How to Leverage Digital Signage in Every Type of Restaurant
Digital signage is modernizing the dining experience. Restaurants of all shapes and sizes use digital displays to communicate to customers in new and more effective ways.
However, not all restaurants have the same requirements. In fact, many establishments will use digital signage in very different ways than others. Thoughtful digital signage implementation in a quick service restaurant (QSR) for example, could be wildly different from what would work in a sit-down restaurant.
With that said, here’s how digital signage can be used in every type of restaurant, from fast food and fast casual to sit-down dining options.
Fast Food Restaurants
Speed and efficiency are crucial in fast-food restaurants. If done right, digital signage can cut through the chaos and deliver clear messaging to customers.
Here’s how to leverage fast food digital signage:
- Efficient Digital Menus: Digital menu boards allow fast food restaurants to display menus clearly and change items in seconds. For busy periods, they can simplify the menu by showing only the most popular items, streamlining the ordering process and reducing wait times.
- Highlighting Promotions: Digital signage can be used to rotate promotions and upsell items withhigher margins. By displaying meal upgrades, add-ons, or combo options, fast food restaurants can encourage customers to order more, ultimately driving sales.
- Eliminate errors: Digital screens in drive-thru lanes can display customers' orders back to them in real-time as they place them. This helps prevent any errors your drive-thru worker might have made during their order due to noise or a hectic environment.
Fast Casual Restaurants
Fast casual restaurants have to deal with the craziness of fast food while also providing a higher-quality dining experience. It’s a tough balance, but digital signage can help.
Fast casual digital signage must balance efficiency with an inviting, informative touch. Here’s how:
- Engaging Menu Design: Fast casual restaurants can use digital displays to highlight daily specials and limited-time offerings. Food items can also be shown in mouthwatering fashion with videos and motion graphics. These can boost sales.
- Informative Content: Fast casual restaurants can also benefit from using digital signage to inform customers about the food they are eating, such as nutritional information, ingredient sourcing, and meal customization options. This is especially useful with restaurant brands targeting a health-conscious audience.
- Ordering Kiosks: In fast casual establishments, self-order digital kiosks can save time and labor costs for your restaurant. These interactive screens can also be used to offer additional items to customers right before they checkout.
Casual Dining
Unlike QSRs, casual dining restaurants focus on a relaxed, comfortable sit-down experience. While digital signage shouldn’t be as in-your-face in these types of restaurants, it can still be a game-changer when implemented strategically.
- Highlighting Special Menus: Casual dining establishments can use digital displays to showcase limited-time menu items, happy hour promotions, or special cocktail offerings. Just make sure your digital signage is unobtrusive and only enhances the overall ambiance.
- Entertainment and Engagement: Casual dining restaurants can also use digital signage to show sporting events, trivia questions, or interactive games. This can engage customers and keep them in your restaurant for longer.
- Event Promotions: Sit-down restaurants can also use their digital signage to advertise special events, such as Taco Tuesdays, Kids Eat Free, and holiday-themed nights. This can keep guests in the know and encourage repeat customers.
As you can see, digital signage isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution in the restaurant industry. Careful planning of what you want your restaurant's digital signage to accomplish is hugely important.
So whether you want to install digital signage in your quick service restaurant or a more formal environment, digital signage can help you boost sales, increase brand awareness, and communicate with customers much more effectively.