What I am about to talk about isn’t unique to the menu board industry; it is done time after time when making purchasing decisions. Assumptions are made based on things you have read, seen or heard, but the personal experiences aren’t known until the process is complete. Unlike buying a loaf of bread or a new pair of shoes, buying a menu board, drive-thru, communications, or digital signage system is either a first-time occurrence or something done rather infrequently. [Read more...]
Menu Boards, Etc: Uncommon Questions That Should Be Asked
Menu Board Examples & Their Lack of Purpose
The title that you read above may be a little too aggressive. To be clear, I am not suggesting that menu board examples serve NO purpose. In fact they can be helpful when trying to get the creative juices going and for you to envision how something would look in your location. After all, how else would you be able to see if something will work for you other than by ordering a system sight-unseen? The instances that I am referring to are those where the consumer has seen examples but want more; usually by going to see something in person or through additional layouts that are specific to their niche (i.e. Pizza, Ice Cream, etc). [Read more...]
Monitor & Media Player Combined? Not So Fast…
The majority of digital signage installs that you walk across are comprised of three main components: 1- The monitor/screen, 2- media player and 3- software. However in the last couple of years, LG and Samsung come to mind as providers that have attempted to circumvent the traditional set up with “all-in-one” options. What they have promised is ease of use, and lower start-up costs. Depending on what you are looking for, this couldn’t be further from the truth. [Read more...]
Random Menu Board Thoughts II
Every so often something dawns on me and I think to myself, “I need to write a blog about that.” Then I get to thinking that there isn’t enough substance to talk about on the one topic. So for the second time I am going to touch on a couple of random menu board thoughts. Some may be redundant from blogs past but they have come up again recently and I feel that they should be reinforced. [Read more...]
Summer is Here! Adjust Your Signage Accordingly
Your menu boards have been designed, produced and delivered. They are the shiny new object for your restaurant. Days turn in to weeks, weeks turn in to months and sometimes those months, they become years. Over the course of time the menu boards get dusty, stickers are placed over prices, and the strips become sparse. [Read more...]
Digital Signage for Non-QSR Restaurants
Over the course of the last handful of years the digital signage industry has grown immensely. It still remains a mixed bag of true solutions and pretenders. The ability to sift between the two becomes more difficult by the day. People will often skip to the bottom line and quickly cast a side functionality for a lesser cost and lip-service from a salesperson- “of course you can change your content easily.” With that said, I’m not here to talk about the companies that provide digital signage, nor where these systems are popping up. What I’m going to discuss is a relatively untapped segment where we’ve seen the most impressive impact. After reading this blog my my assumption is that your thoughts will be the same as mine, it’s a no-brainer. [Read more...]
Recent Goings-On in the QSR Industry
In order to help you stay up-to-date on what’s going on in the restaurant industry, we have dedicated this week’s blog to scouring the QSR Magazine, Fast Casual Magazine and Digital Signage Today’s of the world to provide you with what we see as some of the most interesting and recent industry news. A lot of times, reading articles like the ones below can help take your mind to areas you had never considered for your own concept. Take a read, our hope is that you’ll get some takeaways. [Read more...]
Menu Boards: Functionality Versus Budget
For a moment, imagine drawing a graph with “Functionality” on the Y axis and “Budget” on the X axis. From the bottom heading north on the Y would be a list of menu board capabilities and functions that continues to grow. Clumped within would be a series of menu board systems that could accommodate the capabilities. Along the X would be dollar amounts starting at say $250 (per panel) that increases as you venture right. The “Functionality-Budget” line would be drawn on a 45 degree angle from the corner of the Y and X axis point. [Read more...]
4 Less Talked About Effective Uses of Digital Signage
When it comes to digital menu boards most share the same ideas on how they can use them effectively at their location. You know the ones I am talking about: price and menu changes, promotions and specials, day-parting, dynamic content, etc. Of course these are all reasonable ways to deploy your system in order to see your return on investment, however what I am going to submit to you are four other ways in which you can use a robust system to not only increase profitability but also enhance the overall customer and employee experience. [Read more...]
Menu Boards & the Lost Art of Loyalty
You may have read the title and thought to yourself, “this guy is about to unload some sour grapes on us.” Well you’d be incorrect, in fact it’s quite the contrary. [Read more...]