Different Ways To Promote New Items on Your Menu
They allow chefs to expand their skills and introduce nuanced flavors to dining experiences. However, as with many business investments, changing menus and offering new dishes and drinks come with risks. Here are three different ways to promote new items on your menu and ensure they’ll receive positive reactions and attract enough demand.
Create a Press Release and Spread the Word
Press releases spread news fast. They are a great way to make announcements to the public and reach a large population. This consists of writing up an official statement on a news-worthy topic—such as your new menu item—and sending it to local press, whether that be newspapers, magazines, or other media sources.
Although there are many ways to inform the public on your own—including social media—press releases give you the opportunity to spread your news from a credible and more well-known source. News sites and press pages reach a broader range of people.
Add Them as a Combo Item to Existing Popular Orders
Many people fear change because it disrupts what’s familiar to them, and switching dishes and drinks does exactly that. Adding new menu items to replace older selections puts you at risk of losing existing customers and regulars who enjoy your original menu. Instead, use combo meals to launch your new item as a team player rather than a competitor to your existing options.
Pairing current menu options with new ones promotes the latest addition while still providing the comforts of familiarity to your customers. It allows your new dishes or drinks to ride in the curtails of existing menu favorites, giving them a boost into the world. If you are implementing frozen cocktails to your menu, promote them with a combo special and deal with a preexisting menu item. This will better secure your success in implementation and make sure you make money from the frozen drink machine you invested in. This also reduces the risks of upsetting customers and promotes your new addition.
Host Events and Pair Them With a Menu Specialty
From trivia and karaoke nights to charity dinners and birthday parties, there are many ways to host events at a restaurant. No matter the occasion, you can use the opportunity and the crowds it attracts to promote your new menu options.
Feature your latest dish and drink creations as a specialty item tied to the occasion. Use the event as an opportunity for one-time discount deals on the new menu options. You can even host a special tasting event and official launch celebration of your new menu items. Attract crowds and put out feelers for your latest investment with events.
Adding new products to your menu is a great business opportunity for growth. It expands what you offer guests, brings in nuance, and allows your team to venture into varying territories, from different ingredients to a shift in investments. Ensure the changes and decisions you make with your menu lead to success with these three different ways to promote new items on your menu.
