The way the restaurants have started taking orders has changed over the last few months. The pandemic has forced them to take the digital route. This has helped restaurant businesses to sail through the tough times enabling the customers to order remotely.

Your restaurant’s digital presence has a direct impact on your income and customer base. Many of your customers visit the restaurant’s website before deciding to dine in or place an order. Your menu displayed online plays an important role in their decision making.

The menu acts as your salesman as that’s the first point of contact for your customers when they order online.

Hence, you need to ensure that your menu is strategically organized and the words communicate effectively to make the diner prefer your restaurant over your competitor.

The 6 Ways to Grow Your Restaurant’s Revenue With Online Menu

1. Tell a Story in Your Menu Using Strategic Labeling

The food found in your restaurant needs to convey the idea and the feel that you associate with the eatery. The menu is the first key for every customer to check out what’s available to try out. Now with online delivery picking up pace, restaurant owners need to be extra cautious of what they are presenting in their menu.

The descriptions for menus should influence your diners’ selections by using words and phrases that excite positive feelings or connections. Always choose a name for the menu-item with which the customers can resonate.

Creating a menu that describes the items is called “strategic labeling,” and it can have a notable influence on a customer’s dining preferences. This works especially when you are dealing with online ordering.

Every customer would like to know what goes into the meal when they are ordering. Thus strategic labeling helps you tell a story or description of the menu item. This makes the dish more appealing than just finding a name on the menu list which is the common practice among many of the restaurants.

You may try implementing strategic labeling by following these easy tips:

• Customer’s Diet Trends: Most of the millennials these days prefer to know what they are eating. They can go the extra mile to pay more to get the right food. Using keywords like “vegan,” “organic,” and “gluten-free” can make it easier for them to choose the right food.
• Seasonality: Food that is available during a season can be quite demanding. Making use of this to attract your customers can help you build a good base. You can try describing your menu based on the season/festivals. You may also consider giving some event’s description for a dish to get people’s attention.

2. Steamline Your Online Ordering Menu

You may need to think from the customer’s point of view while creating the online ordering menu. The items which are hot cakes in your dine-in restaurant can be a disaster during the take-out delivery. Consider having only those menu items in your list, which can be had as a take-away and will not spoil the food’s taste.

3. Increase Your Restaurant’s Revenue with Strategic Marketing.

The diners usually just glance through the menu and ask for help from the restaurant staff. While an online order will restrict this opportunity, you need to devise a plan that will cater to the customer’s need by popping up suggestions and letting them know what items go well as an addition to the main menu.

For example, you may consider cross-sells such as “Complete Your Meal” or “Pair It With.” The add-on segments should only include a few diversified items (e.g. drinks, desserts, and appetizers) that are both profitable and popular. This is an excellent way for your menu to ultimately act as a silent agent that predicts what the customer needs even before they know. This way, you are putting menu psychology at its best.

Another way is to list and charge a small fee for “Extras” such as sauces and toppings. Allow the customers to customize dishes; using these options. They can add extra cheese or veggies according to their needs. Customers are prone to click add-ons to their order as it’s simple to do with a click of a mouse. The digital way of ordering does have these merits.

4. Organize Your Menu Sections to Push Your Most Profitable Items

Most of the restaurants follow the same menu, which they put up at the counter. Online-menu should be eye-catching with beautiful pictures and have easy-to-read dishes as the customers will be accessing from their phone. You may consider giving the tradition categories a miss like:

• Appetizers
• Entrees
• Sides
• Desserts
• Drinks

The standard menu works well when your customers come in for a dine-in experience. When your client views a menu online, they prefer to glance through it quickly and only stop if some item in the menu catches their attention. Your restaurant has about three seconds to grab the attention of the diner before they lose interest.

Creating a menu that stands out from your competitors will attract more diners to your restaurant.

Make a list of items that are mostly sold in your restaurant under the  “Popular Items” category. You can display the items in any order as this list showcases the most preferred items rather than the customized menu.

Customers look forward to recommendations, and you can influence their selection by introducing this kind of strategic menu organization.

5. Spread the Word on Social Media

Social media is the new way of marketing and selling your services. So when you plan to have your online-menu, share it on social media for people to check and avail of your services.

Social media also gives your menu a platform to reach many other diners who are friends with your customers. The wider reach will bring you more business.

You can also feature seasonal trends (such as fresh summer harvest or ideal food for New Year’s resolution). Many social media platforms have ‘feeds’ on food, and you may want to put your hot picks in this category.

Follow a similar approach for menu items that go along with common diets. Have different sections for vegetarian dishes, keto, gluten-free, and paleo dishes to help the diners to straight away go to the desired sections and place an order. This will help to place an order seamlessly and effortlessly.

6. Give Away Coupons/Incentives for Online Ordering

Customers prefer to order via mobile app for convenience and saving time. It has been observed that online ordering has surged ever since the pandemic. You may spread the word about your online-menu by using different mediums such as email, social media, and website with signage in your restaurant.

• Introducing discount coupons for every purchase they do will make them come back to you for reclaiming the offer. 
• It is also a good idea to offer a limited-time deal, which will make the customer place an order within the definite time to avail the incentive. 
• Another great option to consider is a digital loyalty program, which helps your customers to earn reward points for repeat purchases from your restaurant.

Bottom Line

The way we do business has evolved ever since the pandemic. Online ordering has taken the forefront, and to give the edge to the restaurant business, you need to match up with time. Online-menu makes it easier for highlighting the trends that your restaurant is following.

If you’re keen about growing your restaurant’s online business, integrate it with the best technology, diner demands, and trends without losing the reputation of your brand.