Your Customers Are Already Making Decisions

Restaurant customers make decisions quickly.

Where should I eat?

What should I order?

Should I add something?

Should I try the special?

What are they offering today?

Those decisions create opportunities for timely visual communication.

A message seen hours or days before a visit may influence a future decision.

A message seen immediately before or during the purchase opportunity can influence the decision happening right now.

That’s where onsite visual marketing becomes particularly valuable.

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Timing Matters

Restaurant marketing is inherently time-sensitive.

Breakfast gives way to lunch.

Lunch gives way to dinner.

Weekdays become weekends.

Seasons change.

Specials come and go.

Customer traffic changes throughout the day.

A static sign can’t easily respond to all of those conditions.

Real-time visual marketing can.

The same display can communicate a different message based on:

• Time of day
• Day of week
• Meal period
• Season
• Promotions
• Special events
• Product availability
• Customer demand

The message can change because the opportunity changes.

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Influence What Customers Choose

Getting a customer through the door is only part of the equation.

Once they’re there, another set of decisions begins.

What should they order?

What size?

What combination?

What side?

What beverage?

What dessert?

What special?

Visual communication can help restaurants put those opportunities in front of customers at the moment they’re most relevant.

Promote

Feature items you want customers to notice.

Suggest

Highlight complementary products or combinations.

Upsell

Bring attention to premium or higher-margin options.

Introduce

Give new products and limited-time offerings more visibility.

Remind

Keep promotions visible throughout the customer journey.

The goal isn’t simply to display a menu. It’s to influence the decision.

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Make Limited-Time Opportunities Visible

Some of the most valuable restaurant promotions have a short shelf life.

A new product launch.

A seasonal item.

A weekend special.

A limited-time offer.

A local event.

A holiday promotion.

When the opportunity expires, the message should disappear with it.

Real-time visual communication makes it possible to keep promotional content aligned with what’s actually happening in the business.

Today’s opportunity doesn’t have to remain yesterday’s message.

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From Passing Traffic to Purchase

Restaurants often have several opportunities to communicate with customers.

Approaching the Location

Drivers may still be deciding where to eat.

Opportunity: capture attention and create a reason to stop.

Entering the Property

The customer has selected the location.

Opportunity: promote an offer, featured item, or reason to visit again.

Ordering

The customer is actively making a purchase decision.

Opportunity: influence selections, add-ons, upgrades, and specials.

Waiting

Customers may have time to engage with additional messaging.

Opportunity: promote products, services, events, or future visits.

Leaving

The current transaction is complete.

Opportunity: create awareness of the next reason to return.

A strong visual marketing strategy considers the entire customer journey.

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More Than Menu Promotion

Not every message needs to be about today’s special.

A restaurant can also use onsite visual communication to:

• Promote catering
• Announce events
• Build brand awareness
• Promote loyalty programs
• Recruit employees
• Communicate community involvement
• Highlight online ordering
• Promote delivery
• Announce new locations
• Share seasonal messages
• Promote partnerships

That makes the display useful beyond the immediate transaction.

It’s a communication asset—not simply another menu board.

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Increase the Value of Existing Traffic

Restaurants already invest heavily in generating customer traffic.

Advertising.

Social media.

Promotions.

Loyalty programs.

Local marketing.

Brand awareness.

But once customers arrive, the business still has an opportunity to influence what happens next.

A customer who came in for one item may purchase more.

A customer considering two menu choices may choose the higher-value option.

A customer who sees a compelling promotion may return sooner.

The incremental value doesn’t necessarily come from generating an entirely new customer.

It can come from making more of the customers you already have.

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Create New Marketing Opportunities

Restaurants and food-service businesses may also have an audience that other brands want to reach.

Suppliers, beverage companies, food manufacturers, distributors, and local businesses may have an interest in communicating with customers at the point of consumption.

That can create opportunities for:

• Supplier promotions
• Cooperative marketing
• Brand campaigns
• Product launches
• Sponsored content
• Advertising partnerships

For multi-location restaurant groups, the potential audience can become particularly interesting.

The communication asset may have value beyond the restaurant’s own marketing.

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One Asset. Multiple Messages.

A restaurant doesn’t have to choose between promoting one product and another.

A dynamic display can rotate messages according to the opportunity.

For example:

Morning

Breakfast and coffee

↓

Lunch

Featured meal or combo

↓

Afternoon

Snack or beverage promotion

↓

Dinner

Featured entrée

↓

Weekend

Special event or limited-time offer

↓

Seasonal

Holiday or promotional campaign

The physical asset remains in place.

The marketing changes with the business.

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The Economics of Restaurant Visual Marketing

The investment shouldn’t be judged solely by the cost of the display.

The more useful question is:

What additional value could better visual communication create?

Potential results may include:

More transactions

Additional customers influenced to visit or purchase.

Higher average ticket

Additional products, upgrades, combinations, or higher-margin items.

More repeat visits

Timely offers and promotions that encourage customers to return.

Greater promotion efficiency

A flexible communication platform that reduces dependence on printed promotional materials.

Brand value

Repeated exposure that reinforces the restaurant in the local market.

Advertising revenue

Potential income from supplier or partner campaigns.

The appropriate measurement depends on the restaurant’s objectives.

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Built Around Your Restaurant

There isn’t one universal restaurant solution.

The appropriate approach depends on:

• Customer traffic
• Drive-by visibility
• Property layout
• Drive-thru configuration
• Ordering process
• Viewing distance
• Meal periods
• Promotional strategy
• Menu structure
• Location
• Local regulations
• Marketing objectives
• Measurement goals

A drive-thru restaurant may have very different opportunities than a full-service restaurant.

A national chain may have different needs than an independent restaurant.

A food court may have a completely different customer journey.

The strategy should reflect the environment.

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Technology Should Follow the Opportunity

Depending on the application, the appropriate solution might include:

• Exterior LED displays
• Freestanding digital displays
• Drive-thru communication
• Interior displays
• Menu and promotional displays
• Multiple synchronized displays
• Networked displays
• A combination of display types

The technology should be selected based on where communication needs to occur and what it needs to accomplish.

Not simply based on specifications.

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Content Is Part of the Solution

The display doesn’t create the result by itself.

The content has to earn the customer’s attention.

Effective restaurant content should be:

Appetizing
Make the product visually compelling.

Simple
Communicate the idea quickly.

Relevant
Show what’s important to the customer at that moment.

Timely
Change the message when the opportunity changes.

Action-oriented
Give the customer a reason to respond.

This is where real-time visual marketing separates itself from simply putting a digital screen outside a restaurant.

The technology delivers the message. The content creates the opportunity.

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From Sign to Marketing Asset

A traditional restaurant sign can tell people where you are.

A real-time visual marketing asset can help communicate:

What you offer

What’s new

What’s available now

What’s on special

Why customers should stop

Why they should buy more

Why they should come back

That makes the display part of the restaurant’s ongoing marketing strategy.