Roadmap to Digital Signage: Solutions That Deliver
Today’s restaurants are challenged to entice, engage and inform their guests while also maintaining safe social distancing. Many are turning to digital signage to strike that balance, and are introducing or increasing its use across their operations. Even before the pandemic, more than half of respondents to Hospitality Technology’s 2020 Restaurant Technology Study were planning action on digital signage: 27% planned an upgrade, 5% were changing suppliers and 20% were adding digital signage for the first time.
Fortunately, significant recent advances mean setting up and running a digital signage solution is easier than ever.
Common Use Cases
- Transitioning from costly and labor-intensive static/tactile menus
- Facilitating contactless ordering, payment and pickup
- Driving revenue and deepening customer engagement via marketing/promotions
- Communicating cleaning protocols and safety awareness
- Alerting passers-by about open status and order processes
- Conducting employee training/communication, as QuickChek did by leveraging the HughesON BreakroomTV solution.
- Taking special orders/order building
- Providing entertainment
Steps to a Successful Digital Signage Deployment
To ensure their digital signage investments are successful, restaurants should follow these steps.
1. Identify the business problem and use cases where digital signage can deliver value
Digital signage is highly versatile, so restaurants are using it in more places and for multiple uses. This helps operators justify the investment and pivot quickly as needs change. Repurposing a display to show order ready notifications, for example, streamlines curbside pickup.
Successful projects start with a business problem. (See "Common Use Cases," right.)
For District Tap, a two-unit Indianapolis sports bar, adapting some of its 40+ LG smart TV screens to promote its participation in the Untappd social beer club app was all about driving customer engagement and interest in its beer list. “It drives awareness,” says Brent Drescher, bar manager. “People love it.”
Duck Donuts, a 97-unit Southeast made-to-order donut chain, chose digital signage to help guests better understand how to build custom orders and increase turn at the register. “It was all about customer experience,” says Betsy Hamm, COO.
2. Understand the types of digital signage available
Digital signage technology has evolved considerably, with many solutions no longer requiring a separate media player – just a smart TV, power and Internet access. Screens now range from tablets to larger kiosks and digital menu boards all the way up to wall-covering displays, and new voice, gesture or smartphone-based options mean users can interact with them in a contactless way.
Today’s screens “require less maintenance, are thinner, last longer, and they’re better quality in terms of light and screen output,” says Benjamin Ongoco, vice president, GMS, the managed services provider for the almost 1,300 branded restaurants of the Dhanani Group, including Burger King, Popeyes, Dairy Queen and Sonic.
A newer variant is digital A-frame/sandwich boards, a highly portable form factor that can help restaurants seeking to draw attention, such as alerting passers-by about new outdoor dining options and menu items. Outdoor-ready signage and extra-bright displays are being used in specific situations, such as placing a giant QR code on digital signage facing a parking lot so patrons can quickly navigate to an ordering site/app. Fast food chain Chick-fil-A, for example, boosted downloads of its mobile app by 14% by showing a QR code in its digital signage.
3. Assess the current state of your infrastructure
Most modern digital signage solutions are managed remotely, so sites need reliable network connectivity via the store’s main network or alternate approaches such as an independent 4G/LTE hotspot. But solutions vary in how much bandwidth they require: those that stream live or frequently updated content need more, which may require a network upgrade and robust Wi-Fi. Modern solutions are bandwidth-aware and store content locally, only sending new content when required to replace previous material and then only performing the transmission during times of low network use.
Assessing how easily a proposed solution can be installed is another key consideration, says GMS’ Ongoco. Understand what legacy equipment and wiring is in place and what manpower and equipment will be required for the new solution.
Restaurants also need content. Today’s device-agnostic, cloud-based content management systems now provide templates and tools to easily find, create, upload and schedule content down to the individual screen level by daypart, ambient temperature or other parameters. A content strategy, including assigning content managers, is key to keep things fresh.
The District Tap already had LG smart TVs and 4K IP video distribution through Mediatune. Adding and managing Untappd just required plugging in a keyboard and accessing the app via a browser. Drescher adds new beer descriptions every 10-14 days by logging in to a portal, where he can also check user analytics. But guests also interact with the system via the app, which can also display beers of interest or their beer-tasting achievements on the smart TVs. “It’s very easy to manage and stay on top of things,” he says.
4. Run proof of concept
Because today’s solutions are plug-and-play, it’s easy to move quickly to a proof of concept using internal IT resources or a tech partner. Choose representative stores experiencing the business challenges to be addressed and test potential solutions. A proof of concept is an opportunity to work out the kinks and find what works. Among the impacts to monitor is the effect of the new device on network performance.
It’s also key to ensure the chosen solution is future-proof, so enhancements like NFC, sensors, cameras and facial recognition can be easily added later.
Duck Donuts started its proof of concept in its in-house testing center, then installed the three-screen digital menu solution in one franchise store, making small tweaks to create the optimal customer experience. “The IT and marketing teams worked well together on this,” says Hamm. “This is not just technology, it’s who we are and the brand experience.”
5. Create a scalable rollout and upgrade plan
Efficient rollout is all about precision, using repeatable processes to stage, ship and install digital signage. Many retailers partner with a reseller or managed services provider for this step, so they can leverage their experience to minimize disruption and costs, and ensure their solution is ready for future modifications.
Duck Donuts, for example, worked with Tech Americas to roll out the SmartSign2Go solution, which has been installed in 18 of its 97 stores so far. In the future, the chain plans to integrate signage with the POS, enabling store-level control, and add more dynamic content.
Engaging restaurant guests — and staff — has never been more important, and digital signage is an effective way to capture attention and get your message across. Fortunately, adopting digital signage solutions is no longer a complex project. “It’s much easier than we originally anticipated, and our franchisees really like them,” says Duck Donuts’ Hamm.
