Marketing in the food industry is quite straightforward because everybody is a potential customer. Whether you’re making pizza, doughnuts, if you have a diner, a formal restaurant, or a casual bar, those living within the vicinity can be your target market. This is where takeout menu printing proves to be useful. Here, we will compare dine-in versus takeout menus in terms of design and distribution.
Dine-in versus Takeout Menu: Should there be a Difference?
Before breaking down the difference between the two, let’s delve a bit deeper into why menus should be used as promotional materials in the first place. When you visit any food establishment, the first thing you look at is the menu. What are the prices and the specific food items offered? Which are the bestsellers and what are the items with the ingredients which some people might not necessarily like, or may be allergic to? Menus should be quite detailed, and the price should be indicated opposite the name of the dish. These can be turned into promotional materials because food is what your business is all about. The more eye-catching your menu is, the more tempted customers would be to place their orders.
Your dine-in menu will be used by customers while takeout menus can be used as promotional materials. If you have a fancy restaurant, your dine-in menu might be leather bound or have the biggest menu size possible. Although you cannot replicate the size and material of the dine-in menu for takeout menu printing, the content can be as close to the original as possible. This way, the online printing company does not have to make too many changes and simply print your takeout menu on a different, cheaper paper with thinner stock.
In terms of distribution, you can include takeout menus in deliveries, takeaway packages, or include them in the receipts for suppliers. More importantly, mail out the menus to those living within a five-mile radius in your area. These are your target market because they live close by. Once they get their hands on a sample menu from your food establishment, they will be tempted to try it out because they already have an idea about what’s on the menu and how much the items are.
Of course, you can always design your takeout menu differently from the dine-in menu if you want. But to save time and effort, keep the design as close to the original as possible. With takeout menus, you can spread the word about your business and get as many people as you can to try your food out.
