Sharing Appetizers and Increasing Sales
In our industry we’re simultaneously focused on creating an excellent customer experience and increasing our sales. As customers are becoming more wary of what they eat they are also becoming warier of how much they eat. As a result they are moving away from two and three course meals, instead opting for just a single course. Things don’t have to stay this way and there are ways you can bump up your sales and, at the same time, improve the customer experience.
Highlight Menu Items
Highlighting menu items is a popular method of promoting certain menu items. Which items should you highlight and how? Popular items, and ones with a low Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) percentage should be the ones that you highlight on your menu. You can highlight them by using a bold typeface, a larger typeface than used on other items, an indicative symbol, or by placing a box around them to have them standout.
If it suits your culture and restaurant then you might want to go a step further than just highlighting items and put a little note beneath them along the lines of “Excellent For Sharing!” or “Made to Share!”
Larger Appetizers
It might make sense to increase the size of some of your appetizers that could be considered sharers in order to increase the choices in this area for your customers. More options means guests are more likely to order one of these, maybe even two.
Propose the Option
Highlighting items on your menu is all well and good but vocal cues work even better. Your waiters and bartenders should actively be asking guests if they would like to “start with appetizers? Maybe one to share?”. This opens the conversation for the guests to discuss the option, and it also allows your staff to introduce a suggestion or recommendation; people always feel more comfortable when choosing something recommended by their server.
More Courses, More Time, More Drinks
Everyone likes to have a drink in front of them when they’re out for a meal, and the longer they stay the more likely they are to order more drinks. Therefore, if you manage to up-sell them an extra course it’s likely they’ll have an extra beverage to accompany it.
Sharing = Better Experience
When people share food, instead of just having their own dish in front of them, it brings them together and enriches their experience; it also provides them with a great conversation starter. This means that customers who share appetizers are more likely to leave with a more positive experience and are more likely to return or recommend you to their friends and relatives.
If you can rework your menu and have your employees proposing the option and opening up the conversation about appetizers and sharables then it’s likely that sales of these will rise. If you take into consideration the general rule of: one course, one drink; you will likely see an increase in appetizer sales, beverage sales, and, as a result, an increase in your average check amount.
