Your Customers Want You to Switch to Waterproof Menus!
Customers don’t go out to eat just for the food. No, really! While some restaurants offer fare that is too time-consuming or complex to make at home, just about any restaurant clientele has the wherewithal to open a jar of marinara and successfully boil pasta. Easy, at-home meals and delivery are readily available for when folks just need food. Going out to eat is partially about the food but even more than that because it is also about the ambiance. Choosing to go to a restaurant is about your patrons creating a mini-vacation in their daily lives — which is why your customers are clamoring for you to switch to waterproof menus (even if they don’t know it!)
Let’s Talk Menus
As a restaurant owner or manager, we know how hard it is to find free time, and for many, the last thing you want to do with your valuable time off is go out to eat. But at one point or another, we have all experienced the viscerally icky feeling that comes from picking up a menu, ready to decide what you want to eat, only to feel a sticky, grimy feeling coating or stained food on the menu. That’s not the way to set a positive tone for your meal!
Your restaurant’s menu is one of the most integral parts of daily operations. From setting the tone to selling your wares, your menus do a lot of heavy lifting. Considering all that they do, there’s a big reason we encourage you to put more effort into your menus. In order to get the most from your menus, you will want to carefully plan the initial design as well as the menu materials you choose. On an ongoing basis, you want to be sure your menus are easy to read, easy to clean, and generally put their best foot forward in representing your business.
Are Customers Really Demanding Better Menus?
Sure, there may be an ounce of hyperbole in this blog’s title, but we’re also being serious. While your customers aren’t specifically demanding waterproof paper menus, they may be calling for change. Have you ever had a customer ask for a new menu because the one they are holding is too worn and hard to read? Or what about when a customer asks for a new menu because the one they have is sticky and gross to the touch? Read between the lines. These moments are your customers telling you that they are not having an optimal experience — and since restaurants are about the experience, these are signs that something needs to change or you might lose business.
How Waterproof Paper Menus Help
When it comes to customer experience, there are a few key ways in which your menus have the most impact, and how your menu materials can make all the difference. Those include:
Custom Menu Design
Your customers expect an experience when they go out to eat and a big part of creating that experience is how well you carry your brand story through the various elements of your restaurant. Signage should match the design on your website, colors should carry throughout your space, and so on. Your brand story is how your restaurant visually tells customers what makes you stand out and what they can expect in your space. Whether your restaurant concept is fast-casual or fine dining, your branding conveys that message. And, as you probably expect at this point, your menu is one of the single biggest voices for your brand.
This is where waterproof paper makes a world of difference. Before waterproof paper, restaurants had to primarily rely on set sizes and printing options because the finished product had to fit into those vinyl menu covers or books. With waterproof printing, you can enjoy a wealth of additional options to carry out your brand story the way you envision it being told. Choose from a variety of colors, paper weights, and sizes to create your ideal menu. In the end, using waterproof menu paper means you can create a more customized look without the outrageous expense. It’s an easier and more soft-effective way of creating custom menus that won’t wreck the budget.
Better Experience
When your menu is well designed and carries out cohesive branding, your customers aren’t going to notice — in a good way! They will subconsciously take in how well your branding corresponds throughout your space and see the overall branding. And yes, your customers will probably pay attention if you have fun drawings or hidden details in the menu design. Beyond that, they will simply dive in and explore all of the food options you present.
Waterproof menus offer a subtle but impactful way of providing a better experience. On a basic level, they’re a lot easier to clean — and restaurant life can get messy, so this is important! TerraSlate waterproof paper repels most liquids and solvents, making it impressively stain-resistant. Check out our menu stain test here to see our waterproof paper menus in action. It’s all about offering your customers a better experience; since our waterproof paper is colorfast, you don’t need to worry that repetitive cleaning will make the designs fade.
On a more sensory level, switching to waterproof paper for your menus is a great way to improve customer experience because they are sleeker and neater than lamination or those plasticky menu books. Both lamination and plastic-sleeved menu books show their age fairly quickly, which can send the wrong message to your customers. Since our waterproof paper is rip-proof as well as easy to clean and liquid repellant, you can offer beautifully clean, sleek menus every time — no more shuffling through to find the least beat-up options in your stack!
Easier Menu Changes
There is nothing professional about crossing out menu items or changing pricing with a ballpoint pen. If you need to rely on professional menu printing for every change, however, it can feel like making changes in pen is the best option. The most successful restaurants update their menus regularly. It’s a great way to test different items, explore which menu placements sell the most dishes, and even just to keep up with inflation. From a customer experience side, updating your menus conveys a level of care and attention that makes your restaurant more attractive. After all, if they never know when your menu might change, it becomes a bit more thrilling to come in for a meal!
TerraSlate Waterproof Menu Paper
Are you ready for easy, cost-effective changes that will have your customers coming back time and again for more? Then it is time to switch to TerraSlate waterproof menus. Explore all of the features and benefits of our waterproof paper products, get professional menu design and printing services, and create your own menus easily. Shop online today to get started!
