5 ways to make your menu more appealing

The art of creating a menu that’s not only appealing but also profitable has a real science behind it. It is great design techniques that is going to be bring profitability and success to your restaurant. What are the best ways to design your menu that will help boost restaurant sales?

The number of items
The dreaded list or is it the golden question? How many items do you need on your menu? Many people think more is better. However, it is not always to your benefit to list every item you can think of, in the hope it will boost sales. For example, when people visit the grocery store there are numerous options it creates confusion as to what to buy. There are so many items, people start comparing; hesitancy sets in. If people had to choose between 5 items, there wouldn’t be much hesitancy. The choice would be easier to make. The same rule applies to your restaurant menu. What is ideal according to studies is to limit your items between 5 and 7 including starters, main and dessert. Not only is this beneficial to your restaurant, it increases profit and offers a smooth flowing experience to customers.   

Number perception
Is there a difference between $9.99 and $10? Apparently there is! Number perception plays a trick on people’s minds. For some reason listing an item at $9.99 looks less costly than listing it at $10. People have a tendency to refer to the first digit. In this instance, all they see is 9, not the .99 part.

Images
A picture speaks volumes. It is a well proven fact if you have images accompanying dishes you will sell more of that item than if it were minus a picture. The picture places expectation in a customer’s mind. However, it is imperative the restaurant serves the customer precisely what was in the picture. Otherwise, expect to see a disappointed face. Pictures can be further accompanied by suggestive language, describing the item triggering an emotion in the process.

Aroma
Aroma is automatically correlated to the scent we get from any restaurant. For example, if you take a fast food joint you would know and feel the smell before you enter through their door. It is not easy to trigger aroma with a menu, but may be you can place one outside of the restaurant. Or open the restaurant door a tiny bit to get the aroma outside.

What is your story?
Last but not least, your menu should tell a story. It should captivate and pull at the heartstrings of your customers. It should be a story to remember for the ages. Your story will make your restaurant stand out from the rest. For example, if your grandparents crossed the seas from Europe in the 1900s and you learned how to make a mean pasta sauce from your Italian grandmother, why not write it down. There’s nothing like a good story to trigger emotions, compelling customers to buy your food.