25 Questions to Ask Before Switching to Digital Menu Display Boards
Are you thinking about upgrading your static restaurant menu boards to digital menu displays? Not only can this switch add a modern look and feel to your restaurant, but it’s also been proven to drive increased revenue and success for your restaurant. Upgrading your restaurant technology isn’t all about the screen and player, though—in some ways, that’s the easy part. Even if you only have a few stores, managing menu content across multiple locations can be the biggest challenge.
Rich media, such as videos and animated graphics, is what makes digital menu technology compelling and helps boost revenue through flexible offerings, enticing animations, and engaging customer experiences. Creating rich media, though, requires attention from the creative side, an easy interface to support operations, and adaptable technology to support the unique needs of each location. As you evaluate digital menu technology options for your restaurant, make sure you are asking the right questions.
25 Questions to Ask Providers as You Are in the Qualifying Stages:
- Is the digital menu software easy to use?
- What training or onboarding is available?
- Does the software understand dayparts?
- Can I define my own dayparts by a group, region, or store?
- Can the content be automatically updated across multiple stores from one location?
- How many campaigns can be scheduled at once?
- How far into the future can you schedule campaigns?
- Is it easy to monitor and manage deployed and scheduled campaigns?
- What media formats does the software support?
- Do I have to create my own content or do you provide that service?
- How does menu content get updated?
- How long does it take to update content across many menus?
- Does the software support international locations?
- What types of security features are built into the software?
- Is there an approval workflow?
- Does pricing get populated automatically from point of sale systems?
- Is the software able to handle caloric count data?
- Can the software make use of templates?
- Is there a mobile app to help manage menus on the go?
- Can restaurant operators (with permission) insert content locally?
- What types of displays and media player hardware do the software support?
- Is content streamed or does it reside in the restaurant?
- If a server goes down or internet is unavailable, will content still appear on the menu boards?
- Can software updates and upgrades be done remotely?
- How much does digital menu displays, software, support, and more all cost?
Like most strategic initiatives inherent in running a restaurant or franchise, these must-ask questions are combined business and technology decisions. From inception to completion of your signage upgrade, you can decide the amount of work done by your internal team versus work that can be accomplished by partners. Be sure to involve marketing, operations, and technology teams so everyone can work together to determine the best way to take advantage of digital menu technology and choose the options that fit your store and your customers best.
WAND Digital always considers the unique challenges and needs of each restaurant we team with. For a clearer idea of the features we value and standard we believe you deserve, the chart below compares some of perks to the other digital menu providers. Take a gander and learn what’s possible as you think about upgrading your tech and experiences.
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