Why should you implement online menus in restaurants? Technology makes things easier, faster, and more comfortable. In terms of businesses, it can help reduce costs and maximize revenue. So, entrepreneurs should consider technology to boost their projects. Today’s example focuses on food businesses.
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What Is an online menu?
Menus are the way restaurants show their consumers all of the food and beverages they offer. Originally menus were printed on paper and delivered to diners by a waiter/waitress, but let’s be honest, are we ok with this in 2020? Online menus are more than digital versions of traditional menus; they are an opportunity to place technology in your business and amplify your digital presence.
An online menu requires a specific design, and it is not as simple as sharing a picture of your tactile menu. For now, let’s talk about the benefits.
Benefits of online menus
Here’s a shortlist to consider:
- Increase efficiency: In this way, we directly communicate between clients and the kitchen to order and prepare food. There’s less chance of making mistakes at this point. Also, if we take food orders faster, we could attend to more clients eventually.
- Put the client first: Clients will be more satisfied with quick service and the freedom to look at the online menu without pressure; they won’t need to tell anyone “a few more minutes, please.” And happy clients bring more clients.
- Sustainability: Due to inflation and other factors, prices tend to change. Updating a printed menu means a more considerable demand for resources from natural to economic. So, there’s an extra point for online menus.
Do’s
- Mention it on your business card: It depends on how much you want to invest. There are menu applications and QR code-based online menus; this last one is an excellent option to start, as long as the code sends to a specific section of your website and it contains the following recommendations. No matter which one you choose, add the menu’s information on your business cards for your customers to keep in mind.
- Excellent quality pictures: Out of sight, out of mind. Images impact decision-making and, in this case, increase craving. It will make it easier for the diner to choose their dish, and it can also be the difference between going or not going to a particular restaurant.
- Make it responsive: It is essential that the information in digital menus does not lose structure and can be displayed correctly and efficiently regardless of the device (mobile, computer). The objective of online menus is to make the experience easier, not confusing.
Dont’s
- Forget to take advantage of digital choices: It means bringing the user all the online menus facilities, and please, I’ll repeat it, don’t let the QR code send the user to a pdf with a picture from your print menu. Allow the user to go directly to where he wants without watching all the things he’s not looking for. If browsing through a printed menu can become tedious, let’s not do the same thing now that we have the opportunity to minimize scrolling.
- Don’t leave it to someone not specialized in digital issues: You must keep in mind that although it is a menu with the same information as your printed menu, it is shown in a different format, so online menus should be designed in a particular way. Remember, it is necessary to get very good advice from someone who has mastered these topics.
