Dayparting is a vital key to a successful drive-thru!
Because many restaurants serve breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even late night meals, Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) need to change out their static menus multiple times a day (unless you are McDonald’s, who now offers all-day breakfast). Dayparting is one essential key to successfully selling in the drive-thru. The fundamentals are not too far off from creating an effective content strategy. Richard Slawsky, explains it best in his article for Digital Signage Today, “Instead of tired-looking static boards that crack and fade over time, digital menu boards allow operators to combine product offerings with full-motion video, easily changing dayparts, updating prices remotely and seamlessly adding or removing menu items.” With digital, changing the menu or message based on the time of day is simple, but a very important part of the content strategy.
4 Tips for a Successful Digital Deployment
What is the message?
The first step to creating effective outdoor digital menu board content is to outline the message that will be conveyed to the customer. As Mr. Slawsky defines, “All too often, businesses deploy a fancy new technology for technology’s sake alone, without a clear goal in mind. As a result, they do not have a concrete way of knowing whether that technology delivers on its promise.”
In the morning, it makes perfect sense to advertise coffee and breakfast sandwich specials. However, this does not mean never advertise coffee outside of the breakfast rush, because people enjoy drinking coffee throughout the day. Every QSR’s demographics are different, which is why it is important to clearly define the menu board objective. As Bill Marble, Cleveland Dairy Queen owner, described to Digital Signage Today, "The digital sign is not static. It does not just sit there. It is so much more attractive. And people see something different in the morning on their way to work, than they do in the afternoon on their way home from work."
Who is receiving the message?
If the message is not targeted to a specific audience, why bother with the message? Understand who the target audience is and how the audience may change throughout the day. Twenty somethings are more likely to purchase tacos and burgers late night, while senior citizens are more likely to grab a coffee and egg sandwich in the morning. The overall message and content can be catered to differing groups, one may have eye-catching animation, while another could be simple, easy-to-read dynamic images.Sarah Robinson, Massage Magazine, explains that if the message is planned out and targeted correctly, then it will benefit the restaurant, “Many digital signage packages pay for themselves in the short term with increased sales, giving the business owner long-term, low-cost benefits.”
Ex: coffee for the working crowd in the morning, meal deals during the lunch hour, drinks and snack specials in the afternoon (Sonic Happy Hour, Arby’s Happy Hour), and happy meal specials for busy parents on the way to soccer practice.
What is the desired action?
Once the message has been delivered to the customer, what should the customer do? Obviously, a QSR desires that the customer order food, drinks, and many add-ons. The message needs to fit the time of day in which it is advertised. Mr. Slawsky cautions the use of too much flashy content, but encourages QSRs to test out different menus for different dayparts, “Instead of trying to maximize the power and flexibility of digital menu boards by trying to make them as flashy as possible, operators may be better served by leveraging the ability to quickly and easily change content to match the situation. Rather than gearing the boards to the traditional breakfast-lunch-dinner dayparts, operators can segment the day into as many parts as they choose, incorporating analytics to increase the effectiveness of that content.”
Ex: upgrade value meal, purchase chocolate donut with coffee, or add a piping-hot apple pie to order
What time to deliver the message?
Changing the menu message based on the time of day or even month requires a well thought-out content strategy. Be consistent during all dayparts: morning, noon and night. Focus on advertising breakfast specials until done selling breakfast, but remember to add in special ‘highlighted menu items’ that may be of interest to certain demographics later in the morning. As Digital Signage Today explains, “changing messages requires a few strokes on a computer. So if the weather is cold and rainy, Dairy Queen can push a different promotion besides ice cream.” Digital gives the ultimate in flexibility when it comes to offering specials on various food items throughout the day. It is a great way to run tests and see what sells!
Overall, every QSR wants the drive-thru to be the best that it can be, because it accounts for over 70% of all sales. As Lyle Bunn discussed in his blog for Digital Signage Today, “Loyalty is enhanced when the drive-thru journey is a positive one,” he continues, “This digital transition to daypart menus can minimize effort and simplify menu board composition, while instilling loyalty, bringing the patron back quickly or motivating gift card or large order sales.”
Digital Signage Today estimates an increase in sales with just a simple digital board, “While every situation is different, industry research indicates that even a simple digital menu board with well-thought-out content can result in a sales uplift of as much as 5 percent.”
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