New menu/brochure strategy
I am just launching a new menu this week. It's quite a process as you usually need to include other people therefore everyone has their own timeline. It's been three weeks now and I will be picking up my menus from Minuteman Press at 4pm today. Thank you Mike for stepping up to the plate and making it happen in three days!
The first step in this whole process was taking a long look at what was working, what was not working and what's new in our industry. I call this stage RESEARCH. So we reviewed what our competitors were doing, analyzed sales stats to understand what should stay on the menu and asked ourselves some hard questions about what should change or be deleted. Now when I say hard questions, I am speaking about "Just because you love it, it does not mean your customers love it". It's funny how we assume or think we know what is working. And then we look at the stats - numbers never lie. We are lucky to have five years of data now and be able to make strategic decisions from these sales figures.
The second step is ANALYSIS. How much are your services/products costing you and are you making enough money? We have changed suppliers to lower our costs but we are very determined to keep our high level of quality in our service ingredients. Over time, we have been able to renegotiate and attain lower costs due to volume sales. This happens over time and you must ask for it. Your supplier will not usually be the one to bring it up. You need to consider what prices will go up (all or some) and we actually decreased some of our prices as well. Apply your learnings and make it even better!
The third step is DESIGN. We decided not to change the brand image too much so I contacted Cynthia once again from www.greencouchdesigns.com and had an amazing experience! I know Cynthia from my last menu so I sent her an email and not once we did we speak over the phone! I sent her emails with lots of edits as we got closer and closer to final draft.
The fourth step is COORDINATION. Now if you are changing your menu in print, you will have to make changes to your website as well so I had my webmaster to now bring up-to-date and coordinate with. Also, I called the printers and asked for the best price for high quality printing. I dealt with www.minuteman-vancouver.com because the last job was fantastic and the price was fair. This step is painful because you must pay attention to detail as you approve the last draft, ensure the website is correct and all prices are accurate. My last menu had a manicure service at the wrong price. We had 4 people reviewing the last draft and we all missed it. So GO SLOWLY and make sure it is correct. The printing can costs thousands of dollars so take the time and ask others for their perusal. We also had to update our sales systems in house on December 1st which was the chosen day to launch.
The fifth step is TRAINING. You need to take the time and train your staff on the changes and make it clear to them what has changed, what is new and what is gone. We organized two staff meetings especially for front desk to make sure they could explain the new services and reinforce the changes.
The final step will be DISTRIBUTION. I will make sure they are all over the spa today. I am also putting them in goody bags for our annual Ladies who Launch Trunk Show that will be held at Gramercy Grill Restaurant this Sunday.
Phew! It's a lot of work but it must be done to keep your business looking fresh, to be profitable, and to eliminate the waste.
Happy Holidays!
Nancy
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posted by Nancy @ 1:11 PM
