Things are finally getting back to normal in the restaurant world! With increased availability of ingredients and diners looking to get back out on the town, you need to stand out among your competition. A new menu is a great way to do this! Old favorites that may have been taken off the menu during the pandemic–or earlier!–may be ready to make a return. Don’t shy away from new recipes, either. Use your creativity to make a new restaurant menu filled with unique, delicious options that diners will love.
Do Your Research…In a Fun Way!
Creating new menu offerings or deciding which old favorites to bring back can be a daunting task. When you’re trying to find out what your customers would like, there’s any easy way to get your answers. Ask them! Social media is a fantastic tool that gives you direct access to your customer base. Posting polls or questionnaires on your Facebook or Instagram pages gives customers a chance to interact with your business and make their voices heard.
Include images with your polls to make customers’ mouths water. Your polls can do double duty in promoting your new menu, too! If you’re feeling up to it, you can even allow customers to give their suggestions for menu items and then have a bracket system to help narrow down the options. Give the winner a shoutout and a prize! Customers will share your posts and ask their friends to vote for their submission. Engaging customers in developing your menu gives you great marketing, not to mention a menu that your customers will love.
Seasonal Ingredients
Using ingredients that are in-season and local in your new restaurant menu options is a great way to support the local farmers and producers while also being creative with your menu offerings. Using in-season ingredients is great for the earth, and also makes a great selling point.
Make Use of Urgency with Limited-Time Offerings
Tell a customer that an item is limited-time, and sales are sure to soar. Making use of a sense of urgency is one of the oldest tricks in the book, but it sure is effective! Items may be limited edition for the season because of themes or seasonal ingredients. Or, you may consider a rotating menu with offerings that change multiple times per year for added variety and continued potential for repeat customers.
Promote Your New Restaurant Menu
Promoting your new menu isn’t a task to be taken lightly! Spread the word on every platform you have access to. Post photos on Instagram, share the news on Facebook, and add behind-the-scenes videos of creating your new dishes to your YouTube and TikTok accounts. Don’t forget to add pop-up advertisements in your restaurant’s own app and on your website! Make sure that new items are boldly highlighted on your menus too, and ask servers to notify guests of the new offerings. Your new menu is sure to be a hit!
