With dynamic digital menu boards, Quick Service Restaurants have the ability to quickly and efficiently update or change various aspects of the menu.

The entire chain can make a menu change with a click of a button, which saves a great amount of time, especially for large chains like Burger King, Dunkin’ Donuts, KFC, Wendy’s, McDonald’s, and Arby’s. With over 70% of the overall business accounted for in the drive-thru, why would a QSR not want to take advantage of the benefits of outdoor digital menu boards? They can save a QSR a good deal of money in the long run.

9 Great Benefits of Outdoor Digital Menu Boards

1. Dayparting – If the restaurant is in the majority and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, then dayparting is an absolute must! Taco Bell, who invented ‘fourth meal,' adds an additional daypart that many other QSR’s have incorporated over the years. Digital will eliminate the need to constantly change static panels throughout the day, thus freeing up an employee to complete other important tasks. During busy times of the day (between breakfast and lunch), it is always great to have an extra employee on hand to flip burgers, make fries, and fill beverage cups.
   
   
2. Centralized Control of Menu Content – The ability to have all of the menu board content in one location can potentially eliminate staff and printing errors. In addition, it greatly decreases the expenses of managing the system by using a central location. With one location, a QSR chain can easily monitor if the menu boards are running at every location. Clare Pitt, Manager, Image & Merchandising, Wendy’s International, discussed digital signage in her article ‘Benefits Outweigh Costs of Digital Menu Boards for Wendy's,' on the Hospitality Technology website, “With digital signage, you no longer have to use pricing stickers on menu boards, pricing can be updated automatically. Content can be changed almost instantly and pushed to your location within minutes, cutting down on operational manpower and eliminating shipping and printing timelines.”
   
   
3. Pricing Flexibility – Which brings us to our next point, a QSR has the exciting opportunity to experiment with running specials at varying prices to test what customers are willing to spend and how many food items they may be willing to order. Digital lets a chain effectively institute price changes to all locations. As many QSRs experiment with the “happy hour” concept, price changes can be made for a couple hours in the afternoon, and then switched back to regular prices when the special is over. For example, Arby’s had a successful roll-out of their sliders in the third quarter of 2015 and are now offering the sliders for $1 during happy hour.
   
   
4. Lower Costs for Menu Changes – Eliminate pricey static menu board changes with digital. Printing various menus for numerous locations can quickly add up to an alarming amount of money. Digital eliminates static menus, both inside and outside.Visually’s infographic titled “How Can Digital Signage Boost Your Business?” noted that users of digital signage saw a 49 percent decrease in the cost of menu changes
   
   
5. Increased Sales – With the correct content strategy, higher check averages, increased sales on high profit margin items, and promotional items are all benefits proven through the use of outdoor digital menu boards. According to visually’s infographic, QSR’s had a 38 percent increase in promotional item sales and a 21 percent increase in check averages.
   
   
6. Promotional Items – Not all food items launched are successful. With digital menus, restaurants have the ability to 'trial-and-error' a new product without committing to a chain-wide rollout. If the food item is successful, the restaurant can easily add this product to all of the locations with the click of a button. It has been proven time and time again that people will try new things if they see them highlighted on the digital menu board while placing their order. Nick DeCarlo, director of restaurant solutions for The Wendy's Company, was quoted in Cherryh Cansler’s article for Fast Casual, “All of this and more can be changed at a moment's notice to maintain interest, and can also help speed decision making and keep lines moving along quickly.”
   
   
7. Improved Order Accuracy – Outdoor digital menu boards allow QSRs to eliminate the need for a standalone order confirmation board. Delegate a portion of the menu for 'order confirmation' to greatly improve accuracy. Complaints always abound with drive thru’s when it comes to accuracy. If everything is listed directly on the screen, the chance for errors decreases by leaps and bounds! Digital also allows a QSR to integrate eye-catching and impactful video. At Starbucks, baristas can now use a video screen and camera to talk directly to customers in the drive thru lane. That is technology at its finest!
   
   
8. Easy Compliance with Menu Labeling Laws – Digital allows the flexibility to display the soon to be mandated FDA menu labeling nutritional content. As the FDA.gov website outlines, “FDA’s final rule for nutrition labeling in chain restaurants and similar retail food establishments will provide consumers with clear and consistent nutrition information in a direct and accessible manner for the foods they eat and buy for their families.” Providing real time nutritional information has never been easier for QSRs!
   
   
9. Improved Customer Perception – Outdoor digital menu boards stand out from the crowd of static menus at many restaurants. Digital menus are bright, colorful, enticing, and attention grabbing for customers. If the content is effective, then the sales will potentially increase. With digital, ‘content is still king’ and that cannot be ignored. If a QSR decides to deploy digital, then the content must be done properly and an overall plan must be put in place, before ordering any enclosures, equipment or LCD monitors.

Clare Pitt, Wendy’s International, discusses ‘going digital’ very eloquently and succinctly, “Ultimately, you can’t go wrong with digital menu boards, but skeptics still might need some convincing. It’s true that the price tag might be a bit jarring for some, but the animation and the content is visibly the most impactful from a consumer’s standpoint and the benefits far outweigh the costs.”

For more information, Read: 5 TIPS FOR DEPLOYING OUTDOOR DIGITAL MENU BOARDS

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