next month with no possibility of selling them again. This vicious cycle continues; your money keeps leaking.
A practical solution to this problem is to revise your menu design with a shorter list of foods. Only include the items your chef is best at making and eliminate those that bring less or no profit. You can gradually broaden the list in the future based on customer demand.
Your Menu Needs an Interpreter
What’s the use of a big and beautiful menu if it doesn’t serve the purpose? If your customers can’t decide on the intricate list of items and constantly ask your servers for recommendations, it tells you your menu isn’t user-friendly.
Your menu must consist of foods with easy-to-understand descriptions and comprehensive prices beside each item with an eye-soothing design. Whether you have a set meal or the ala carte menu design, an easily readable menu will enable your customers to order food promptly, setting your dine-in function at an optimum rhythm and pace.
Food Wastage Due to High Prices
One of the top issues that reduces customers’ interest in your food is unreasonably high prices. Your customers may love a few dishes to order but think better of it due to shocking prices compared to other restaurants. As a result, your food is wasted, and your business loses money.
If you can’t replace those items with cheaper ones, it’s best to altogether remove them from the menu. Add the dishes that are most loved by the customers besides being reasonable. You can also take customer feedback on their food preferences and prices to redesign your menu more efficiently.
Conclusion
Good restaurants provide good food, but great restaurants also optimise their menus for their customers. If you aren’t sure whether you need a new menu design for your restaurant, check out the six telltale signs we’ve discussed in this article.
Remember, a menu must act as sound communication between you and your customers. It must make the customers feel comfortable ordering the dishes they love. It’s the very first impression they get after sitting at the table, so it has to be in the right order and design.
So, up your restaurant business game with an optimised menu design with an unwavering commitment to quality and customer satisfaction. Doing so may also help you get nominated for the next prestigious restaurant award ARTA. To find our more visit artauk.com.
