Business Opportunities Weblog

Does Your Business Need a Secret Menu?

By on March 7, 2011 in Ideas

In-N-Out Burger is a California-based hamburger chain with a cult-like following. One of the things that makes them so special is that they have an incredibly simple simple menu.

Photo by jasonlam

The only foods on their menu are hamburgers, cheeseburgers, sodas, shakes and fries. With so few items, they can excel at making quality food.

But the truth is, they have a secret menu. You can order nearly 30 different items not published on their menu and Serious Eats has documented them all.

Who benefits? Their fans, of course. People love nothing more than to be a member of a “secret club” or an “insider”. Who doesn’t relish the idea of walking into an establishment and having everyone know your name, ala Cheers? Ordering from the secret menu gives the customer the same sort of feel; they’re not just a faceless consumer — they’re someone special.

How could your business benefit from a secret menu, especially if you’re not a restaurant?

Photo by jasonlam.

restaurants

Business Opportunities Weblog editor and publisher Dane Carlson lives in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, just 15 miles from Yosemite National Park. He accidentally became a professional blogger in 2001. He has added 12,203 posts to the site.

Another Idea: How to Start a Menu Planner Business

  • http://n.a. Cindy Hawkins

    Whoa this is sooo cool. When I was tending bar and catering, we’d often get repeat customers, for whom I’d have already prepared special dishes or drinks in the past. I’d be behind the bar, step up, saying: “Good evening, Mike! Your usual?” In a world where things can be quite impersonal, isn’t it great to walk in to a place and be hailed as a ‘member of the inside group”, rather than some insignificant stranger?

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