The dreaded monthly fee;  the chief concern when it comes to digital signage for some.  When it comes to pricing, it isn’t uncommon for this to be the first questions asked, “are there any monthly fees?”  I am not here to tell you that the only viable and true solutions are those that carry monthly fees, not at all.  In fact, there are file management-type systems that should be used for those who make changes “once in a blue moon” or for those with the internal manpower to manage a network and content on a day-to-day basis (although in this situation just keep in mind that companies are not paying a monthly fee but are paying a human being instead- guessing it is more too!). [Read more...]

The dreaded monthly fee. Wait-a-minute, maybe I shouldn’t be so dramatic as we’re seeing more and more people adapt to the idea. There are a number of reasons for monthly fees, 1- cloud-based access, 2- software as a service (SAAS), 3- support, etc. Today I would like to focus on #3.  The point is not to get focused on the monthly fee itself, which could also be in the form of an annual or semi-annual fee but to understand the value around it. [Read more...]

Over the last few years, we have written over a hundred blogs.  For the most part, we cover five areas, 1- Digital Menu Boards, 2- Drive-thru Menu Boards, 3- Traditional Menu Boards, 4- Display Fixtures & Graphics, and 5- Random Thoughts & Industry news.  As we continue to write blogs on a weekly basis we do recognize that there is some redundancy in what we talk about, however, there are some key takeaways that should not be overlooked.

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When we discuss digital signage with people, we always ask what their objectives are. This is the single easiest way of determining which solution, if any, would be ideal for them. For the most part, the responses are similar. On the restaurant side, it’s “I want to be able to changes my items and pricing and maybe promote a special or two.”  As many of you know, this is just scratching the surface in terms of most digital signage software capabilities. The more alarming issue is that a lot of those who go the route of digital get it designed, set up and turned on and nothing much from there changes over months to even years.  This is a discouraging trend that can give the idea of digital signage a bad name.  Put another way, if you ask someone who doesn’t use even half of the systems functions how it is working out for them, they may have a negative viewpoint.  However, I would submit to you that those who utilize the system frequently would rave about its flexibility and impression.

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