When deciding whether or not to invest in digital menu boards, it helps to consider the job of the menu. Menus need to accomplish a lot of things: they need to display your brand elements, pack all of your food offerings into a coherent and engaging document, showcase your brand elements, trigger sales of promotional items, stay up-to-date with changes from the kitchen, and reflect your latest prices. And this is for something that often doesn’t get top priority because of front-of-house demands.
Being in the restaurant industry is not a leisurely business, and if menus become a burden, the whole operation can drag. Menu boards, when combined with the right digital menu board software, make for a great solution to simplify your menu management.
Keep reading to discover five ways digital menu boards can help your restaurant business.
1. Digital boards are highly flexible.
Print menus constantly need to be reprinted, requiring a complete overhaul just for one menu change. Digital boards are easily editable, making them perfect for the evolving demands of a quick-service restaurant or food vendor.
If a menu item runs out of stock, you can save your customers time and confusion by instantly updating your board. Implementing new seasonal menus and rotating sections that require frequent changes, such as Specials or Promotions, becomes hassle-free.
2. They cut down on costs and waste.
Let’s go through a cost comparison between print and digital menus using MustHaveMenus’s services. If you printed 100 8.5x14” cardstock menus for your restaurant, they would cost you roughly $190. To keep up with menu changes, you print new versions bi-monthly, bringing your annual total to $1,140. Now, let’s suppose you purchase two TCL 43-inch 4K UHD Smart TVs for $696 and then choose to manage your digital content with the MustHaveMenus Display app, which, for two screens, costs about $40 monthly. Your annual total will be $1,176 including the investment in hardware, yet this total decreases to around $480 annually for subsequent years - digital menus are slightly more expensive in the short-term, but cheaper in the long run. Also, you’ll decrease paper waste by printing less.
3. POS data feedback can be harnessed to make the digital menu reflect your and your customers’ evolving needs.
Let’s say that according to the POS product data, your outstanding lemon gelato is not a top seller anymore. There’s an easy solution to reinvigorate its cachet: remove its “Popular Item” distinction, slap on a promotion, and move it to your promotional section.
On the flip side, let's say the data indicates your bacon burger is surging in popularity, but its positioning on the menu doesn’t match its star power. Again, easy solution - simply adorn it with a “Customer Favorite” badge and watch its newfound clout boost sales.
4. Videos breathe life into your menu board.
Just as the best Shark Tank pitches are 50% product and 50% entertainment, the best menu boards don’t skimp on production value. Digital menus allow your food items to be showcased in video format, and possibilities abound - you can upload a professional product shoot to give a specific menu item its moment in the spotlight. Or, set a menu item apart with a looping background effect, like smoke rising or beer pouring, so customers can practically taste the goodness before they buy.
5. Menu boards are poised for success in the AI Revolution.
You can expect that there will soon be AI bots that simplify existing work and improve your promotional power. An AI tool could both tell you that it’s time to discount an inventory item and apply a sale. It could also change a promotional spotlight to match sales trends on the fly. The idea is that AI for restaurants will be like a strategic consultant on staff 24/7, and the menu board will give you a channel to your customers.
With all of this said, printed menus are still important. Even if your business adopts digital menus, you should maintain a print option to augment your digital displays. Many diners cherish the familiarity and interactivity of traditional menus, as restaurants observed when they used QR codes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bottom line: There’s no better time than now to switch to a digital menu board.
Zach Williams is a recent USC English Literature graduate and freelance writer for MustHaveMenus. He has written published articles for FSR, PMQ, BarBizMag, and Restobiz.
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