Increase sales with good menu Design and Layout
The difference between an extremely successful restaurant and one that struggles to stay in business might really be their menu. After all, customers that are confused or otherwise turned off by a menu are less likely to be excited and thus order as much as they would if the menu were well-designed. The question is: How do you create a well designed menu? The answer might vary from one restaurant to the next, but an inspirational menu design will typically have these attributes:
An inspirational layout
An effective layout starts with using multiple courses. The more often than not accepted menu design has the appetizers up front, followed by salads and/or soups, followed by main course dishes, and typically ends with deserts and drinks. Believe it or not, customers are not likely to appreciate the ‘creativeness’ of changing this lineup, particularly if they are very hungry. Do not deviate from what the diner knows, and avoid categorizing dishes by meat. Note that restaurants specializing in pasta may be exempt from this rule so long as their separate their mains by the type of pasta offered. It is also important to show special dietary items on the menu to carer for your customers allergies such as Gluten Free food items.
Colors and fonts specifically chosen to highlight your theme
Most restaurants have a theme, and the menu should be part of your theme. Nobody would go into Gino’s East pizzeria in Chicago and expect to see purple menus with bubbly-character fonts. Why? Because Gino’s East serves some of the best Chicago-style deep-dish pizza in the the States. Utilize fonts, colors, and even artwork that extend the visual harmony within a restaurant rather than disrupting it.
Interesting item names with the descriptions
Some restaurateurs fear giving their dishes unique names as they worry that customers will not realise what they are being offered. Conquer this fear with interesting menu items in bold font and an inspirational description below it in regular font. It may be worth making the menu item name slightly larger in size than the description font, but never make the description font too small to read. This way one has the chance to brand your food while simultaneously allowing customers to know incisively what they are getting.
Quality is parmount
It is an undisputed fact that most restaurants go out of business before the second year due to a lack of funding. Why? The food service industry is incredibly competitive and thus many restaurant owners are perpetually looking for ways to save money}. The menu should never be one of those corners that ends up being cut, and it should certainly not be cut to the point where menus are printed out at home on an ink-jet printer. A menu is a major part of your customers dining experience, and is an improtant of the first impression that most customers will base their ordering on.
Follow these basic rules when creating a menu and customers will take notice. This in turn will lead to word of mouth, and allow a restaurant to gain a significant advantage on your competitors who do not follow these rules. If there was any further proof required that these rules are effective, visit any ten successful restaurants that have already celebrated a decade in business and see if any of them breaks any of these menu-related rules.