benefits of electronic menu boards: for your business and your customers 1
What are Electronic Menu Boards and How Are They Used? When a customer visits a restaurant, what s the first thing that they do? Most likely, their eyes will focus on the menu. Smart restaurateurs realize that in order to maximize their revenue per customer, it is essential to clearly and effectively highlight your most profitable food items. As technology advances, today s progressive restaurateurs are turning to Electronic Menu Boards to provide their patrons with a better ordering experience. Electronic Menu Boards take the place of static menu boards like backlit signs, chalkboards or menu inserts in restaurant venues enabling establishments to promote their menu electronically via a LCD / LED TV or Monitor. Electronic Menu Board solutions should include a high resolution display and industrial grade computer with embedded software to create and manage what is displayed on screen. Electronic Menu Boards are available with many features and in a variety of sizes making them configurable for virtually any type of hospitality environment including quick service, table service, fast casual restaurants, bars, nightclubs and hotels. They are also scalable to grow as your business expands making them ideal for both single store operators and mid to large size chains. In addition, because Electronic Menu Boards are simple to set up and easy to use, they often require no internal IT support. Now that you know what Electronic Menu Boards are, you need to know what they are used for. In the hospitality market, establishments use Electronic Menu Boards to showcase their menu, featured items and specials, boost success of promotional items, promote other vendors products or services, and display local attractions or events. For larger enterprises, users often run geo-targeted promotions to test specials and promotions across regions. 2
Increase Revenue Benefits of electronic Menu Boards: For your Business Hospitality businesses can gain a number of benefits from implementing Electronic Menu Boards. Here are 8 tangible benefits businesses can realize from using Electronic Menu Boards: Increase your average tickets size by encouraging patrons to order more by offering cross sell and upsell promotions. Easily display specials, combination meals, or extra s like appetizers, desserts and drinks on menu boards, influencing customers to purchase groups of related food items. Also, while not popular in the U.S. market yet, many businesses sell advertising for other venues on their Electronic Menu Boards to make extra income. Flexible Controls The most noticeable business benefit derived from using Electronic Menu Boards is the flexibility it provides your organization. Restaurateurs can quickly and easily change menu items, pricing and specials without the wasted time of having to erase and rewrite them on a chalkboard or print out new menu inserts after a special has sold out. Electronic menu board systems come with easy to use software that enables the user to quickly add or edit messaging when necessary. Attract and Retain Customers A tremendous benefit for business owners is the marketing advantages Electronic Menu Boards can provide your business. Many restaurateurs are using Electronic Menu Boards to quickly grab customers attention. Attract potential customers by displaying eye-catching and powerful pictures of signature food dishes on your Electronic Menu Boards and related specials and promotions. With bright colors and large text, the uses of Electronic Menu Boards are effective at not only attracting new business but also preventing walk outs. 3
Automate Menu and Price Changes If your business is busy and chaotic, as most hospitality establishments are, having the ability to automate your menu and price changes for breakfast, lunch and dinner saves you time and energy. Eliminate time spent throughout the day updating menu items, pricing and promotions, by using electronic menus to program these changes to occur at specific times throughout the day. If there is a certain menu item that increases in price from lunch to dinner, you can simply set up your system to automatically change the price at a certain time of the day. Become More Eco-Friendly As the world continues to become more environmentally conscious, restaurateurs are looking for new and innovative ways to decrease their carbon footprint. Through the use of Electronic Menu Boards, hospitality businesses can decrease energy use (when compared to backlit menu boards) and eliminate unnecessary printing. This not only saves the environment but also your pocketbook. Meet Federal Regulations Since obesity has become an epidemic in the United States, the government is taking steps to bring this issue to the forefront. For certain states, the law now requires that hospitality businesses display nutritional information alongside menu items. This allows patrons to view and understand the number of calories and other nutritional information for each menu item. Electronic Menu Boards make it easy to accommodate new regulations for the display of nutritional requirement information. Reduce Waste Many hospitality businesses have also found that Electronic Menu Boards are an effective way for their business to reduce waste. Savvy restaurateurs use Electronic Menu Boards to create and promote specials for which they have excess inventory. Rather than let perishable food items go to waste, a business can feature that promotion on their menu board for customers to order when they visit. Centralized Control For enterprises with multiple locations, the ability to centrally manage menu items, pricing, promotions and specials is a requirement. Electronic menu board solutions enable organizations to control menus at multiple locations through one interface from anywhere at any time. This ensures that each location offers the right items, at the right price and at the right time. 4
Benefits of electronic Menu Boards: For your customers While earning loyal, repeat business in the hospitality industry can be a daunting task, the use of Electronic Menu Boards can also provide a variety of benefits that enhance the dining experience for the customer. Clearly and Effectively Read the Menu As stated earlier, if difficult to read or understand, traditional menu boards can make it challenging for customers to decide what to order. Through the use of Electronic Menu Boards, restaurateurs can instantly improve the order taking process by providing more attractive and better information to patrons. This makes the customer ordering process more efficient and ensures the customers receive the right order, prepared correctly and in a timely fashion. Ensure Customers See Promotions and Specials Often times when your establishment gets hectic and the line starts to run out the door, the wait staff gets so busy they forget to mention the exciting specials or promotions. As staff members are busy making sure they are getting orders taken down correctly and serving customers in a timely manner, mentioning specials can easily be forgotten and patrons can overlook specials listed on menu inserts or chalkboards. Through the use of Electronic Menu Boards, specials and promotions can be displayed ensuring customers see them at the same time they are reviewing the menu. 5
Promote Local Attractions or Events Is your business in the know? Electronic Menu Boards are a great way for your business to promote local attractions, events or hotspots in the area. If there is a local event taking place down the street from your establishment, displaying information about the event on your board could be beneficial for your business as people begin to associate the event with your place. If they re hungry before or after the event, they ll remember seeing your mention on the Electronic Menu Board and be more likely to visit your establishment. This is a great marketing tool that gives businesses an opportunity to display a promotion and offer those that attend the event a deal if they stop in afterward. Selection and Installation of Electronic Menu Boards Since you now know the countless benefits Electronic Menu Boards bring to an establishment, you probably want to know how to purchase the right Electronic Menu Board system to make your business stand out. It is important to choose the correct hardware and software for your business, as well as the content you will be using. When selecting hardware, we recommend purchasing an industrial, commercial grade computer that is specifically designed to work for long periods of time and built to withstand the harsh environmental factors typically found in a hospitality setting. The most important rule to follow when selecting Electronic Menu Board software is to find a program that best fits your application needs. Since software is used to create, download, manage and play content, it should be scalable to meet the needs of your enterprise as it grows. Another important rule of thumb when choosing your software is to make sure it is easy to learn and simple to use. By choosing premise based software, it will be easier to train and use the product, saving your organization from spending unnecessary time and resources on training and on-going fees for a cloud or web server based solution. A bad or shoddy menu design will reflect poorly upon your establishment and end up hurting your business more than helping it. Therefore, when choosing an Electronic Menu Board solution, it is important to understand if the provider also offers a full service installation including menu design. Finally, to implement your new boards, it is recommended that you hire a professional installation company to hang or mount your TV / monitors as this protects you from any potential lawsuits if the TV ever fell and caused injury to a worker or patron. Summary When a customer visits a hospitality establishment, they usually have one question in mind: what am I going to get to eat? As soon as someone sits down at a table or approaches your counter or bar, the first thing they look for is the menu. By using an Electronic Menu Board system, your business can realize a number of benefits simultaneously including increasing revenue, decreasing costs through automation, and improving operational efficiency. Most importantly, your establishment will offer an improved customer experience which leads to an increased chance of repeat business from that patron. 6
About the Sponsor Bematech is Brazil s leading commercial automation company, delivering hardware, software, services and training to increase efficiency in retail stores. For two decades, Bematech has been a pioneer in producing solutions that redefine consumer experience at the point-of-sale, enhancing retailers businesses. The Company offers a broad portfolio of integrated solutions specializing in small and midsized retailers. With a strong presence all over Brazil, Bematech strengthened its global presence through establishing offices in the United States, as well as Germany, Argentina and Taiwan. The International Division of Bematech continues to expand the Company s global presence and provide the Retail and Hospitality Industries with the most advanced technologies. Visit www.bematech.com or call 516.248.0400 to learn more. 7