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Secret Menus!
A few restaurants, mainly fast food, and now Panera Bread (PNRA), have created 'Secret Menus' for in-the-know customers. These 'secret menus' offer restaurant items that are not featured on the regular menu.
Ron Schlach, founder of Panera Bread says ""Secret menus allow us to speak to one audience without the investment and infrastructure of putting an item on the menu." He also adds that secret menus are simply "Very cool." The cache of ordering from a secret menu may be enough for some customers to try it... it certainly sounds like a great way to generate buzz about a restaurant.
In added bonus- for the additional buzz generated, there is very little cost. The secret menu is mostly communicated via social media and word of mouth.
I will say though, that I actually stumbled upon Panera's secret menu recently while browsing the website to see if it was worth a trip. The menu, not prominent on the website but still accessible with not too much effort is here. Other chains with secret menus include In-N-Out Burger, Taco Bell, and according to some customers, McDonald's (although McDonald's executives seem to disagree).
In my opinion, this idea is genius... It creates a bond with the customers who feel special just knowing about the secret menu and many will appreciate the cache of ordering off of a menu that is not posted for all to see. Not to mention, the social media/word of mouth-only advertising is extremely cost-effective and keeps the 'in-the-know' exclusivity factor intact.
More information on secret menus can be found here from US News- Money section.
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