Creating Dynamic New Marketing with Digital Menus

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If you run a restaurant, you’ve tried your hand at in-house marketing. Maybe you’ve had the unfortunate pleasure of stuffing daily specials into table tents, only to see your customers push them off to the side like a dirty plate. Or you’ve looked into the glazed-over eyes of a customer who is clearly not listening as you list off the night’s specials. If not, then you’ve definitely shuttered in horror at the blatant typo on the event flyer you just printed and planned to tuck into guest’s checkbooks.

Many of these methods are used all over the restaurant industry, from mom-and-pop diners to white table cloth bistros. But these efforts are often overlooked by guests because they’re scattered advertisements that don’t come to guests at the right time.

But if you’re restaurant is using digital menus, you can better integrate marketing to guest’s into the dining experience. And you’ll never have to worry about replacing table tents again.

Here are some tips for using digital menus for marketing.

Suggestive Selling

Many restaurants use suggestive selling through servers or separate lists for specials. With iPad menus like Uncorkd, it’s easy to feature items directly on the actual menu, the place your guests are most engaged. Featured wines or beers are a great way to sell slow moving inventory, or to let your customers know about the new cocktail you’ve created. Features allow you to showcase food and wine pairings that offer value to the guest, not just simply up-sell them. Check averages are boosted by promoting areas of the menu that don’t get as much focus, like dessert or digestifs.

The clearest advantage of a digital display is that you can use photos to help market to your customers.. Photos are a great way to promote in-house creations like cocktails, desserts, or food. Savory photos can lead to a spike in sales.

Uncorkd has found that customers are more comfortable ordering a new wine if they have more information about it. Download our Guide to Increasing Wine Sales to find out more tips.

Event Promotion

A great way to get repeat customers is to let them know about special events like wine dinners or live shows. Restaurant’s should definitely promote these events on their website and through social media. But why not be able to market those events right on your menu? Promoting an event on your digital menu is an effective way to get this information to eager diners. If a guest is smitten over your wine selection, how perfect would it be to have your next wine-pairing dinner listed right on your wine menu. It’s a perfect way to get promotional material right on the most important document in your restaurant, the menu.

Your Menu is Marketing

As mentioned above, your menu is the most important document in your restaurant. How it’s designed, written, and presented to your guests, has a significant impact on customers’ experience. It can also change what customers order. Editing menus can be a pain, and printing costs can be outrageous. iPad menus create a streamlined approach to building a menu. You’re not limited to the same space restrictions that you are with a paper menu. In digital, you have the room to add the type of information about wines, spirits, or food that your customers look for. You also can keep your menu update in real time, while adjusting an typos, pricing errors, or incorrect information without the hassle of reprinting.

For more Uncorkd restaurant marketing tips, check out our checklist of mobile marketing practices. 

 

Kyle Thacker
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