Menu as Marketing Tool

Clean

The presentation of dirty, spotted, worn menu is the poorest way to start a meal. We all know that cleanliness is a must in our business. A soiled menu has a very poor merchandising value; it may raise doubt regarding the food being prepared hygienically. Menu with the continuous long use is likely to get soiled. Soiled menus must be changed with new menus. For this reason, the menus cards should not be very expensive. If the investment is high you may be reluctant to discard soiled menus. To keep the menus in good conditions the first important thing is that the paper selected should be of reasonably good quality. The cover should be attractive and glazed. The front cover may also be protected by plastic folders. The inner contents should be changed as and when required. It is a very wrong practice to change the prices on the menu with ink.

Legible

This means that menus should be easy to read. The type selected should be attractive and easy to decipher. It should be of sufficient size so that most people, including the elderly or those with glasses, can read it with ease. As far as possible the menus should be printed. Typewritten menus should be avoided. They are invariably carelessly typed with misspelt words and smeared carbon. Menus should be written in double spacing as single spacing causes confusion and overcrowding. Single spacing tends to give a menu the quality of a telephone directory. Clear readability with plenty of wide space is essential. Easy readability is a must, as menus are meant to be read. The managers must see the lighting arrangements at all tables so that menus can be read. Whether they can be read easily or not. Customers are annoyed when a menu is indistinct or light so poor that they cannot read it.

Menu Structure / Format

The format of the menu should suit contents of the menu. As far as possible different formats should be used for different meals. (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner etc). The format of the menu will also depend upon the type of establishment, its standards and nature e.g. hotels, cafeterias, clubs, etc. The menu should not run on many pages. Two pages menu is considered to be good. Many inserts should be avoided. Don’t forget to include the hotel address. The back of the menu can be used for the wine list. But a separate wine list is more advisable.

Organized

A menu should be well organized. Similar items should be grouped together and attractive headings may be assigned to the groups. The purpose of a well-organized menu is that the customer should be able to find what he/she wants quickly without reading the entire menu. Most of us start reading anything at the top left to cocktails and appetizers would be best in this position. Try to group all the categories in an easy to find manners like appetizers, sandwiches, salads, entrée, desserts, and beverages.

Restricted Menus

The menu should be short as far as possible i.e. the number of dishes on the menu should be limited. Keeping long menus is a poor merchandising policy. There are some operators who may believe that more items you have on the menu the more business you will do. But actually, it usually works in reverse.

The following are the DISADVANTAGES of Very Long Menus

• Confuse the customers and make the selection time longer for them.
• Overburden the kitchen and serving staff.
• Do not allow the attention of chef towards the presentation and making of the dish. Increased wastage as there will be more leftover.
• Slow service as a waiter has to wait for a very long time for the customer to make his selection.
• Create bottlenecks in the preparation and service area.
• Buying, receiving, storing, etc of the food becomes difficult and more space is required for storage.
• Hamper the effectiveness of control process.

It may be well realized that over if the menu has many items there would still be some guests who would ask for something else. The basis of limiting the menu is to learn about the items which are most popular. The man responsible for planning the menus should check from time to time the sale analysis for different dishes and the items which do not sell reasonably should be removed. Limited should not mean any choice or change at all. Establishments that have permanent regular clientèle must change the menus and should provide ample choice.
Establishments which have more of tourist business and where the customers change they don’t need to change menus frequently.

Easy to change

Even the most carefully planned menus must be changed from time to time. The change may be necessary because of change in prices, need to add or drop some items for a varied variety of reasons. If a menu is hard to change there may be temptations to mark out items with pencils or pen, write in items, or worst of all scratch out the old prices and write in the new. The changed prices on the menu have a poor merchandising effect. The menu format and design should be such so that it can be changed with the needs of the time.

Fit the operation

To serve good food with prompt service, you must have a menu designed to fit the place. It must match the size and types of equipment, their capacity, and also the skill of the personnel. Never blindly follow your competitors. Never include any item unless you can effectively prepare to sell it.

Merchandising effect

Design your menu to sell the items you want to sell your speciality or an item that can be served fast and is profitable. Such items should be tactfully located different typefaces can be used to emphasise one item over another or attractive borders can be used to make something stand out. While listing the items the one you want to sell fast can be placed at or near the top, since many people read only until they find an item that appeals to them, rather than studying the entire list. Suggest proper cocktails or drinks with a particular food. Accompaniments should be restricted and specialized.

Language

Many guests are embarrassed to ask what a foreign term means and will pass on to something that they understand where a menu is written in French, the English equivalents should be given. It is a good idea to describe the dishes in the language which is understood by the majority of guests.

Effective description and descriptive headings

Descriptive headings mean quoting such headings on the menu various groups of food which will attract the attention of the customer and will indicate the nature of dish more clearly. The headings assigned to different groups should be interesting and should capture the imagination of the guests.

SOME EXAMPLES

• Sea Coast Delights
• Gourmet Selection
• From The Sizzling Platter
• Oyster Bar
• Dessert Delicacies
• Broiled To Your Order
• Chef’s Specials

The explanation of dishes in detail should be avoided, but a brief description should help the customer in making a prompt and suitable selection. Dishes should be described in such a way that a common customer should be able to understand how he is going to get his food and should be able to visualize it. The aim of the description should be to inform the guest regarding the form of food served (method of cooking, cut, hot or cold, etc).