Digital Menu Board: do you really need them?

Catering in the digital age

Today, we use the smartphone to shop, book trips, inform us... and more recently even to buy food to eat at home, thanks to the many mobile apps available on the market. To compete, traditional restaurants need to evolve and integrate the dynamics of digital interaction within their premises.

One of the first and fundamental steps is the implementation of Digital Menu Board: digital screens showing the restaurant's offer: dish prices, features, images, videos, available promotions. Some screens can be equipped with touch technology, so that customers can choose and customize their meal.

All this obviously has a cost and, despite the falling prices of technology, it can prove to be a demanding investment. The fact is that larger restaurant chains have already adapted to the new trend, marking the way forward for the whole sector. Thus, it is becoming urgent to try to understand what the advantages of the Digital Menu Board are, so as to be able to evaluate them with conscience costs and benefits.

It improves the experience

A restaurant is not a "service station" for food, where you fill up and leave. It is a place for socializing, sharing, emotions. The Digital Menu Board, with its captivating images, the ability to also show multimedia content, the involvement of touch interaction, makes the meal experience even more enjoyable. The queue at the counter is no longer a hassle, if you can spend that time scrolling through the digital menu and deciding on your meal. In some places, you can even pay without going through the cash desk, through Mobile Payment systems, making the visit even more enjoyable. You can also implement a system that shows waiting times for each order, which contributes to the relaxation of your guests.

It motivates purchases

Today, customers are hungry for information: they want to know the origin of a dish, the preparation, the ingredients, the health benefits, the caloric intake... a large mass of data for which you would struggle to find space on printed menus. Digital Menu Boards offer more flexibility, because they are easy to update, they can offer rotating content and insights, without space limitations.

It stimulates upselling

The Digital Menu Board suggests the combination of drinks and dishes, the addition of side dishes, such as sauces, or extra portions, at a discounted price. Instead of having to consult the paper menu or listen to the restaurant attendant, your client can immediately see at the entrance the offers in progress on the screens upon entering and calmly configure his meal on one touch screen while he is in the queue and urgently needs to order. Freedom of choice always leads him to order something extra.

It improves management

You can easily and centrally control all the devices on your network. You can launch new products, create promotions for limited periods of time or at specific times, publish new content or update existing ones. This way you can discover more quickly what your customers really want by improving their satisfaction and loyalty, but you can also attract new customers by making targeted proposals. Then, if you have a chain of restaurants, you can update the contents in one session for all the networks of all premises, with a considerable saving of time and resources. Moreover, this gives you full control of your image and the characteristics of your offer.

It improves communication

You can use your Digital Menu Board network to entice people from outside the premises, showing what you provide and your strengths on screen, even when you are closed. The network can stay on 24 hours a day, extending your reputation and stimulating brand awareness. Like all digital systems, the network can be used to open dialog with your customers, keeping track of their habits and preferences. This way, you can satisfy them more and more.

It increases revenue

In general, the statistics show that profits increase in places where the Digital Menu Board network is introduced, for all the reasons mentioned above: more satisfied customers, more inclined to spend and to return. Furthermore, you can use your network as advertising space for your business partners or your suppliers, further increasing your profits. The most significant savings item is the lack of need to print, reprint, post and remove printed materials with each price change, menu or news. In this way you also produce less waste, safeguarding the environment, and using your employees' time better.

In conclusion

The advantages offered by a Digital Menu Board network are numerous and attractive. The initial investment, however demanding, pays for itself relatively quickly. In addition, Digital Transformation is an unstoppable process in all sectors of activity, from industry to tourism, from retail to services. Not embracing this change could mean being cut off from the future. Is it a luxury that your restaurant can afford?