Some of the most important tasks of a restaurant operator are to influence purchasing decisions of customers who walk in through the door, guide them with their menus and convince them to keep coming back for more. Digital menu boards are the most important marketing tool for a restaurant, tying all other promotional items together and enhancing customer experience. Innovations in technology allow digital menus to incorporate eye-catching graphics, dayparted content, and switch between menus instantly, making sure the content always remains fresh and bright, attracts customer attention, and sharpens the appetite.
So how do digital menu boards boost sales?
Images and graphics on a digital screen look much better than static signage. The potential to impact in-store customers, tantalize their taste buds, and result in more sales and profits is much better with digital dynamic imagery. With high levels of flexibility, digital menu boards allow for analyzing what works and what doesn’t, being able to make quick adjustments to the menu, combine creativity with real-time capabilities, and so on to boost sales.
1. Easily update digital menu boards
Flexibility is one of the biggest benefits of digital menu boards.
- If you have many branches in your chain, different locations can have different menus, and these can be displayed accordingly at each outlet.
- Menus can be changed during each meal time – for example, when customers walk in between 8.00-11.00 a.m., they will see only what is available for breakfast at that time of day. As compared to printing several static menus for different day times and more prints when menus change, digital menu boards are much more cost effective.
- You might decide to take off one or two least selling items from your menu or introduce a couple of new food items. In this case also, your digital menu board solution can be updated with just a few clicks as opposed to re-printing static menus.
- Flexibility of digital menu boards allows for highlighting daily specials in a restaurant.
- Restaurants can easily comply with FDA regulations by showing nutritional information of each item by changing slides on their digital menu board software without having to worry about space issues and being non-compliant.
2. Get noticed and reinforce your strengths
Use ‘upsell bugs’ to promote items that are of a higher margin with animated graphics that are simply irresistible. These combo deals can be advertised on digital signage outside the restaurant as well to lure customers inside and then digital menu board systems can tantalize them with more delicious treats to purchase!
Also, rather than just displaying a range of menu items, through quality and creative content, digital menu boards can tell a story while presenting your brand with mouth-watering imagery. The dining experience can also be enhanced with digital technology, in ways you would have never thought of!
3. Improve operational efficiency and service speed
With digital menu technology, products that are faster to make during lunch and dinner peak timings can be highlighted on the menu boards. This can help improve speed-of-service timings, resulting in quick customer throughput and as a result, higher sales.
Also, when customers are standing in queue, waiting to order, digital menu boards can reduce perceived waiting times by showing engaging content and at the same time helping them to decide what to order.
Dayparting means limiting restaurant menu boards to certain essential items when a restaurant wants to remain open till late night or after a big football game. This way, your outlet can handle more business by keeping lesser employees.
4. React quickly to market changes
Customer preferences keep changing with time. Accordingly, your restaurant can adapt to different menu items – more soups and hot drinks in the winter for example, while cold drinks and ice creams to be promoted during hot weather. Other seasonal restaurant promotions such as Valentines Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Xmas, and other festivals can also be done through digital technology that supports your sales strategy, increases revenue, and encourages customer loyalty.
5. Optimize your operation with data analytics
With analytics tools, you can use your in-store menu as your most effective selling tool. Your marketing team will have deeper insights as to which campaigns worked best, which items are most fast selling and how can the customer experience be enhanced. Price limits, new products, market and location differences are a few more things that can be analyzed, based on which appropriate strategies can be rolled out.
6. Content is king
Just like content is king with any other digital signage campaign, the same goes for restaurants too. Some restaurants show only food on their menu boards, but depending on the concept, digital space can be used in a number of ways to inform people about your brand.
- Promote food items that have a high-margin, are a specialty, are easy to make.
- Educate customers about your brand.
- Menu board design should focus on enhancing customer experience.
- Close-ups of best-selling menu items to influence purchasing behavior.
- Control timing of content.
- Reduce wait times with proper queue management.
- Target specific areas of electronic menu boards for compelling visuals.
- Connect with customers by encouraging them to post restaurant pictures on social media platforms.
7. HD Quality content to attract passing customers
With high-definition graphics and videos displayed on your digital menu board solution, not only are you giving in-store customers a great experience, you are also attracting passers by to stop and enter your restaurant for a meal or a snack in the middle of a busy day.
