A digital menu is like a typical static menu board, with all the benefits of the digital age. It shows what’s on your menu, but allows for images and full motion video to be displayed digitally. The user has the option of updating the content at a moment’s notice from anywhere in the world.

You might feel skeptical about making such a big change in your establishment, but the benefits of adopting a digital menu can greatly outweigh the costs of getting it in place. We’ve put together a comprehensive guide on everything you need to know about digital menus and how they can help your business’ performance.

What Can You Do with a Digital Menu?

A digital menu allows for greater flexibility in how you display what you have to offer in your establishment. Here are a few things you can do with a digital menu.

1. Make Displays More Eye-Catching

As previously mentioned, you can use digital menus to upload full motion videos to grab the attention of your customers. They’re far more entertaining to look at than regular menus and will definitely add a special touch to your restaurant. Plus you can include visually appealing images of your food to entice your restaurant visitors.

2. Train Your Employees

When you’re not using your digital menus, you can make use of them to train your staff in-house by setting them up with instructional videos. The beauty of digital menu software is that you can broadcast your training videos across all locations you have open, so you save the effort of having to load the videos manually.

3. Use Them in Emergencies

Emergencies can happen at any time, putting your customers in danger. While it can’t prevent these instances from occurring, digital menus can do their part in saving lives. You can turn your digital menus into lifesaving exit guidance notices for everyone in your establishment to evacuate safely.

What Are the Advantages of Using a Digital Menu Over a Static Menu?

Now that you know the various things you can do with a digital menu, you’re probably wondering what makes them superior to traditional menus. Sure, they’re fancy, but are there any direct advantages to switching to digital? Yes, there are! Here are just a few.

1. They’re Easily Updatable

With digital menus, a few clicks can mean a total transformation in your menu design, your offerings, or pricing. Where you would originally have to reprint your traditional menus, digital menus let you have complete control over how your menu looks without much effort involved. If you have a breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus, you don’t have to do menu changeovers anymore. Just update your menu digitally and the changes will reflect in an instant. Do you have multiple locations? You can change all your digital menus across all your locations in little to no time, too!

2. They’re Better for the Planet

Printing out posters uses up precious resources. Paper and related products damage the environment, so switching to digital means you cut down less trees. Since you’re not throwing away old menu boards and displays, you use up less space in landfills. By using digital menus, you do your part in eliminating your carbon footprint, and keep the planet a cleaner and greener place to live.

3. You Save Money

Not only do you help save the planet when you use digital menus, you save money too! Since you’re not printing out menus, having them delivered, and getting them installed, and eventually throwing them away, you save a good deal of money. Although the initial investment is pricey, in the long-term, digital menus are the more cost-effective option.

How Can I Make My Own Digital Menu?

There are a few things to keep in mind when you’re beginning your digital menu setup:

1. If you aren’t design-savvy, you’re going to need someone to design your menu board for you. Consider hiring someone on a freelance site like Upwork to help you with the design.
2. You’ll need to invest in some sort of monitor—while you can just go with a regular flat screen monitor, there are industrial ones designed to hold up for a very long time.
3. You’re going to need a software, like PresentationPoint, Allsee Technologies, or ScreenCloud, to display your digital menu across all your locations.

After that, it’s just a matter of setting up, and you’ll have a digital menu system that is easy to update, great to look at, and will keep customers enticed!

The Bottom Line

Digital menus are a great way to display your offerings to your hungry customers. They provide plenty of flexibility as there’s so much that you can do with them. They are huge improvements from traditional static menu boards, and have great advantages to them. While they are a big investment, the benefits make it well worth the cost.

Once your customers are ready to order, make the process flow easily with an intuitive digital POS such as TouchBistro. With their fully customizable system, you can easily manage your orders, combine or split bills, and even manage employee shifts. Plus, it integrates directly with Square–the most common payment processing system for small businesses. Click here to get a free trial.

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