Small Business Tips:
Optimizing Your Takeout and Delivery Menus
for The New Normal
The Coronavirus has affected all parts of life across the globe, but one of the industries that was hit hardest was the food and beverage industry. As part of measures to curb the spread of the virus, many states ordered the cessation of sit-in dining in restaurants. However, takeout and delivery services were encouraged to get their favorite meals while minimizing transmission chances.
Since the peak of the crisis, some states have eased some of the restrictions on sit-in dining, allowing you to order your favorite meal and eat in on-premises as long as you observe hygiene and social distancing measures. Following a resurgence in transmission rates, other states have reinstated restrictions. Amid this confusion, takeout and delivery have emerged as the only sure way for restaurants to serve their customers. With this in mind, as a restaurant owner or manager, you will want your menu optimized for this new normal and be sure to utilize delivery scheduling software for small business.
The Most Important Tip
How well the items in your delivery menu travel should be one of your top considerations. You should remove any meals that quickly become soggy in transit in favor of those who better retain their shape and flavor. You can take the guesswork out of knowing which foods travel well by experimenting with your options.
Prepare them, wrap or package them as you would during delivery and let them sit for approximately the same time it would take to make a delivery on average. Generally, fried foods don’t cope well with being transported while enclosed, so replacing them with salads or steamed options is a good idea. However, if french-fries and the like are central to your sales, you can consider holding off on frying until your delivery guy arrives. Of course, this will prolong delivery times and may not go down well with the delivery guy, especially from a third-party provider.
Simple is Better
Simplifying your menu can be vital to boosting your restaurant’s profitability in these uncertain times. Besides eliminating options that don’t handle travel well, you should focus on highly profitable items. Items with high margins should dominate your menu, as should things that go well with profitable extras. However, simplifying your menu can’t be done arbitrarily; you shouldn’t strip off items that have proven fruitful. You don’t want to risk removing menu items that your customers love.
A leaner menu will increase your operational efficiency as you will need less inventory, and even more sore if a number of your offerings share ingredients. It may also allow you to operate with a smaller staff compliment.
Add-Ons Are a Lifesaver
Part of optimizing your menu has add-ons that you can upsell to customers making their orders remotely. Cleverly thought out add-ons can prove to be a great way of generating additional revenue while offering your customers convenience. Offering your dinners a small dessert or drink with their meal will save them the trouble of having to make another detour before they get home. Your add-on could save them another trip out of the house later in the day or on the following day, reducing their exposure to possible infection. In this way, add-ons can turn out to be a literal lifesaver.
You can make offering your customers add-ons quick and easy by using your POS. Restaurant POS integration for menu development will allow you to update your menu with new add-ons in real-time. These changes will be updated throughout all your locations almost instantly.
Stand Out for Success
With the coronavirus restrictions forcing restaurants to provide delivery or takeout services, the playing field has been somewhat leveled. If your selling point were a unique ambiance, it would have to change as your focus shifts from sit-in dining. You will have to find a new way of distinguishing yourself from the competition. Bear in mind you will be facing increased competition, especially if you will be allowing customers to make orders through a third-party application.
Therefore, you will have to dream up interesting new meal combinations to revamp your menus to keep your existing customers engaged while trying to woo over new ones. Your POS can help you do this if it allows customers to select meals from an online menu. Menu options aside, you will need to stand out for the quality of service you offer.
A New Wave of Opportunity
The global pandemic has brought its fair share of challenges to the restaurant business. It has evolved into a new wave of opportunity for business owners who are flexible enough to embrace change. Taking advantage of recent advances in POS systems, you can offer your customers a lean, dynamic menu that will boost your productivity. This will result in improved sales and a better margin.
