There are numerous research-backed menu strategies available that have been shown to increase sales. In this article, we will show you 7 extremely simple ways to hack your menu in order to increase profitability.
1) The Mystical Number 9
Researchers from MIT and the University of Chicago discovered that customers purchased more of a $39 item than a $33 item. Customers adore the number nine.
The first and simplest menu tip is to edit and add a buck to any $8, $18, or $28 items. Customers won't mind the small increase, and the extra revenue will put you on cloud nine. Many menu designers keep such menu hints to themselves... You now know all of their secrets.
2) The Wrong location of Dollar Signs
Wait, that $9 item still needs a little TLC to make it more appealing to shoppers. Get rid of the dollar sign. Customers spend more when dollar signs are removed from menus, according to Cornell University research.
Do not, under any circumstances, add double zeroes (9.00). Double zeroes are subconsciously "read" as a hundred, implying expenditure. A plate of nachos for $900? Thank you, but no thanks. Yes, meal suggestions frequently involve a bit of psychology.
Who'd have guessed that tampering with your menu could be as simple as pressing "delete" on dollar signs?
3) Look for the Red: Colorful Menu Ideas for Increased Sales
According to a Gallup poll, the average person spends only 109 seconds browsing menu. Your goal is to visually lead them to the menu items with the largest margins. Don't jam them all into one location. Disperse those profitable meals across your menu, then utilize the color red to catch their attention. It could be a red box or red writing behind specific things.
Why do experts promote red on menus? According to a Scientific American article, red stimulates the brain, causing excitement and attraction. Men, for example, rated women wearing red clothing as more appealing in one study. While no study demonstrates it, most menu engineers advise against using blue in menu recommendations (it's too relaxing).
4) Use the Food Cost Formula (The Most Important of All Menu Tips)
When it comes to the best menu suggestions, the most crucial one involves a little mathematics. It's time to run a formula to find out what % of your income goes to food! You can use a free food cost calculator to help you out.
The calculation will indicate whether you're pricing your menu items to: a) cover your food costs and b) get more profit. Even the best menu recommendations and design hacks can't make up for a menu that is underpriced. In a nutshell, the formula is as follows:
Your food cost % = (what you paid for the ingredients) / (what you sold the dish for).
For instance, ($4 ingredients for a Hamburger) / ($9 menu price) =.44 or 44%
Oh, no. That percentage of food costs is far too high! Your profit margin is just 56 percent. In their menu guidelines and best practices, most restaurant professionals advocate a food cost proportion of 25-35 percent. That means you have a 65-75 percent profit margin. Simply invert the method to determine how much you should charge for that hamburger.
(What you paid for the ingredients) / (your desirable food cost percentage) = Ideal menu item price
($4 for hamburger ingredients) / (0.3 optimal food cost %) = $13.30
It appears that you need to either raise your burger prices or look for lower-cost products. Crunch the figures and price your meal for profit before moving on to any other menu tips.
5) Leave the heavy lifting to your menu.
Your menu must be able to carry its own weight... literally. The following tip on the menu is to pay attention to the paper. Customers perceive higher quality service if you provide them a large menu, according to research published in the International Journal of Hospitality Management. According to the research, guests want beautiful, thick paper. (Wow, that's a lot of work.)
To save money, bar and restaurant owners would sometimes print menus on thin paper. Lightweight paper, even when protected by a plastic menu protector, cannot withstand ink. Even if guests aren't aware of it, it appears to be low-cost.
So, what can you do if you can't afford super-expensive paper? The answer is the next menu strategy on this list.
6) Make Tablet Menus Available at the Table
Over 79 percent of restaurant customers say that technology helps them enjoy their meal more. fulfill their desire for digitally enhanced dining - with tablet menus.
Thousands of businesses are going digital with touchscreen ordering on tablet menus. A series of case studies on this cutting-edge technology was recently published in Modern Restaurant Management. The average check size was 30 percent greater when guests used digital ordering, according to the study.
The addition of "suggestive selling" to advanced tablet menus is one of the key causes for the check size rise. If a guest purchases a salad, for example, tablet menus can create scripts like "want to add taco for $5"?
Tablet menus also save money on menu printing (forget about those menu advice about heavy paper...a tablet is heavier regardless). You won't have to reprint if you make a mistake or add a new item. You won’t need to run a reprint when you spot a typo or add a new item. You can update your digital tablet menus with just a few clicks.
Most of the menu tips stated here still apply if you use tablet menus. Avoid using dollar signs and instead go for pricing that begins with the number 9...you get the idea!
7) Use fancy Font
Do you believe that making items easy to understand is one of the best menu tips? Wrong. Using fancier fonts on your menu, according to various research, is the way to go.
According to University of Michigan experts, the more elaborate, sophisticated, and, yes, difficult to read the font is, the more guests assume your restaurant took additional care in preparing their dish or drink. They're also willing to pay a premium for all of the "hard effort" that went into the menu item.
That’s it for today, you can already start hacking your menu! See you swimming in a pool of money!