Enticing images

Pictures on printed menus aren’t for everyone. Certainly, higher end venues usually prefer to stick to enticing descriptions and use of images can have a tendency to convey cheapness. Whether this holds true in the digital world where images are more widely used (think of an article in a newspaper vs one online) is up for debate. Many may still want to avoid use of images or use them sparingly. Though perhaps limited, but well-planned use of images provides the most uplift potential in any case, by drawing customers to your higher margin offerings. 

Featured items

Another way to draw customers to your higher margin products is to feature them on your menu. Featuring an item on an on-screen menu can be done in a similar way as on a printed menu, with a border and some styling to make it stand out from the other menu items.

Combining featured products with images and descriptions can be particularly effective.

Menu positioning

Menu positioning is important on printed menus, with high margin items placed where customers eyes are most often drawn to. With an interactive menu, particularly one on a mobile phone, it’s different.

You can control exactly which items your customers will see first simply by presenting them at the top of your menu. This presents a compelling opportunity - the Mojo bar group placed their cocktails category at the top of their food & drink ordering app and saw the sales of cocktails increase by 350% as a result. Others create a specific category of “Popular items” that leads customers straight to your most popular (and high margin) products.

Add on and customisation options

Offering customisation options or add on products is a well-known way of increasing spend per head while providing customers with a better experience. With an interactive menu this can be even more effective as customers can take their time to choose their options and tend to select more on average then when ordering from a member of staff. 

Running your winners and dropping your losers

Good menu design is an ongoing process. You should regularly review your sales to ensure you don’t have poor sellers (or items with a poor margin) taking up prime spots on your menu. If an item isn’t selling, ensure it isn’t taking up a position that could be occupied by a good seller with decent margins. (If sales are really poor consider dropping it from your menu completely).

Equally with your best sellers consider whether there is any scope for price increases. This is a delicate balance so tread carefully, but even a small price increase could have a large positive impact on your bottom line.

A necessary cost or a boost to profits?

With social distancing regulations likely to continue once pubs & bards can re-open, many will see a table service app as a necessary cost of doing business. However, some time and effort spent on your menu design could lead to an increase in profits that far outweighs the cost.