Menu
Yes, your menu layout and pricing is part of the marketing of a café. The pricing of a menu will determine the market you are pitching at. When pricing a menu, I like to have a range of prices, so as to broaden the market. Prices should be displayed on a menu board in a random order, not lowest to highest. Special does not mean cheap. It means, like the word reads ‘special’ — unique.
A well designed menu will also generate revenue through its description. You will find this with more up market establishments describing their product to sound gastronomic in its structure, and you don’t mind paying more for the item just to see if it lives up to its description. A well described menu item can see you add another two dollars on top of the sale price formula. A menu must live up to its promise: you cannot deceive your customers, so think before you describe.
Menu Profit Maximisation TIPS
Design a menu with different price points.
Highlight profitable items.
Move items around the menu.
Correctly cost menu items.
Consider eye extremities on menu layout.
Price using odd numbers.
Use tasty, fresh descriptions.
Brand leverage — use popular brands to draw customers’ attention.
Make the menu sound attractive, local and colourful — tell a story.
Associate food and beverages.
Make the menu easy to read.
Have easy add on sales.
Products
The odd thing I find when I consult to new café start ups is the lack of creativeness in product selection. Point of difference in products is a great way to stay ahead of the competition. Using locally sourced products is a great way to create a point of difference. Seek what is trendy at the time! With product selection, become an innovator in the market by having unusual and interesting selections.
Sampling
Giving customers the opportunity to sample new products you want to sell is a must-do tip. If you want to get the word of mouth medium happening don’t be scared to give away some samples of your food and beverage items to your regular customer base and ask their opinion.
Their feedback will often give them ownership of that meal or beverage. Ask your suppliers to give you extras when ordering to help release the product into the marketplace. Don’t forget to include staff when you are sampling a new product that is to go on to the menu, as they are the ones who will be selling the new product.
Point of Sale and Promotions
When releasing a new product to your customer base back the product up with some graphical image, sales poster or table talker. All the café franchisers use this technique.
Don’t be scared to spend some extra marketing dollars on small print runs of posters and table DL brochures introducing a new drink or meal item. A drink or a cake of the month is a great starting block for this style of promotion.
Most businesses have a creative person within the walls who can use a computer and design and lay out a poster.
The Media
My pet hate at the present time, being part of the media, is when café owners and managers are not media savvy and let opportunities pass them by.
When a journalist of a media organisation walks into your business, make them feel at home. Often they are there to check the business out, and if they have a great experience, guess what? They might write a nice story about the café and that fun experience.
You don’t have to shower them with gifts and free food, you just have to go that extra bit further with your hospitality.
Have a media kit on standby, which should include a folder containing some of your latest brochures, menus, press releases, and a disk of some professional images of the business, including logos.
If the media offers to do a story or review, make it easy for them and provide the requested information straight away. I can vouch for this — it is sometimes like pulling teeth trying to get information from cafés when I want to do a review.
Last tip on this subject: get on the phone and thank the person within the media if they do some free press for you. Believe me, this goes a long way. I have done many positive reviews for cafés and when visiting again, I often feel disappointed when they don’t acknowledge the effort you have gone to.
Training (Sales)
Yes, working in the hospitality industry is a sales job! If you have order takers and not sales people, you need to review your recruitment and training methods. When I had my café business, I would have regular sales meetings with my team and often bring in outside sales professionals to assist with the task of selling.
There are many methods and ideas for selling in hospitality and café businesses. Simple up selling or a suggestive sale will give the business instant increased revenue. With cafés I consult to, I always refer to the Mc Donald’s concept: if that business model can teach a 15 year old to ask for an extra product sale, why can’t you teach an adult in your organisation to do the same?
Simple Sales Techniques in a Café.
Use up selling of products, like a large coffee versus a regular size.
Have a selection of on sells like garlic breads, salads or cookies with a coffee order.
Train your staff to understand the menu selection — be knowledgeable about products.
Train staff to ask for a second coffee order.
Recommendation sales are a good way to sell more expensive menu ranges.
Practice customer skills with introduction and greeting customers.
I hope the café owners and workers who have taken the time to read this article think a little more about marketing within their cafés. Often a marketing concept does not cost a lot; it just takes a little time and effort to implement.
Always be flexible and give the concept a little time to develop. If it does not work, go on another tack. The fun of running a small business is often when you see a concept or idea work. Learn to reward yourself for small achievements and you will enjoy the business much more! Good luck and happy marketing.
For more tips on how to market your cafe, check out this article: How to market your cafe using the Internet
This article was written by Sean Edwards, originally published in Issue 14 of Café Culture Magazine.