So you’ve taken the plunge and decided to switch to a digital menu board at your fast food restaurant or coffee shop. What can you do to ensure that you are using it to its fullest potential?
During your opening phases of preparation to implement digital menu boards, be sure to think about the full scope of your design and it should fit perfectly with your current brand design features and brand messages. Don’t forget who you are talking to!
1. Focus on combos or packaged meals. Customers, whether in a drive-through or in a row indoors, tend to get nervous when asked what they want to order. Dedicating enough space to combo meals helps the customer make a decision quickly and can help you sell products.
2. Make it legible. Customers often report that menu boards are too high or that the writing on them is too small. There’s nothing more frustrating than not being able to see your menu when you’re hungry, except maybe spending money on digital signage just so no one reads it. Put your menu board in a conspicuous place and make your font large enough to read, even for someone who just walked in without their glasses.
3. Be smart about images. Our eyes are drawn to images, so make them count. Especially in foodservice, it is important to have images of your products available, particularly the products you want to sell the most. Do you want to sell more desserts? Combos? Drinks Dedicate more images. Consumers will notice.
4. Change it. With the rise of digital signage, menu boards are now more dynamic than ever. Changes to electronic boards can be done much more quickly and at a lower cost than with traditional boards. Take advantage of this opportunity and dedicate some space to changing options. Don’t change the entire screen regularly or people will get confused, but leave some room to make use of your dynamic menu board – use it to display special offers, promotions, or seasonal messages. (Know your audience) Think about the location of your digital menu board. Do visitors rush up a staircase or wait at a job site? How will this affect your ability to promote them? Consider what the most suitable font size will be for the given conditions along with how fast text and elements need to move or scroll.
Many customers stop to look at the menu each time they enter. Taking the time and thinking about how your restaurant or self-service menu board is organized can really make a difference!