Restaurants have been making the mistake of copy-pasting their menus from their physical copies to their online ones. The online world is quite different from our physical one, and appropriate changes need to be made when going digital.
Have you ever considered that maybe your online menu is turning away customers? Here are several things to keep in mind when putting together your online menu.
Words Matter
Sometimes while printing menus, restaurants end up making spelling mistakes. While one or two spelling mistakes on a physical menu might not be a big deal, they can end up costing you a lot on an online menu.
Bad grammar and typos are a big turn-off for customers and can seem unprofessional. Customers look at menus before choosing a restaurant to dine in, and wrong words or incorrect spelling can be a make or break for that decision.
Bad grammar and typos are a big turn-off for customers and can seem unprofessional. Due to this, it is essential to double and triple-check your online menus before posting them on your website.
Ingredients Matter
Customers like restaurants that provide information about the food they offer. Many customers have allergies or food preferences, due to which having ingredient information in plain view is important.
Customers can ask the servers for ingredients when dining in, but this can’t be done when online ordering. Therefore it is essential to have a list of ingredients next to your food items. If restaurants don’t offer this information, customers end up ordering from elsewhere.
Menu Size Matters
Restaurant owners believe providing a huge menu somehow gives them an edge over other restaurants. They think having an extensive menu would satisfy an array of customers, but unfortunately, this leaves customers confused and frustrated.
It’s better to have a short menu and make the dishes your chef is excellent at. This might mean losing a few customers, but your specific niche will end up bringing you customers in the longer run.
Money Matters
Yes, the competition is fierce and sometimes offering a good old discount means bringing in more customers. It’s tempting to provide newer online deals and more discounts to keep your customers hooked. However, this ends up costing you as, in the end; your deals are literally all that you are selling.
As a restaurant owner, bringing in more revenue is the most important thing, and eventually, having multiple offers all the time will mean losing money. Speaking of money, your online menus should always have prices listed before the dishes, as customers like to know how much a dish costs before adding it to the cart.
