Source: Operator’s Edge.com

By Taylor Kelly

The most powerful tool in restaurant marketing is your menu. Learn how to take your restaurant menu online and use it as an effective marketing tool…

Restaurant owners are always looking for ways to get more business, earn a higher profit, and attract new customers. Marketing strategies, like social media campaigns and local advertising, are great ways to get the word out about your business. But your most powerful restaurant marketing tools already exist in your restaurant menu. Learn how to take your restaurant menu online and use it as an effective marketing tool.

Restaurant Marketing Tools to Know

Let’s face it, customers are looking at menus long before they sit down at a restaurant table. 93% of people view online restaurant menus before dining out and what you’re offering to eat is a huge contributing factor in whether or not someone decides to dine with you. If your menu isn’t online, you’re behind the times. People want to know what kind of food and drinks you offer before they step into your establishment.

It’s great to get your restaurant menu on your website and to have a website at all, but a website isn’t the best way to bring in new customers. If you’ve never heard of a business before, it’s not likely you’ll head directly to their website. Attracting new customers is all about the discovery process, which includes the use of search engines, review sites, and mobile apps. 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine, so don’t miss out on opportunities for hungry diners to discover you. That’s why it’s important to create a sleek, multi-functional website.

How can you gain visibility on these external sites, like the search engines, travel, review, and social platforms people are using to do research? You can try the DIY approach to claiming your business and uploading your menu to each search site an app yourself. However, you may find some bumps in the road. Some of these publishing sites require businesses like your restaurant to work with a third party. This is a requirement because these sites want to ensure the information they’re ingesting is correct.

Menu management companies take the stress out of online menu and business information management. They do all the heavy lifting for you so you can focus on running your business. Depending on the offering, some companies will even make menu updates for you.

Today, your in-house menu just isn’t enough to win new business. You need to have your menu and the essential information about your restaurant online where hungry people are searching. When it comes to hungry potential customers, your online menu as a marketing tool will speak for itself.

Make sure it’s accurate

Accuracy is extremely important, especially when it comes to hungry (or sometimes even hangry) diners. And research supports that notion. According to a new survey by Small Business Trends, 80% of consumers lose trust in a business if listing contact details or business name is inaccurate. The last thing you want is for a customer to lose trust in your business and in turn, to boycott your restaurant altogether.

Each detail about your business, including the name, address, phone number, and menu, should be accurate across the web. Whether someone is discovering you from a Google search or reading up on your restaurant on TripAdvisor, they should be provided with the correct business details. This helps your restaurant not only to gain trust but loyalty.

Further, your restaurant may be a concept that offers seasonal menus or special menus dedicated to holidays and events. With a menu management tool, you can post multiple menus online and update them whenever necessary to keep customers in the know. You can also have them removed when the event or special is over to avoid any confusion, again upholding the accuracy of your online presence.

Put yourself if your diners’ shoes. Would you want to drive to a new bistro or bar that you found online only to discover an empty parking lot because the address listed was wrong? Of course not, which is why it’s so crucial to give your customers the correct information they need in order to pay you a visit.

Make it the best it can be

This statement goes for both your online and in-house menu. Your menu is the backdrop to your business and sets expectations for your customers’ experience. Make sure it’s not only a clear reflection of your brand but descriptive enough to make people want to dine with you.

If you serve a porterhouse steak with potatoes, don’t just say that. Describe it to the fullest. Are the potatoes locally sourced from a nearby farm? Include the name of the farm or farmer who made them available. How do you cook the steak? Is it pan-seared or grilled? Let diners know. The more description you include will help to paint a picture in the minds of your customers.

Remember, customers will be looking at your menu online before coming to your restaurant and again when they sit down at the table. Making sure you’re giving cohesive information is essential and providing delicious descriptions can help seal the sale.

Tying it all together

Your restaurant marketing strategy relies heavily on both online and offline efforts. You’re aware of your social media presence, do some local advertising, and get involved in your community at events. You’re always thinking of new and exciting ways to market your restaurant so you can bring in new customers and boost profit. But your menu may just be the most important marketing tools of all. With most people searching for menus online before choosing where to dine out, you should have yours available everywhere they’re searching

Source: Taylor Kelly, 7Shifts via Operators-Edge.com

Chef Tim takes chowder one step further with the addition of one simple ingredient, creating a item for you menu and adding additional profit to your bottom line. In this quick video you’ll see how to transform your existing chowder into hearty revenue with biscuit dough. Never made a “chowda”? Start with the basics outlined in this video!

Remember, we stock a fantastic variety of premium, ready-made, heat-and-serve chowders that could easily be customized into a wide variety of profitable pot pies for your menu. And of course we stock a number of biscuit products with which to top your crocks, including the one seen in this video, Rich’s Country Jumbo Biscuit Dough, item #11100.

Chowda Pot Pie up!

In episode 70, Dennis Food Service account executive Josh Henderson joins Luke and Samantha to discuss menu pricing and managing your restaurant’s menu for margin and profit.

The start of a new year is always a good time for restaurants to evaluate and update menus for profitability. But, as you’ll hear in this episode, given inflation and rising overhead costs, it’s best to build this task into your regular workflow, helping ensure your menu consistently meets expectations and desired margins. Menu management is one of Josh’s favorite parts of the job. In this episode, he draws from his years of hands-on experience consulting with restaurant operators to share key takeaways. With more and more operators working IN their restaurants lately, it’s important to remember to set aside adequate time to work ON your business.

For more factors to consider when adjusting menu prices in 2023, check out Luke’s article “New Year, New Menu Prices.” And for more about restaurant menus, marketing, and profitable strategies for your restaurant check out our blog.

To see Josh’s example comparing the results of trying to shave costs on ingredients vs. building in profitability to your menu, click here: Example Video

Dennis Knows Food Podcast   podcast@dennisexpress.com

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By Luke LaBree
CMO, Dennis Food Service

First, while it might be the most significant piece of the equation, your focus should not fall solely on food costs. There are several categories that restaurants should examine when setting prices, including the cost of ingredients, labor costs, competition, and customer demand. Restaurants need to strike a balance between setting high enough prices to cover their costs and generate a profit while still being competitive and appealing to customers.

To set prices effectively, restaurants may use various pricing strategies, such as cost-plus pricing, value-based pricing, or competition-based pricing. Some of the key factors to consider when updating pricing include the following:

1. Cost of ingredients: The cost of ingredients can vary due to changes in the market or supply chain disruptions. Restaurants need to stay up-to-date on the cost of ingredients and adjust prices accordingly. Your Dennis Account Executive can help with menu costing software.
2. Labor costs: Labor costs are an important factor to consider when setting prices. In many places, minimum wage or the competition for quality employees has increased the starting pay range, so restaurants may need to adjust their prices to account for the increased labor costs.
3. Competition: Restaurants need to stay competitive with their pricing. This may mean adjusting prices to be in line with other restaurants in the area or offering special deals or discounts to attract customers. It’s also important to note that not all ingredients are the same; quality plays a role in customer decision-making. In other words, don’t blindly lower the cost of your premium dish to follow a competitor’s similar but lower-quality menu item. Instead, differentiate with marketing that educates and appeals to your customer base, creating demand.
4. Customer demand: The demand for certain menu items can fluctuate, and restaurants may need to adjust their pricing to reflect this. For example, if a particular dish is very popular, your restaurant may be able to increase the price slightly.
5. Inflation: Inflation has a direct impact on all of the above; food costs, labor, even the utilities needed to prepare food can be affected. It’s important to remember that inflation also reduces the purchasing power of consumers, as the same amount of money will buy fewer goods and services. This can make it more difficult for restaurants to attract customers and drive sales.

How often should you update your restaurant’s menu prices? There is no one-size-fits-all answer for how often restaurants should update their menu pricing. However, all restaurants should regularly review their menu prices to stay in line with market conditions and ensure that they remain profitable, course correcting with price changes as needed. In a “food service vacuum” food cost is always at the top of the list, and with that in mind, here are a few food costs that restaurants should be mindful of:

1. Meat prices: Meat prices can be volatile and are often influenced by factors such as the cost of feed, weather conditions, and the demand for different types of meat.
2. Produce prices: The cost of produce can fluctuate depending on the season and the availability of certain items. For example, certain types of produce may be more expensive during the winter months when they are not in season.
3. Seafood prices: The cost of seafood can be impacted by factors such as the availability of different types of fish, the demand for seafood, and the cost of fuel for fishing boats.
4. Dairy prices: The cost of dairy products can be influenced by the cost of feed for cows, the demand for different types of dairy products, and the cost of production.

The bottom line is that restaurants must stay up-to-date on the factors that impact pricing and be flexible in their pricing strategies to remain competitive and profitable. Reviewing menu prices, food costs, and labor expenses at least once a year provides valuable insight into your establishment’s profitability.

More articles on menu pricing and profitability:

And, don’t miss episode 70 of the Dennis Knows Food podcast! Dennis account executive and industry expert Josh Henderson shares his insider tips and tricks for reviewing menus with maximum impact. With over 20 years of experience in food service sales, Josh knows what it takes to succeed.

Listen to Ep. 70 Now

Delicata Squash is a small-sized winter squash that is pale fleshed, and has medium water content. Delicata Squash is ideal for stuffing and serving from “the shell.” One unique finger food style offering is Delicata Squash Rings. Simply seed, slice, bread and fry. There’s no need to peal the skin, that’s edible too! Best served with your signature dipping sauce as an appetizer, add a heaping for a side with BBQ brisket, or load a pile on a burger.

Chef’s suggested dipping sauce: Maple Cumin Aioli. A combination of mayonnaise, dijon mustard, toasted cumin, real maple syrup and seasoning.

Empanada dough rounds offer a neutral flavored starting point that is suitable for sweet or savory applications. This recipe is inspiration for the later; something to get you thinking about the potential savory uses for empanada dough. And because empanada dough works very well with almost anything you can stuff into it–don’t stick to my recipe, get as creative as you want with your fillings! Goya empanada dough is special order item #26715. For a more traditional empanada preparation, click here.