Improving Customer Experiences with Digital Signage

Improving Customer Experiences with Digital Signage

Everytime someone interacts with your business, you want them to have the best experience possible. You want to leave them feeling relieved and thankful that they chose to work with you. That’s why the customer experience needs to be as convenient and stress free as possible. There are simple tactics for improving customer experiences with digital signage.

The COVID 19 pandemic accelerated the need and desire to work or make purchases from home. Businesses have had to adapt to make themselves present digitally.  Digital signage has played a huge role in improving customer experiences. Making it more enjoyable to engage with a business whether in person, from home, or anywhere with an internet connection. 

Make Waiting Less Painful

wait time queue digital displayWe all have to wait in lines, and some of us can tolerate it better than others. As a business owner, whenever you have the opportunity to reduce wait time for your customers, you try your best to seize that opportunity. Digital signage can ease waiting. 

One great way to reduce wait times is to get customers the information they need without having to find someone to ask. Frequently asked questions (FAQ) pages are a great way to achieve this goal. You simply compile a list of common questions and answer them on your site. You can use digital signage software to display these answers along with directions, or any other information that might speed things up for you and your customers. Another way you can save time is by displaying current inventory with your signs. This gives customers the ability to see what’s available without having to physically check throughout the store. 

For many businesses, wait times are unavoidable, at least to some extent. While business owners and staff have already done everything they can to make processes as efficient as possible, customers will still need to be patient and wait their turns. Why not give them something interesting to look at while they wait? You can add YouTube videos to your displays, news, weather, and live feeds to your social media. The signs can be used to update customers on upcoming sales or events as well. This is an opportunity with a captive audience, so if possible, display something that can strengthen brand reputation. You can show testimonials, past projects, or just some information about your staff to make things more personal and relatable for the customer. 

Increase Customer Engagement

interactive digital kioskInteractive digital signs are an awesome way for customers to interact with businesses, and there are so many different ways to use them. Customers can use touchscreens to navigate through a timeline or a slideshow about company history and values. This is a great method to tell customers your story. It allows them to connect with your brand on a much deeper level. You can display Twitter feeds and customers can see what they tweet using your hashtag,  and you can allow them to post reviews from their phone right to your signs in real time.

Digital signage software can also be used to place orders, or hold a customer’s place in line. They can tap the screen to check in, and see an estimated amount of time remaining before it’s their turn. All of these are great options for building value with your customers. These tools are great for managing customer expectations, and they give customers increased control over their experiences. 

Intuitive Wayfinding

digital signage kiosk wayfinding arreyaBeing lost is the worst, and many customers will prefer not to find someone to ask where to go. Businesses are using digital signage software to solve this problem, saving customers time, but also saving their employees from constantly directing traffic. Signs can be used to display maps and hours of operation, and when using touchscreen displays, customers can tap on the map to see where they need to go. They can navigate through the maps provided to different buildings or floors, and the maps can be updated as needed. Updates can be pushed out instantaneously, and it’s easy to make the changes. CLICK HERE for more information on how digital signage can be used for wayfinding.

Keeping Everyone Safe

alerts digital signage arreyaIt’s so critical for businesses to have a plan in place to keep everyone safe, especially in the event of an emergency. Of course every business is required to have fire alarms and illuminated exit signs, but some of them have complicated buildings that can be hard to navigate.

Digital signage software can eliminate confusion with clear displays on how to get out of the building, or where to go if there is impending dangerous weather or a security breach. The signs can be used to display weather forecasts and breaking news as well, so if something dangerous happens nearby, everyone can be made aware as soon as possible. 

Rebirth of QR Codes

qr code digital signage software

There is a time and place for business cards and brochures, but a lot of customers end up throwing them away as soon as they walk out the door, even if the information is pertinent. Using QR codes allows businesses to share exactly what they want with customers without adding another business card to their overfilled wallets.

Many restaurants have adopted the usage of QR codes instead of paper menus because of the COVID 19 pandemic. This was done to reduce the spread of germs primarily, but it also made things a lot more convenient. Customers simply scan the QR code and get the menu, url, image, video, or whatever content they need right on their phone, no paper needed. Updates are made to menus or other content as needed with no additional cost or waste.  LEARN MORE about the impact QR codes are having on commerce globally.

A Vital Part of Business

It’s vital that businesses focus on what their customers are experiencing and what pain points exist. If possible, we want to remove or mitigate those pain points. Digital signage software can save time and headaches, like displaying live inventory, showing customer’s their place in line, and providing them with QR codes so they can get information they need on their own devices.

Digital signage can be used to build brand awareness and entertain customers while they wait. These are all great tools for businesses that want to increase engagement and make the customer experience more enjoyable, convenient, and interactive.

Best ways to Use Digital Signage for the QSR Industry

Best ways to Use Digital Signage for the QSR Industry

People have more options now than ever, especially when it comes to food. With a more segmented market, quick service restaurants (QSRs) need a way to separate themselves from the competition. Digital signage for the QSR Industry make restaurants stand above the competition with elegant displays, and we aren’t talking about just menu items. Digital signage software can display almost anything, from infotainment like news and Twitter feeds, to weather and traffic. It’s even capable of live streaming to hundreds of devices simultaneously.

Showcasing the Food

One of the best ways to get someone in the door of the restaurant is to show them food videos and slideshows along with the current menu. qsr restaurant digital signageUsing digital signage in the QSR industry to show videos or images of your food is a great way to entice some hungry customers. Videos of food being prepared could be displayed or just videos of other people enjoying it. This is where high quality images and videos are going to be vital. The clearer and sharper the images are, the better. Being delicious keeps customers coming back, but looking delicious will help get first time customers in the door. 

Weather Topics

Weather, the topic we use to make small talk with almost anyone. It’s nice to be able to look up and see the weekly forecast or see what current conditions are for your commute. restaurant qsr weather digital signageDisplaying the weather is also particularly useful for QSRs, because they can actually use the weather to sell specific items. A nice hot cup of coffee or hot chocolate sounds even better when it’s paired up with a forecast of 20 degrees and snowy, and of course an ice cold glass of lemonade sounds a lot better when it’s 90 degrees and sunny.

QSRs can make the most of these conditions by displaying relevant menu items right up with the weather, making these items even more appealing. LEARN MORE about using weather in QSR industry digital signage. 

Behind the Scenes

With constant traffic in and out of the restaurant, and rushes of customers throughout the day, communication is imperative. QSRs need to get staff the information they need quickly and efficiently. 

qsr digital signage cafe

Digital signage does this with immediate effect. They can schedule content to let staff know about upcoming events, training, and news. It can also be used to call out wins, like employee of the month, or positive customer reviews.

Soon, AI or artificial intelligence could be implemented into digital signage, and it’s smart enough to understand speech. This means people could pull up to the drive through and place an order without a person being there to take the order. This could be a huge win for restaurants who are short staffed, which appears to be the majority today. LEARN MORE about the possibilities of future applications of AI and signs in the QSR industry. 

Practicality and Safety

qsr digital signage qr codeMany restaurants are ditching paper menus, especially after the COVID19 pandemic.

Originally, the paper menus were replaced by QR codes to reduce the spread of germs, but there are other benefits as well. Previously, changing menu items, removing items, or changing prices would call for all new menus to be created and printed. With a digital menu, restaurant owners and managers can update menus in seconds. CLICK HERE  to learn more about how QR codes are changing the restaurant industry. 

 In conjunction with digital signage software, restaurants can use QR codes to let customers see the menu from where they sit, and scan the code to get the menu right on their phone. Digital signage can also be used to display which orders are ready, and estimated times remaining for orders that are being filled. There are even additional QSR solutions built right into digital signage software, like QR code generators. With a few clicks, you can create your own QR codes and add them to all of your signage. 

Enterprise digital signage is extremely scalable. It can be used to display content on one screen or thousands of screens, and it could be updated on smartphones from any location in the world with a stable internet connection. This means that restaurant managers overseeing multiple locations can update all displays at once using one device from virtually anywhere. Digital signage for the QSR industry is saving time and money for restaurants something that is always needed.