EP7: Measuring Your Results

Smart Menus — Episode 07: Measuring Your Results ~9 minutes

The final episode. Measuring results should be simple enough that it actually happens. This episode keeps it practical and specific. A small number of things, tracked consistently, and honestly assessed. That's all you need.

In this episode:

• How your baseline survey results from the start of this series become your "before" numbers, and what to track between now and your follow-up check-in
• Revenue signals to watch: check averages, requests for plant-based modifications, and whether guests who previously had limited options are coming back
• The Veto Vote effect in the data: why it tends to show up in covers and table duration before it appears in any other metric, and what a 60-person catering order illustrates about the real business impact of visible plant-based options
• Dish performance: how to read what's selling, what isn't, and how to diagnose an underperforming dish before cutting it from the menu
• Ingredient purchasing as a macro signal: why tracking plant-based ingredients as a percentage of total purchasing tells you more than weekly dish counts alone
• Guest experience signals worth capturing: social media mentions, server-relayed feedback, and what it means when a dish never shows up in anyone's feed
• Kitchen and team signals: how to tell whether plant-based prep is running smoothly or creating friction, and how to trace it back to a specific cause
• A simple weekly tracking system that gives you everything you need without a complicated spreadsheet
• Why your results matter beyond your own restaurant, and how documented evidence from working kitchens shifts the conversation across the industry