Investing in modern restaurant technology is not an understatement, as customers increasingly expect technological improvements in every aspect of their lives. Most people currently expect a combination of traditional dining experience with the convenience of modern technology. As such, restaurant owners shouldn’t view restaurant technology, such as infotainment systems, as a luxury anymore.
Just to mention, approximately 73% of restaurant diners expect their dining experience to be improved by modern restaurant technology. Similarly, 29% of diners using limited-service hotels, and 24% of table service restaurant customers consider technological adoptions when choosing where to dine. That said, just like vehicle infotainment systems that improve the driving experience, restaurants should leverage the benefits of these devices.
What is Infotainment?
Most people are not familiar with the term infotainment. Also called soft news, infotainment refers to the use of media, specifically television, to provide information and entertainment. Restaurant infotainment systems generally involve using flashy graphics, music, fast-pacing content, quality photos, and satire to attract customers’ attention. Another term relating to infotainment is edutainment, which is essentially educational and entertaining in one.
How to Use Infotainment in Your Restaurant
Below are some creative ways to use infotainment to increase your sales and customer engagement.
1. Create Digital Menu Boards
More than 74% of customers agree that an easy-to-read menu enhances their dining experience. You can use digital menu displays mvixdigitalsignage, to make your menu easy to read. Nutritional information can also be displayed for guests to choose food according to their nutritional value (example of edutainment). This significantly reduces the checkout time, as they don’t have to keep inquiring.
Similarly, use digital screens to display the days’ special and sold-out items to keep your viewers updated. With this, customers can plan accordingly before their turn to place orders. Running adverts for your new products and specials also help drive sales.
2. Display Sides and Desserts to Upsell
Creating a digital menu is probably the best thing you can display for a restaurant. While you should display all the food available in your restaurant, how you position sides and desserts is also important. When placing such items on digital menu boards, they should be easy to find for customers looking through regular items.
You can also make use of image, audio and video galleries to upsell these items to customers. For instance, you can run a video or movie image with a promotional message such as “Upgrade to a large piece for $2!”. Running such a display can increase revenue per customer.
3. Improve Waiting Experience
Even though infotainment may not increase the efficiency of your chefs and waiters, it improves your customers’ perceived waiting time. You can use digital boards to show interesting content that diverts customers’ attention, keeping them engaged while queuing. Show trivia quizzes or local facts to keep customers entertained. This content can be easy sourced from the internet.
You can also use digital signage displays to show estimated service time. This makes customers feel in control and eases their expectations. You can also improve your customers’ waiting experience by managing queues correctly. Digital signs can be used to direct customers and display their position in queues using a dashboard.
4. Share Your Music Playlist
Playing background music in your restaurant generally boosts the dining experience and encourages customers to stay longer. Even better, you can display videos with audio, the name of the currently playing song, or allow them to select the next song using digital screens. Additionally, you can also play music videos or stream videos from the food network, for example.
5. Incorporate Social Media
The food industry naturally fits social media, as you can use pictures of delicious foods to increase your customers’ appetite. Displaying social media feeds from Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook on digital signage can increase customer engagement. You can also encourage customers to share testimonials and review their dining experience on your feed.
Additionally, you can pair up social media and digital displays when offering coupons and free items to customers who provide feedback. Sharing photos, customer testimonials, and reviews helps build customer trust and loyalty.
6. Improve Employee Communication
Besides providing insights and entertainment, infotainment can also be used to enhance communication between employees. For instance, digital displays in the employee area can be used to share updated company news and policies.
Bottom Line
Investing in restaurant technology is undoubtedly challenging, especially due to heavy initial capital. However, the benefits drawn from digital signage far outweigh the drawbacks. Therefore, as you plan to install digital signage in your restaurant, ensure that it comes with all the key features and utilize infotainment to make the most of your displays. Additionally, components like WI-FI connection, internet connectivity, screen resolution, high-performing processors, and reliability, for a great user experience are good to consider.
Without a doubt, using infotainment in your restaurant is a great way to engage your audience, especially in this digital age.
