Tips for Achieving the Perfect Takeout Menu
When thinking of what you need for a successful restaurant, put yourself in your customers shoes. What would make someone a customer of your restaurant? One important factor to keep in mind is the lifestyles of your customers. Are you catering to the busy lifestyles of your customers? From jobs, to after work events, to picking up the kids from school, then taking them to their activities…your customers are busy!
Knowing that customers are busy and traditional dining is often not an option for your customers, you want to make it as easy as possible for them to do business with your restaurant. Extend the reach of your restaurant by offering the option for food to-go with takeout menus. Portable and handy, takeout menus can be created to look like a miniature version of your restaurant’s menu. Your branding will remain consistent as your restaurant’s marketing expands beyond your restaurant’s walls. With one of your custom takeout menus in the hands of your customers, you will earn additional business from your busy customers as well as promote and advertise your restaurant.
In today’s post, we will revisit a previous post on five easy tips to make sure your takeout menu hits the mark:
1. Have a Stand Out Design
You want your takeout menu to reflect the quality ingredients and careful preparation that goes into your food. One tip to help your menus stand out is that it is best to incorporate color. Do not settle for a boring, lackluster black and white menu. You want your menu to stand out from black and white menus. You want customers to pick your menu from a stack of menus.
Another tip: Use icons and symbols when applicable, like for “Vegan friendly”, “gluten free” or “low calorie” menu options. This will save you the extra text and it shows that you are aware of restaurant market trends. Also, use proper headings and short descriptions! Finally, make sure to emphasize the ingredients of your food and not the prices. The food should sound so delicious that the customer won’t care what the price is.
Need help creating a stand out design? You may want to hire a designer to make sure your menus are pleasing to the eye.
2. Highlight Your Best Selling Items
Takeout menus should be a smaller, abbreviated version of your full menu. Space is limited so focus on your best selling items first! Include attractive photos of these menu items to entice customers to explore the whole menu at your restaurant. Additionally, you can highlight these items with larger and bolder fonts!
3. Offer Specials
Coupons and special offers serve as an additional reason for your customer to take action and order an item from that takeout menu. Cater to their wallets along with their taste buds!
4. Print on Quality Material
In the long run, it would be more cost efficient to print your takeout menus on quality material. A durable material, like SuperFlex Synthetic, will make sure that your takeout menus last longer in the hands of your customers which will prevent the need for replacements. Plus, it shows that you went the extra mile to give a good representation of your establishment!
5. Use Your Menu as a Marketing Piece
Take out menus should be available in your restaurants and be put into every to-go order bag that goes out the door. In addition to giving these out in your restaurant, expand your reach by mailing your menus. Your menus will serve as a two-in-one: both a menu and an advertisement for your restaurant. Who knows, a hungry customer may check their mailbox right around lunch time and give you a call.
At Menu Designs, we can help you every step of the way from design to printing. Check out our take out menu page to see examples of our takeout menus!
