You must have heard of the phrase, “the more you give, the more you get?” Well, it seems like the expression has as much relevance to business as to a wellness coach’s class.
Businesses, especially those in the Food & Beverage industry, need to constantly explore effective ways to ‘give more’ to their customers. Introducing exciting interactive solutions for the customers to enjoy is one way of doing so.
Many restaurant businesses are now actively switching to digital menu boards from the traditional print menus as the former can easily hook the viewer’s attention at the very first glance and it also offers huge flexibility in terms of creating digital menus for restaurants, publishing and managing them.
So, naturally, customers will be expecting more than just good food and good music when they dine out.
Digital interactivity has only started to bloom in the culinary industry. You must capitalize on its novelty (while it lasts) to make your business stand out.
Sure, we have self-checkout kiosks, apps for online food ordering, and restaurant digital signage that can play High-Definition dynamic content. But, hey, your competitors may have all that too.
What are YOU doing differently?
Here’s what you can do differently: you can upgrade your restaurant business with Pickcel’s Digital Menu Board app. The app offers a unique feature as the key differentiator to give you an edge over your competitors— a simple yet profoundly credible QR-based mobile interactivity.
Sounds too complicated?
Well, it’s just the opposite. Pickcel’s software for digital menu board offers an option to generate a QR-code and download it as a media file or a banner. Given the two options, you can either choose to add the QR code to an existing menu design or you can dedicate a full screen to reflect your QR code banner.
It is even more straightforward for the customers. All they have to do is scan the on-screen QR code with their mobile phones/tablets to see the full-updated restaurant menu on their devices.
So, what are the benefits of adding QR-based mobile interactivity to digital menus for restaurants?
BENEFIT 1: RELAXED BROWSING OF THE RESTAURANT DIGITAL MENU
Whether it’s a popular restaurant, local café, or a QSR takeout, we all have had the experience of pushing through crowds near the ordering counter only to have a peek at the menu board.
Or worse, we end up lining up for a food truck or ice-cream parlor. Once it’s our turn, the result is a frantic ‘oh-my-gosh-what-to-order’ moment.
Even if you are dining at a place that has installed several large displays featuring the digital restaurant menu, many have realized from the pandemic that nothing can beat relaxing at the table and browsing the menu on one’s phone.
With one tiny QR code that your diners can scan in a matter of seconds your patrons can take the time to think about what they want. Our guess is they’ll be back for seconds!
BENEFIT 2: CATCH THE ATTENTION OF THE DIGITAL GENERATION
According to an article by YahooFinance, people aged between 25 and 34 have the highest share of dine-out expenses in America. This generation also happens to be the new-age digital generation that enjoys the innovative application of technology.
So, incorporating digital interactivity in to your restaurant’s digital menu board will give you returns well above your expectations.
While there are plenty of apps that allow customers to order from the table, they are not as nearly straightforward. We don’t require restaurant-goers to suffer the ordeal of downloading another app and registering themselves before they can even take a look at your food menu.
This scan-and-get feature will appeal more to the customers because of its sheer simplicity and convenience.
As always, best to keep things simple.
BENEFIT 3: GIVE YOUR DINERS A REASON TO SUGGEST YOUR NAME
Hey, you know what, last day I was out buying lunch for my colleagues from this cafe downtown. I wasn’t sure what to buy, so I scanned the QR code from their screens and shared the menu with my co-workers. It was fun. My colleagues loved the idea of being able to choose their orders sitting in the office cubicle. You should check it out sometime.
This is how brands build up a loyal customer base: word of mouth.
Believe it or not, word of mouth has enormous impacts on building brand loyalty. It is especially true for Millennials who frequently try out new eateries based on verbal suggestions, as evident from this Upserve article.
Besides hearsay, online customer reviews are another game-changer for restaurant businesses. A Tripadvisor study revealed astonishing data to support this claim. The study found the percentage of diners influenced by online reviews to be as such:
- 94% in America
- 87% in England
- 90% in France
- 91% in Spain, and
- 93% in Italy
Image Credit: Tripadvisor
Therefore, as the owner of a food business, your job is to make sure that your restaurant has a ‘wow’ element to cater to its patrons.
While the ambiance, decor, and other aesthetic factors indeed give your restaurant, bar, or cafe a life of its own, it doesn’t add much merit to your customers’ convenience.
Whereas your decision to add a little interactivity to your restaurant’s digital menu board can essentially be the difference between ‘it wasn’t bad’ and ‘it was amazing’!
