DESIGN A cocktail menu That works for you.
Sell an experience,
not a cocktail.
Believe it or not, what your guests really want when they spend time and money in your bar or restaurant is not primarily a cocktail; they want the EXPERIENCE drinking your cocktail provides.
With this in mind, if you can engineer your cocktail menu to sell EXPERIENCES rather than drinks, you’ll not only sell more cocktails but create repeat customers that come back seeking that experience over and over.
Here’s how you can make that happen:
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Avoid spirits jargon.
99.9% of your guests are not expert mixologists. Although a list of ingredients is necessary, your guests can easily pass on a drink they would’ve loved because they don’t understand the description.
“A bright and spirited classic for when the sun shines on London.” This is how the famous ATLAS Bar in Singapore describes their ATLAS Gin & Tonic, and even if you’ve never had a gin and tonic, a drink perfect for a rare, sunny day in Hyde Park can’t be ignored.
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Mix Up YOUR Cocktail DESCRIPTors
Every cocktail menu in the world is full of words like “delicious, fresh, refreshing, sweet,” etc. While these words might be true, in 2021, your guests are so used to seeing those words that they effectively blend into the white of the page.
Using words not typically used to describe food, like: “sunny, cooling, comforting, warm” not only breaks convention, but it associates your drinks with familiar feelings like coming inside out of the heat or curling up by a fire.
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HIGHLIGHT LOCAL OR PREMIUM PRODUCTS IN YOUR COCKTAILS.
If you’re a craft cocktail bar, chances are that at least one ingredient in your cocktail is more unique and interesting than that of the same drink at the Applebee’s down the street.
Your guests are looking for a story out of their drink: where the ingredients are from or what makes them different, and highlighting local or premium ingredients will make them more memorable and justify their higher price.
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Trim THE FAt
If you’re not a craft whisky bar and only sell three manhattans a weekend, there’s no reason to have it on your menu.
Choose your five or six best drinks and allow them to take up the lion’s share of your cocktail menu space. This will allow you to tell the entire story of your cocktails and tell your guests that you have a select number of carefully crafted cocktails rather than a multitude of mediocre drinks.
“Optimizing drink menus plays a key part in influencing consumer drink choice. 55% of consumers would prefer a smaller range of brands and drinks on menus, which include their favorites, versus 45% who would prefer a wider range of choice. Menus must appeal to target consumers and where operators have implemented a reduced menu, suppliers must showcase the value of their brands to beverage directors and understand their needs when creating strategies to attract consumers.” Source: cgastrategy.com
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SUGGEST COCKTAIL PAIRINGS WITH THE MOST POPULAR ITEMS ON YOUR FOOD MENU.
Taking your most popular dish and suggesting a signature cocktail pairing not only gives your cocktails more exposure, but proves to your guests that your food and drinks have been intentionally crafted in such a way that they are meant to be experienced together, and not having the recommended cocktail would be missing out of experiencing their meal to the fullest.
Combine your suggested cocktail with a discount when ordered with its paired meal, when thinking about a place to get a bite and a drink, your restaurant/bar will be at the top of your guests’ minds.
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Design YOUR cocktail MENU to SUPPORT YOUR BRAND.
Having a well-designed, aesthetically pleasing menu full of branding elements (your bar/restaurant logo, font, color scheme, design elements) is the best way to make a first impression to the customer that, just like the menu, your cocktail is designer.
Your cocktails are unique and well-crafted, if your menu is run-of-the-mill, your customers will expect that your drinks will be as well!
Set the stage for your drinks.
A new guest turns into a regular customer when they’re given an unforgettable experience in return for their money, and there are two ways to make that happen: serve incredible drinks and surround them with an incredible experience.
You’ve got the drinks part covered, now it’s time to craft your guests’ experience, and it all begins with the cocktail menu.
Try these tips to turn your cocktail menu from a grocery list of ingredients into a storybook that sets the stage for your drinks and primes your guests to have a memorable experience with a drink they’ll be hurrying back to have again.