Are Digital Menu Boards Right for Your Restaurant?
Restaurant owners are facing increasingly competitive environments. To remain in the forefront of consumers’ minds, they must have more than just delicious food and drink offerings. To attract and sustain customers, a restaurant must have a strong marketing game both online and locally. In addition to a well-developed brand identity, a good website, social media engagement, and local advertising, restaurants should consider whether digital menu boards are right for them.
Digital menu boards are electronic displays, such as a monitor or a TV, which are used to display your menu, announcements, and promotions to customers. Conveniently mounted for everyone to see, they provide a user-friendly interface that’s an eco-friendly alternative to printed marketing materials. When used properly, they can significantly increase customer engagement and drive point of sale purchases.
If you’re wondering whether digital menu boards are right for your restaurant, read on! We’ve put together the following information to aid you in your decision.
9 Benefits of Digital Menu Boards
Digital menu boards have revolutionized the way restaurants interact with their customers. They’ve strengthened restaurant marketing efforts by boosting visibility while also lowering long-term operating costs. To better understand how your restaurant can benefit from digital menu boards, consider the following:
1. Attracting and retaining customers
In the past, many restaurants relied on lengthy wording and mission statements to reach their customers. Now, as we all know, pictures speak louder than words. And, with the modern day increase of social media, viral videos, and popular image sharing platforms, attention spans have shortened. People need more to stay focused than ever before. Digital menu boards can help. By showing tantalizing images and videos of your menu items, on-brand marketing messages, and all the menu information needed to make a decision, you can better entice customers into making a purchase. Furthermore, by simplifying the ordering process for your patrons, they’ll have a stronger impression of the restaurant, increasing your odds at earning their loyalty.
2. Growing sales
Digital menu boards have also been shown to increase point of purchase sales, thus improving your profits over time. Imagery tends to shorten the ordering process, which encourages higher spending. Restaurants have seen anywhere from a 2.5% to 50% increase in sales when they incorporate digital menu boards into their marketing strategy, so it’s worth considering the investment.
3. Convenience
In the past, many restaurants relied on lengthy wording and mission statements to reach their customers. Now, as we all know, pictures speak louder than words. And, with the modern day increase of social media, viral videos, and popular image sharing platforms, attention spans have shortened. People need more to stay focused than ever before. Digital menu boards can help. By showing tantalizing images and videos of your menu items, on-brand marketing messages, and all the menu information needed to make a decision, you can better entice customers into making a purchase. Furthermore, by simplifying the ordering process for your patrons, they’ll have a stronger impression of the restaurant, increasing your odds at earning their loyalty.
4. Reduce your operating costs
Digital menu boards are a higher upfront investment, especially when compared to traditional advertising methods. However, the return that you’ll receive is well worth the initial costs. The benefits of this type of digitalization allows for fast recovery of costs without difficult long-term maintenance. Since digital menus don’t require as much manpower to operate, you’ll also reduce unnecessary labor when you need to change promotions. Taking action to get the most out of your outdoor digital sign is a great way to ensure you keep operating costs low and returns high.
5. Digital menu boards are easy to use
The technology that’s integrated into digital menu boards is easy to use and doesn’t require a harsh learning curve. If you can operate a computer, you can easily navigate the simplicity required to update and manage your promotional items and changing menus. Plus, thanks to remote capabilities, you can change out your signage from anywhere in the world, at any time of the day. If you want a more hands-off approach, you can pre-program changes so that different items are shown at various points throughout the day without having to manually change them.
6. Compliance with local regulations
There are now regulations implemented by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that require restaurant owners to display caloric information on handheld menus and drive-through menu boards. This rule only applies to restaurants that have at least 20 locations, however not adhering to the rule can have serious financial implications. When you utilize a digital menu board, you can easily comply with these laws and future laws as they roll out. The ability to update this aspect alone can save restaurant owners thousands of dollars in printing costs.
7. Digital menu boards reduce wait times
Digital menu boards can help reduce wait times, as they can better inform customers of your menu choices. Since it’s easy to digest the menu, those in line can process potential items faster and with less effort. As an added bonus, you can use digital signage to entertain customers and decrease their perceived wait times by playing promotional videos and sharing trivia or fun facts.
8. Strengthen your brand
Your brand is an important part of your overall company culture and recognition. When you utilize digital menu boards, you take steps to strategically strengthen your brand and create consistent marketing material throughout the year. This can help improve customer loyalty, brand recognition, and more. Traditional menu boards require more commitment from designers, ongoing printing costs, and a variety of other expenses to stay up to date and properly branded.
As a restaurant owner, digital menu boards are one of the best investments you can make to strengthen your marketing strategy and get the most out of your efforts. Don’t fall behind the competition and throw money away on printing costs. Digital menu boards allow for seamless integration across social media platforms, marketing emails, and customer experience.
For outdoor applications, we recommend using a sunlight readable solution such Sun Vision Display’s reflective color LCD technology. In addition to its excellent readability in direct sunlight, SVD’s HD resolution displays can cut your energy costs by up to 95% compared to other types of digital signage. Their unique configuration allows for operation in wide temperature ranges (-20C to +70C). They can be further ruggedized to combat harsh weather situations. To learn more about how your business can benefit from reflective LCD technology, contact the professionals at Sun Vision Display via the below form or by calling +1-224-268-3343.
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