Digital Signage: Some Best Practices

Digital signage is more than just an advertising tool, it’s also the key to boosting your restaurant’s bottom line! Studies show that when restaurants use this innovative form of digital marketing they average 10-25% greater revenue per guest. This additional revenue will add up quickly and be exponential. Get ready to make your customers say “wow!” with this easy-to-integrate, fun way of advertising. With digital signage, you can create the perfect message and show off what makes YOU different from everyone else – all without breaking a sweat or paying an arm and leg in costly traditional methods! Digital signage can be used in many ways, depending on what your restaurant needs and what the customers want.  The best part is that digital signage is easy to integrate, fun to use, and cheap to create!  Specific ways to use digital signage can be found on another one of Control Play’s blogs “Increasing Your Restaurants Check Size With Digital Signage”!

Mind the Intrusion

Before customers sit at your bar and experience the wonderfully tailored atmosphere you have created through your use of digital signs and music playlists, they need to be enticed to set foot in your restaurant.  Luckily, window shopping is a common practice for people who are looking for that new and exciting experience.  Using specialized digital signage in your windows should be the first thing you do – make your advertisements and menus exciting, enticing, and engaging so that those would-be passers-by are instead dedicated patrons, motivated by how YOU looked through the glass.

It is also important to keep in mind that your digital screens should reflect the atmosphere of your establishment. It can be distracting if they are too flashy or have a “loudness” that takes away from customers’ experience. A great way for restaurants with awesome atmospheres like yours would create eye-catching visuals while still reflecting what you want, a brand image!

Popups and messages should rarely take over the entire screen. Making a specific message or advertisement the full screen can annoy and alienate some customers, particularly if it interrupts content that they were enjoying (like live sports!).

Personalize

Your digital signage should also be more personalized to your customers and general vibe.  This can even be personalized for specific times that you can automatically schedule through Control Play’s playlist software.  When you notice that a certain demographic comes in at the same time throughout the week, your messages, promotions, and communications should be more relevant to that group of people.  Keeping a close eye on who comes into your establishment and when will help you maximize your digital signage and your guests’ engagement.  Increasing your customers’ engagement will have them more likely to stay and come back later. Some ways to use digital screens to engage your customers are trivia, jokes, facts, and local events.  Customers will be more willing to continue giving a restaurant their business if they feel tailored to if they feel valued or special.

Drive Revenue

Finally, digital signage can help bring promotions and specials to the forefront of your business.  Not every hour of the day can be considered a rush hour, but you can maximize traffic during slower times of day by introducing deals during those hours.  Applying further signage can bring those customers back for busier, more profitable times, like during games and events at night.

Remember to use the seasons to your advantage!  Seasonal food and drink specials are excellent additions to your digital signs, keeping customers engaged with your business during times when their attention is often divided.