Yes, it’s November and we’ve already been seeing festive digital menu designs and seasonal menu items promoted in stores, drive-thrus and restaurants since September. If you haven’t changed up your menu design or items, it’s not too late to make some quick tweaks to entice customers to try new items and make the most of the season. Whether you’re designing digital menu boards for one location or one hundred, read on for quick “hacks” to spice up your digital menus for the fall and winter seasons.

When customers have a tempting deal, like a limited time offer tied to a season or holiday, displayed in front of them at just the right time (ahem, a steaming pumpkin spice latte as soon as there is a chill in the air), their total order suddenly grows. Even if you don’t have a specific seasonal product to promote, you can create a special, stand-out experience in line with the season for your quick service restaurant (QSR) customers and dining patrons. Yes, I’d like a bowl of hot chili, please, and a maple flavored coffee with pumpkin pie for dessert. Whether or not these are items your location offers year round, you can put a seasonal twist on the design and messaging by tying it to the weather (i.e., “Warm up with our hearty chili.”), colors of the local season, and images that evoke emotions or memories about the time of year.

Simple, bold designs or well-timed promotional takeovers can draw customers’ attention to the most highly profitable areas of the menu and educate your customers about new and featured menu items. If you are promoting a limited time offer or seasonal menu items, keep the design and message simple. Just hit on the key elements that will get your customers’ attention. Your customers do not need to know every detail about the item based on the digital menu design. Give them enough understanding to be intrigued but not overwhelmed. For example, a simple message might be, “Add a peppermint flavor shot to your latte for a seasonal pick me up.” This, paired with an image of a peppermint candy, can be enough information to sway customers to indulge in the season. 

Quality food photography goes a long way. And these days, with stock images being very affordable (sometimes free), there are endless options to meet your needs. If you can’t find an image that matches your seasonal item exactly, say, butternut squash soup, it is okay to use stock images to represent ingredients like spices, herbs, or a whole squash.

If this is too much to fit in this year or you want to get ahead for next year, start considering how a digital menu board solution like WAND’s can help you easily and quickly swap up menu items and design, and manage seasonal and limited time offers. WAND’s digital menu board platform enables you to schedule out your design assets to hit your digital menus at the right time, no matter how many locations you are running. If you are already using WAND’s digital menu board software, give us a call, and we can help you make some design tweaks or strategize for next year. 

Line out the door? People hate waiting. This is a statement that seems to be true for everybody, whether it’s waiting at the doctor’s office, waiting for the elevator, or waiting in line at a restaurant. And when it comes to customer wait time, you don’t want a bad rep. Some may think that time is a constant, and that waiting 10 minutes is the same regardless of the situation.

In reality, waiting is less about the actual time spent waiting and more about perception. The importance and impact of perceived waiting time is why you’ll often find a full magazine rack or a fish tank in your doctor’s office waiting room. These items are there for a reason—to busy, preoccupy, entertain, and engage customers with the goal of making their experience more pleasurable and their perceived wait time less.

When it comes to the restaurant industry, the perception of how long your customers wait to order their food, and then wait to get their food can affect, their perception of your business. And a sour perception can definitely sour your bottom line. Over the years, there has been a lot of research that has gone into minimizing the customer’s perceived wait time in different industries. One major recommendation is to give the customers an experience in the line using video displays. Digital menu boards provide a great avenue for displaying video and could result in a 15% shorter perceived wait time.

By providing customers the opportunity to review your product offerings while they wait in line or engage in a new way, digital menu boards not only give customers something to do while they wait, they also speed up the actual ordering process. Customers who have the ability to view the full menu while waiting in line are more prepared to place their order by the time they reach the front of the line.

You can use digital menu restaurant displays to feature promotions, improve product familiarity, and build brand loyalty while customers wait in line, too. Think critically and strategically about your use of colors and video as well, as motion has been proven to capture the consumer’s eye. Digital menu boards can help you meet a variety of business goals, but at a minimum, they help reduce perceived customer wait time and create a more efficient ordering process that leads to increased customer satisfaction and a better overall customer experience.

This is one of the most commonly asked questions we receive about digital menus at WAND Digital. After all, a screen is a screen, right? When it comes to hardware longevity, durability, and capabilities, we’re about to learn that a TV is no substitute for what a restaurant needs.

Sure, this DIY combination of a jump drive and typical consumer TV screen may work in a pinch for very small operators or short-term needs. However, this duo is definitely not a feasible, long-term solution for multi-unit restaurant concepts or restaurant operators who want worry-free, reliable equipment in their restaurants.

If you’re looking to upgrade your restaurant signage with digital menu technology, investing in commercial-grade screens is a smart move for both your customers and your bottom line.

The old adage “you get what you pay for” doesn’t break down when we talk about menu display technology. Consumer-grade TV screens only need to last for about 20,000 hours of operational time before failure in order to receive a UL listing (UL is ISO standards for display technology). If you run your displays for even just 12 hours per day, every day of the week, you’re looking at a 4-year lifespan in a best-case scenario.

Compare that milestone with a commercial-grade display that generally needs to provide three times the operational capacity. Looking at this as a value proposition, this means you’ll go through three of those “cheaper” displays in the same span of time as you would with just one of the more durable commercial-grade screens. In the long run, the cheaper option could end up costing you more than investing in a quality commercial-grade screen from the get-go.

One thing we all know about the restaurant industry is it gets hot and greasy—fast. The typical TV screen is made to be viewed from the comfort of our temperature-controlled living rooms where they might endure a layer of dust and cat fur from time to time. The screens that operate for a few hours at a time (unless you’re binge-ing a particularly great series) aren’t designed to withstand the heat and grease of a quick-service or fast-casual restaurant.

As a result, the TV screens we pick up at the big box store aren’t likely to last longer than a couple of years in a restaurant setting. Commercial-grade screens, on the other hand, can take the heat and will last years longer in the conditions of QSRs and fast-casual restaurants. This durability and longevity gives restaurant owners peace of mind and their wallets a bit more cash.

Most TV screen warranties clearly detail that commercial use of the TV screen falls outside of the product’s warranty. Even if this isn’t the case for your TV screen, warranty repair work often requires that the owner bring the screen in for repair service. Imagine having to take down and transport your only menu display during an extremely busy day. (We all know that issues only arise on really busy days!)

Not only that, but how well will your business operate with only a portion of your menu on display? Most commercial-grade screen providers, in contrast, offer a warranty program that covers repairs and will ship and install a replacement or temporary screen when issues arise. For example, WAND’s warranty guarantees next-business day system repair or replacement, giving you added peace of mind that your equipment will always meet the demands of your restaurant.

Your typical TVs have lots of different settings that can be used to control color, brightness, channel labels, inputs, and more. If you’ve ever accidentally stumbled into the settings menu on your TV, and somehow turned everything green, you know what we’re talking about!

A restaurant manager may become extremely frustrated when setting or adjusting the TV settings properly to display their menu boards in their unique setting. Likewise, an employee may unknowingly change the TV screen settings and not know how to resolve the error. These situations are frustrating and, unfortunately, all too common. Commercial screens, however, include a tailored user interface that allows the operator to set up the screens and ensure they’re programmed to accurately display the menus.

Commercial-grade screens are built for rigorous and demanding environments, which means beefed up durability and capabilities that align with the needs of a business owner (and not a movie buff nestled in their home cinema). After all, there’s a reason that commercial-grade digital menu displays in lieu of off-the-shelf TVs.

One of the best features of digital menu boards is the ability to capture attention with motion. Did you know a display with animation can automatically attract ten times more eye contact from your customers? But when you’re creating animated digital menu boards, all movement is not created equal.

If someone is scanning your menu and a moving object grabs their attention, and it doesn’t whet their appetite, that does more harm than good. Random, unintentional movement on a digital menu board can distract people from buying the featured items or from buying more. Using animation on your digital menu boards can positively impact your bottom line only if done correctly.

At WAND, we strive to deploy strategic and aesthetically pleasing digital menu board strategies. As we work through the creative process with you, we begin with a static design then add strategic animations to complement your menu content. Everything we do is based on the simple question “What business objectives are you trying to accomplish with your digital menu boards?”

Do you want to increase foot traffic in your stores? Would you like to sell more of your most profitable items? What kind of limited-time deals or promotions will you be offering? These are all important goals and should be prioritized to help guide the creation of your digital menu boards.

After you prioritize your goals, it’s time to gather the assets you need to create your digital menu board content. You can start by using assets you already have without spending time or money to create new ones. High-quality photos enhance a menu and help highlight a particular product. If you have limited resources of your own, there are a handful of websites offering free high-resolution images for public use. Videos are even better.

Hot steam on an item can give your customers a “fresh out of the oven” impression. Fast movement can signify fun or playful feelings. Slow movement can imply that it is a high-end product. A slow pan across the screen can suggest a large variety of items, while a slow zoom can enhance focus on a specific item. A takeover, where chips or fruit fall from the top of the screen, can be extremely effective at moving attention to the right products. All of this can be accomplished using much of what you already have saved on your computer.

When designing animations for digital menu boards, it’s important to consider the entire environment where the boards will be displayed. You should think about the following:

Use these questions to help guide your content and animation strategy, so everyone involved understands your goals and priorities. Communication between your team members is key to ensuring the successful execution of your content strategy. (Don’t forget to include promotions, limited-time offers, or connections to your social media profiles!)

A digital menu board with great content and strategic animation can make a huge difference between a customer that feels overwhelmed and one that feels confident in their purchasing decision. Digital menu boards and clever design can help create an impulse to purchase add-ons while appealing to multiple audiences at the same time.

Backed by years of professional graphic design and animation experience, the WAND Digital design team is skilled at creating award-winning digital content that will give your digital menu boards the movement and appearance they need to represent your brand and engage your customers. Contact us today!

Consumers now routinely expect dynamic digital content, which they receive through smartphones, televisions, and computers. Going out to eat is no different. People want to be wowed. Some may need a little persuasion to spring for that dessert or try a new premium item. Digital menu boards get that message across and encourage guests to make further purchases.

“Coming into a restaurant with a static menu experience can be a bit of a letdown, and out of sync with customer’s expectations,” says Tim Butler, president of WAND, a leading provider of digital menu technology. “Digital menus are a relatively new technology and there’s a misconception these are merely a replacement for some of the more traditional media. We see it not as a replacement but an enhancement and a way to transform the customer experience.”

Installing digital menu boards can enhance the customer’s understanding of a brand, he says. This helps the customer develop a deeper appreciation of what the restaurant is all about and further engage with it. The goal is not just to convey the restaurant’s message, but to do it in a way that drives customer loyalty and increased sales.

“Saying ‘We’re Organic’ on a static sign or menu may not be enough to make an impression,” Butler says, “but showing customers the process of farm-to-table in a video can highlight the brand’s values in a more impactful way. Plus, restaurants are already competing with smartphones for eyeballs. Digital menu displays create a similar sensory experience as a smartphone and engage customers with interesting visuals and movement.”

“A paper menu is not going to win a customer’s attention over a smartphone,” Butler says. “You don’t stand a chance unless you combat the potential distraction of one medium with a similar medium. The engaging nature of digital menus can shape customer demand in real time.”

Content on a display is only limited by imagination, Butler says. If a restaurant is trying to sell more desserts or promote a special, digital menus are all about show and tell. They’re also consistent. A digital menu never forgets to tell customers about the restaurant’s offerings. And when it’s time to look at ROI, comparative testing can be as easy as a couple of clicks, using software tools that work with digital displays to evaluate how well campaigns are working.

“You can do an A/B test in two or three markets in a matter of hours, not days,” he says. “At WAND, we’re seeing a three-to-five times increase in loyalty programs in a matter of days just by highlighting these programs on the digital menu board. At the corporate marketing level, we’ve heard our clients say that they have reduced marketing costs by 70 percent while increasing same-store sales.”

Because customer response can be measured so quickly with a digital campaign, sales data and digital messaging can be correlated, evaluated and tested constantly and in near real-time. This presents an opportunity to tweak the franchise business model and understand what engages customers to drive both sales upside and reduce costs.

Additionally, digital menu boards allow brands to respond to issues or make desired menu changes quickly. “Digital gives you the ability to iterate,” Butler says. “It’s easy to tweak. You can schedule what you want to display. With a print campaign, changes can be expensive and take a long time, so testing or making quick pricing or product changes isn’t really a viable option in a lot of cases.”

Building a brand through visuals and movement is the magic behind WAND, which is focused on enterprise digital menu display technology for quick-service and fast-casual restaurants. Drawing on WAND’s industry experience, Butler knows the common mistakes restaurateurs should avoid with digital menus displays. For best results, think in terms of motion, eye-catching visuals and what the message should accomplish.

“The single most common mistake is deploying existing static content into a digital format,” he says. “You want to take advantage of the medium. You also need to know the desired business objectives. Simply hanging menu boards is going to help a bit, but not as much until you really know what you’re trying to accomplish.”

Butler says once restaurants understand their goals, they should look at the creative capabilities of a partner before choosing. “Digital boards are a medium, not the solution in and of itself,” Butler explains. “Whether you have two stores or 20,000 sites, you have to have a consistent and engaging brand experience across all of your locations. The right creative content that is designed with the goals of the brand and the customer experience in mind can really provide a boost to a business.”

“This can have an incredible effect as you upsell or cross-sell,” he says. “Present a message to buy a soda with this or add a cookie with that. You can influence your customer’s behavior to drive sales of featured items or increase ticket size with add-on items. Well-designed digital menus do more than add a modern look and feel to your restaurants. They soon become the most powerful component of your in-store marketing strategy.”

By Steve Evans: https://www.qsrmagazine.com/sponsored/are-digital-menu-boards-most-powerful-tool-driving-customer-experience

In the hospitality industry, standing out from the crowd requires innovation. That often means incorporating new types of technology. This is especially relevant in the fast-casual niche. Though unit growth has slowed, openings still rose by 6.1% in 2017, and more competition necessitates broader, more creative marketing. The key to standing out and scaling bigger is digital menu tech to achieve your fast-casual restaurant strategy.

When an owner or operator chooses to bring in digital menu boards, possibilities are endless. With mountains of functionality and an opportunity to boost sales at stake, these expertly conceived displays offer a modern look and a chance to simultaneously improve sales and customer experience for all types of fast-casual restaurants.

Facilite Dining on the Go

Fast-casual restaurants occupy the space between fast-food outlets and fine-dining establishments. These gourmet sandwich spots and artisan pizzerias offer delicious eats for people who want quality options with a quick turnaround. Digital menus help restaurants showcase profitable menu items and help patrons make a decision long before they reach the cashier. Lower wait times and faster ordering mean more table turns and a jump in the total of guests served — in other words, happier consumers and more profit. Win-win!

Identify Your Restaurants Differentiators

As of fall 2017, there were 25,118 fast-casual restaurants in the United States. That’s a cluttered landscape for consumers trying to remember why they prefer one chicken restaurant over the next. Brands interested in separating themselves from the pack can use digital menu boards to highlight those characteristics and offerings that serve as a key differentiator. It might include:

While static displays can technically get the job done, digital signage has some serious advantages. WAND Digital’s menu solutions offer the ultimate control — you can introduce new menu items, launch new promotional campaigns, and publish menu changes to all of your store’s menu boards with a simple push of a button. The ability to create animated graphics and other examples of rich media draws consumer attention, getting more mileage out of company assets and the differentiators mentioned above.

Advertise Smart Impulse Upsells

In a space where the PPA range is fairly narrow, boosting annual revenue can be strikingly dependent on incremental sales — those small “extras” such as dessert, toppings, side dishes, specialty drinks, and double meat. You may not be able to get every customer to come in twice a week, but if you boost each guest’s check by 10%, that’s an impressive escalation. Given the fact that 30% of video viewers make an unplanned purchase, a digital menu may be just what you need to fuel sales.

Digital menu boards are also prime real estate for those mouthwatering photos that usually gain traction on media-heavy sites like Instagram. It’s easy for customers to get on board with paying extra for a juicy prime Angus burger when they can see a representative image of that burger in full color right in front of them. Professional pictures of unusual or premium items give guests more confidence in their purchases while also giving them something nice to look at while they wait.

Encourage Customer Engagement

Multiple studies have shown that restaurant-goers connect technology with improved guest experience. There are lots of reasons why that could be true, and many tie closely into the functionality of digital signage. With WAND’s digital menu boards, fast-casual restaurants can:

Invest in Tech to Drive Your Restaurant Goals

Almost all fast casual operators have one half of their brain permanently thinking about growth. Scaling your business is important if you want to continually increase profit and geographic coverage, but a burgeoning empire translates into stretched resources. The centralized controls mentioned above give WAND Digital partners the ability to maintain brand cohesion and launch promotions in a plethora of units all at the same time. No store-to-store disconnect or pricing snafus, just consistency and professional displays that are both impressive and effective.

Total revenue in the quick-service restaurant sector (which includes fast-casual outlets) was hit a whopping $263 billion not long ago. Operators eager to sit down to a huge slice of that financial pie need to think creatively and buy into technology-fueled innovations.