Digital menu board tips

Digital signage is quickly becoming a common sight in quick service restaurants.  There are many reasons for this.  For example, many US states have passed legislation that require nutritional information be displayed prominently so customers can make healthier food choices.

This is great for digital signage and mobile communication technologies.  They are ideal for distributing detailed product information while providing a useful marketing platform for QSR  chains.

Large corporation with access to quasi-unlimited resources are all over this stuff.  Walk into any modern McDonalds, Burger King or other similar chain and you will see some great examples of digital signage hanging behind the counters.

By now, we all know the benefits of digital menu boards...

• Flexibility: Instantly change the menus being displayed according to the time of day, promotion, competitive environment, etc...
• Visual impact: Attract and retain customer's attention with bold animations or video content.
• Immediacy: In many cases, menu board content and pricing is driven by the operator's POS system ensuring the information is always kept up to date.
• Consistency: By updating content across every location, restaurant chain owners can ensure their messaging is kept up to date and consistent across pricing or geographic regions.  Promotions are synchronized and kept up to date without local staff's involvement.

But this is only part of the story.  Digital signage can do much more than just menus.  It's a communication platform. And what makes it great at informing customers also works for the restaurant's staff who require ongoing training, product information and guidance.

Smart operators should really consider the benefits of adding an extra screen for their common meeting/training area.  By then, the infrastructure is already in place so the cost of one more screen is easy to justify when it helps improve your company's bottom line.

So how can smaller QSR chains take advantage of this new technology without breaking the bank?

Start with a Google image search using the terms "digital signage menu boards" and see what comes up.  You may be surprised when the search engine returns hundreds of thousands of results. Take the time to explore these results and you will discover a wide range of menu applications, from static portrait layouts to fully interactive kiosks.  This will provide some really useful inspiration.

Take the time to figure out what you want to achieve before you consider any specific hardware and software solution.  Consider screen locations, layouts and orientation.  Decide if you want a lot of activity on screen or if a more static approach works better because these factors will drive your choices.

For example, video and Flash animations require a more powerful PC than static images and text.  This is even more critical if you choose to drive multiple screens from a single computing device.  Not every software product supports multi-screen and multi-channel installations so it's important to ask these questions early on, before you make your final selection.

Think of mounting options.  Do you plan to install the PCs at the rear of the screens or will you place them in a remote and secure area, away from heat and humidity from the kitchen?  These are very important questions that must be asked early on.

If at all possible, keep your options open and don't go at it alone.  The trick is to find knowledgeable  partners who can help build a solution that will meet your own specific requirements.

You don't need the resources of a McDonalds to do digital signage right but you must take the time to do your research and your planning before you get too far in the process.

photo credit: 85mm.ch via photo pin cc