If you look around, it seems like almost every aspect of a business is going digital, and while that may seem overwhelming to some restaurant owners, the fact is that this kind of switch can bring significant benefits to your operations and your bottom-line.
One upgrade that is making major waves in eateries around the world is the introduction of digital menus. If you are curious about this technology and what it can do for you, read on for three benefits of making a digital menu available in your restaurant.
1. Easier Communication for You
Undoubtedly, one of the most significant benefits of having digital menus in your restaurant is the fact that it can make communication between you, your staff and the diners a lot easier.
For your restaurant, having a digital menu will enable you to have greater control over its design and you can utilize all the negative space as well. It will give you more opportunities to be creative, especially in injecting your branding into the experience.
Furthermore, a digital menu will provide you with more control over which items you want to highlight on the menu thereby aiding you in indirectly influencing customer orders based on what you know from your inventory management software.
You will also find that on a digital menu, you can include a lot more information through the usage of pop-up descriptions or “read more” tabs. You can have specific pages dedicated to certain dietary types (gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, etc.) as well as your suggested pairings of food and drink. In other words, plenty of information can be communicated to your customers more quickly than ever before.
2. Greater Engagement for Diners
For the diner, digital menus are easier on the eyes to read and are clearer regarding what they are showing – especially when compared to printed menus. They can easily be updated based on stock or availability which then ensures that diners are only seeing items that they are actually able to order.
Moreover, a dynamic digital menu is more enticing for diners particularly if it includes attractive photographs of dishes and customized sections. In fact, having these kinds of personal touches in the menu is likely to bring about a higher level of engagement from your clientele.
Again, by adding vivid images and featured dishes to your menu, you are helping to guide your customers to the meals and drinks that you want to highlight to ensure that they have the best experience possible while dining in your restaurant. Moreover, digital menus are fun to use!
3. Valuable Data Insight
As with all digital upgrades, the introduction of digital menus to your restaurant also means a lot more valuable data that you can potentially utilize for more significant insights into your clientele. As the ordering process will be centralized with digital menus, you can then gather as much or as little data as you want from every order.
Use this insight to determine which are the most popular dishes and combinations, as well as those that don’t seem to be working. Furthermore, you can also take note of diners’ ordering patterns or the time of day when certain dishes are ordered more frequently. This will help you continuously streamline the operations of your kitchen accordingly.
In fact, if you pair digital menus with high-quality restaurant management software, you are well on your way to having the most optimized restaurant operations possible. Not only will this reduce the likelihood of an order going wrong (as the information is immediately sent from the customer to the kitchen), but it will also equip you with greater control as you are able to edit the menu based on your inventory.
Take Your Restaurant to the Next Level
As you can see, there are plenty of benefits to bringing digital menus into your restaurant, and the advantages will benefit both you and your customers.
If you want to take your business to the next level and create an unforgettable experience for your diners, then switch to digital menus to ensure you are capturing critical analytics and keeping your customers happy.
Has your restaurant ever considered introducing digital menus? Why or why not? Let us know your thoughts and any experiences in the comments below!
AUTHOR BIO
Ahmad Alzaini is the co-founder and CEO of Foodics, a fast-growing food tech startup. A businessman by nature, Alzaini is an app aficionado, developing businesses in Saudi Arabia within several industries. Today, Foodics has extended to new markets across the MENA region, processing over 1 billion transactions, and offering the latest technology in POS and restaurant anagement.
