Menu Marketing

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More Profitable Menu Marketing – Some Tips to Consider
While most menus are simply lists of available food and beverage items, well conceived menu printing, menu layout, and menu marketing can make a big difference in the success of your establishment. Understanding the dynamics of customer actions and reactions, and utilizing tried and true methods for successful menu design can make a big difference in the bottom line and success of any food service company.

Well Conceived Titles
Use well conceived descriptive terms instead of generic terms. In place of phrases like “hot subs” or “salads”, expressions like “house specialties” or “fresh from the garden” are far more effective.

Item Placement
People are more likely to buy the first or last menu item in a category. Considering this, it makes sense to place menu items with the highest gross profit in these spots on the menu.

Bold Lettering and Boxes
Adding bold lettering and boxes to designate certain items as “specials” or “house favorites”, helps direct people towards certain offerings. As a rough ratio, consider adding a box around 1 out of every 7 to 10 items.

Company Branding
Having a complete menu marketing and branding plan is crucial to the success of any restaurant. Using the same colors, logos and fonts on in store promotional materials, as you use on your menu and business cards can help establish a company identity. If everything you print looks different, it will be hard for customers to remember you and which menu is yours when ordering take-out. Consistency is critical and partnering with a quality full color printing firm like 48HourPrint.com can take your menu marketing to the next level.

Symbols, Logos and Images
Including icons or other graphics help draw attention to certain items and help increase their sales by as much as 15%.

Use Good Design Principles
How many times have you come across a menu that has everything but the kitchen sink included? Some restaurateurs mistakenly believe that the more items you have on their menu printing, the better off they are. But sound design, with pictures, icons and simple, short descriptions are more effective than overly crowded menus. Also, don’t be afraid to space things out and add some blank space. This gives readers a chance to rest their eyes and helps your specialty items stand out more.

Page Positioning
On tri-fold menus, people are most likely to look at the center panel first, then read counter clockwise. On a two panel menu, the top right hand side is the first place they will look. Keeping this in mind and putting high profit items in those spots will help the bottom line and make your menus more attractive.

Limited Time Offers
Adding an inexpensive coupon to a menu, discussing a limited time offer will help keep things fresh and remind your customers that you are a constantly evolving business, with their tastes in mind. You can also use these offers to debut a new offering, test marketing it before you make it a permanent fixture on your menu

Advertise Low Fat, Spicy or House Specials with Icons
Simple logos like the heart healthy symbol or icon indicating especially spicy foods help inform your customers of certain dishes. Some restaurants include fat content or a note indicating a certain item adheres to a particular diet (like Atkins or low carb) to help consumers make more informed decisions.

Consider these menu marketing ideas:

• Instead of a typical, dull, black and white photocopied menu, consider updating your look with a professional menu complete with full color printing from 48houprint.com.
• Use intelligent menu marketing and design to direct your customer’s eyes to your most profitable items through the use of pictures and color text on your menu printing.
• Get your new menus out to everyone and in every manner possible. Leave a stack on your counter and a few at every table. Put them in take-out bags, hand them out on the street, place them in every mailbox in your area, or even consider a mailing.
  Nearly everyone, no matter their discipline or vocation has a supply of business cards. While they are inexpensive to print and easy to distribute, custom business cards remain vastly under-utilized. This article will discuss several innovative ways to use business cards and successful business card printing as a marketing and promotional tool.

Hungry for Customers?… Menu marketing is vitally important for the success of any restaurant or food service business. Quality menu printing from 48HourPrint.com can help turn one time patrons into regulars and increase your profits in the process.

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