Why Digital Food Marketing Is A Must

 

Consumers today eat with their eyes more now than ever before.  When the most often asked question of the day is asked, ‘What’s for Dinner’ consumers visualize what they want to eat, where they want to eat it or what it will look like before they ever think about preparing dinner according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

When you think that both Gen Z and Millennials are digital natives.  They grew up with graphic interfacing food photo’s that invited they to dinner, a drive-thru, a grocery store.  The problem was if the freshness, flavor, and or the time and talent it took to cook a meal were not up to the task.

How and where obtain dinner is the real question for most Gen Z and Millennials.  In a new study from Y-Pulse found that 72 percent of consumers miss printed menus, and 59 percent voice concerns that scanning a QR code to get a menu could have potential security issues.

Sharon Olson, executive director of Y-Pulse, stated, "Although young adult consumers are typically among the first to embrace new technology, the consumers we surveyed shared their frustrations and concerns about today's restaurant menus," … "Techy-no-touch menus have their advantages and are undoubtedly here to stay, but there are a number of ways savvy restaurateurs can entice their patrons with modern menus."

According to Y-Pulse, there are three simple things foodservice professionals will want to consider when creating menus:

1. Offer Options 

Restaurant patrons are returning to restaurants because they want the experience of dining out, and the menu can be a key aspect of that experience. Offering a choice of a QR code menu or a printed menu gives everyone a choice. 

2. Stay on Top of Menu Changes

An unpredictable supply chain and the challenges of maintaining staff in both front and back of house makes it hard to consistently deliver the same menu items. Restaurant patrons have come to accept changing circumstances and just want to know what is available before they order. Seventy-two percent of survey respondents said they are frustrated when restaurants do not have updated menus.  

3. Invite Diners With Photographs

A restaurant menu is an invitation to experience items that are special to the establishment. In the early days of the pandemic, limited offerings and brief descriptions made for a quick transition to QR code menus. Now that there is more familiarity with creating these menus, it is important to consider them to be an expression of a brand's image and a platform to showcase appetizing menu offerings. 

What works in every avenue of fresh food distribution is hand held marketing. The mobile phone is where billboards are today.  One on one marketing is the conduit to driving top-line sales and bottom-line profits for all food retailers.

Don’t over reach. Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideations look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions® can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization?  Email us at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit us on our social media sites by clicking the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter