I am raising my prices after 4 years. I will be doing this annually from now on if not bi-annually. I do not go through more than 800 menus a year(alot of regulars who know what they are getting and do not seem to be concerned too much with price) I have eliminated some menu “dogs” and am printing four color. I want to start directing people to our website for coupons/ pricing. I need some sage advice from the experts here, Is pricing on the menu going to impact sales one way or the other or is Items available more important?
I think if you do not provide pricing you will be spending a significant amount of time on the phone providing prices. For too many people price has to be part of the equation when determining what they are going to order. When I look at a menu I always do some mental gymnastics juggling what I think I would enjoy the most with what is good for me and what I percieve as the best value.
I am a franchisee and the franchise website does not have pricing on it because individual shops are free to set their pricing. When customers look on the web we always have the 'How much is…" conversation. This takes time that could be spent on the next call.
Prices are a must…For me no prices means I move on to the next menu in the drawer…
800 menus a year?? Even if your business is good, getting more menus in circulation will improve your bottom line…Also, it helps you fend off new competition or other competitors that all of a sudden decide to get more aggressive with their marketing…
Good post, here are my thoughts (5+ years pizza marketing experience all day - every day)
Raise your prices, but lower some too. By doing so, you tell customers that although some prices increased, you’ve cut prices on many popular items as well.
Send out AT LEAST 50,000 menus per year as mailers, box toppers, handouts, etc. I recommend sending out more than 100,000 if you are in an urban area, or a minimum of 50,000 if you are in a smaller/rural area. In other words, every home in your service area should receive your menu/offers at least once per month.
Shift the focus of the menu off of the prices and onto the food. Even if you raise prices, you want customers to focus on your “great deals” and mouth-watering food selections. The entire menu should give the customer a reason to “call and order right now.”
If you need inspiration, please browse through dozens of great menus at the link below. These are just thoughts off the top of my head, but I guarantee they will produce a positive ROI if used correctly.
Best of luck, feel free to msg or call me anytime!
800 menu’s…you could be doing so much more business! We send out 55,000 and use 60,000 box toppers each year.
Include prices like stated previously.
A great way to conceal an increase is to come out with a new item like salads or desserts made from your dough. Then you can bundle these items with pizza to create a few great specials and increase your average order.
I echo the advise from others to use your menu as a marketing tool. It is far too powerful to sit in your shop and waste effort. Direct mailing is a useful tool periodically. While I cannot recommend the 50,000 a year method (that would be one per house every week in my market) I can recommend being in front of customers frequently and in as many ways as you possibly can imagine and accomplish. Consistency breeds familiarity and a sense of stability, which are both good on loyalty branding.
Another good menu building tactic is to offer one or two new pre-designed pies. People often want to be told what to eat, and your expertise in building taste combinations will be appreciated by a segment of the population, the new items will sooth the price increase with innovation and effort, and you get to decide the food cost and pricing of the designed pies. Everything is a winner here.
Wow, you guys and your advertising stuff…I go through about 100 menus a year - mostly walk-ins that have never been here before, and, after trying our Pizza, want to call-in their next order. YOU HAVE TO HAVE PRICES! That is why most people want a menu - after all, most people and most places want and have the same basic ingredients.
Smeagol8, I just picked up a takeout menu for a place with 8 toppings/ingredients available for pies. And they don’t include the chicken they use for salads, the steak they use for sandwiches or the meatballs they use for pasta and sandwiches. Might be some mentoring going on soon.
I agree with Nick on ingredients descriptions. We are in the higher price level and our menu item descriptions include - “prime”, “juicy” / “succulent”, “fresh”, “creamy” etc to describe ingredients. It just makes them sound more expensive and appealing.
As far as pricing goes, yes the item and what it has in it is the main factor but customers want to know what they are paying for.
We have had many customers complain about the cheapies with no prices shown, only their so called deals, and when they get the order the price is often the same or more than ours, and for a lot smaller pizza.
On our menu we emphasise the pizzza description. We have a range of “Favourites”, “Premiums” and “Gourmets” pizzas each with a standard price for each category for small, large and family size.
The pizzas are done in each category block with the prices at the bottom of the category list. It gives more emhasis to the product rather than the price as what you seem what to do, BUT, the price is still there. Our aim is to get them looking at the products and then deciding what they want before the price factor, then they get the price and it is no matter because their mind has “started tasting” from our descriptions.
But no way could I do our menu without any pricing, regardless how much they are salivating over the counter.
Designing your menu to have appeal to those reading it so they get a “taste sensation” as the main factor rather than thr price is what we aim for and I recommend strongly. The price becomes secondary but needs to be there.
Dave