The world of menus has evolved significantly over the last few years. When people are dining out, they are doing so to enjoy a good meal and be present in the moment. A majority of people already spend a lot of time on our phones or computers, so when they’re sitting at the table in your restaurant and are handed a printed menu, this becomes an opportunity for further engagement. 

Now more than ever the menu is a living, breathing document. It’s not not like a flyer or brochure that gets designed, promoted and then retired. The menu is constantly evolving based on market trends and seasonality. Sometimes you might even need to reinvent or refresh your entire concept.

Dialing in the logistics of managing the menu is vital for the health of your restaurant. It allows you to be able to keep up with market trends, cost fluctuations and even pivot your business model if necessary.

It seems that every restaurant has their own process of updating menus. Many even decide to manage the entire process in-house.

There are benefits to this. You can easily make changes on the fly, print menus from a Word document and hand them out to customers the same day. However, there are unforeseen problems this method. One of those is consumer trust.  When a customer is handed an 8.5 x 11 piece of paper from a home printer compared to a more durable professionally designed and printed menu, it leaves a lot to be desired. The menu should be seen as a significant sales tool by the restauranteur, and a method of communication to the customer. 

You’ve already invested in this beautifully designed restaurant concept. Spending countless hours choosing the right color schemes, unique decor, signage and building materials that encapsulate your vision. This logic should transcend to the menu as well. The first thing that occurs when people sit down at your table is the server greeting them with the menu. They are then spending the first 5-15 minutes interacting exclusively with that same menu.

From the customers perspective, it can be like the first day of school. They don’t know what they are getting into. They are feeling out the scene of the entire establishment. They don’t know if this will be their favorite spot or if they will never come back. Your menu plays a crucial part in sculpting that first impression.

The printed menu is an opportunity to be an extension of your concept. The ability to interact with your menu can make it a fun and dynamic experience. Remember, in the digital world of social media and remote working, this may be one of the only times where the customer is truly present. They are there physically, surrounded by their friends and family at the table at your restaurant.  The whole experience of sharing a menu with someone, going back and forth and deciding what to order is the most enjoyable part of the experience for a lot of people. When you give customers a printed menu you have a captive audience. This is a very precious commodity in today's world of TikTok and Instagram.

A well designed menu can also effectively reinforce your brand.  It is an extension of your concept and it helps to sell the experience to your customer.

Having a menu that is consistent with its surroundings will build consumer trust. It can help customers feel confident spending a little bit more on certain items than they would if they were just given a piece of printer paper.

Why is menu management important?

Developing a streamlined menu management process, helps you react to market trends and price fluctuations. If market conditions change, you need to be able to roll out an updated menu as efficiently and quickly as possible. Having the mechanism in place to roll out a menu will translate to more margin.  A lot of restaurants will put off making menu updates until “the official menu update” because they know that it's going to be a significant investment. Between having to update the POS, the website, the printed menu and 3rd party ordering apps you just live with the fact that chicken went up $3.  You know that you update your menus twice a year, so you may not see the value in going through the process for a few minor changes. In the end, you eat the loss until your next seasonal change.

Managing menus is often a broken system, which is why a lot of folks gravitate towards the in-house solutions. Nobody prefers this method – not the restaurant owners, the wait staff or the customers. It's a last resort to keep the information up to date so they're not losing money.

How do you solve the problem of convoluted menu management process?

Working with a professional creative team to design your menu in a way that represents your concept and encourages the ordering of specific items is imperative. However, it doesn’t end there. Once the menu is finalized, it needs to be sent to print. The problem in most cases, is the disconnect between the printer and the designer. If there is any miscommunication between how the file was initially formatted and how it is intended to be printed, that could easily become a disaster when trying to roll them out in a timely matter. 

In an ideal situation, the design and print team work in unison with each other from the start. Whoever is designing the menu should know the final output and print specifications before the first item is typed on the page. This allows for the process of getting the approved design over to the print facility to be seamless. There are no questions about size, colors or paper type because it was all established before the project begun. It’s vital to find the right graphic designer that understands the medium they are designing for. 

So what happens when updates are needed months after you contracted the designer for the initial menu? Now, you have to reach out and hope that they have the availability to squeeze these changes in. Money loves speed, and when those prices change, you have to adapt. 

The solution is to find a team dedicated to nothing but menu design, updates and printing. Here at Ten Cent Menu Club, we’ve constructed our entire process around solving the logistical issue restaurant owners face when needing to make menu changes and get them on the table in a quick and efficient manner. Our designers understand the nuances of printing, and facilitate the entire order, working closely with print production to ensure quality standards and deadlines are met. 

Want to learn more? Click here to book a call with one of our specialists to see if we would be a good fit for your restaurant business.