In today’s fast-paced quick service restaurant (QSR) industry, where competition is fierce, restaurants must leverage innovative strategies to stand out from the crowd and boost their sales — all while building brand awareness. Although this might seem like a lot, digital signage has emerged as a powerful tool that can transform how QSRs engage with their customers and create memorable experiences. In this blog post, we will explore some creative and cool digital signage ideas that QSRs can implement to captivate customers, drive sales, and increase brand awareness. 

Benefits of digital signage in QSRs

Digital signage in QSRs offers many benefits that can revolutionize how they interact with their customers and boost their business. 

1. One of the primary advantages of using digital signs is improved customer engagement. Digital signage allows QSRs to create dynamic and interactive displays that capture customers’ attention and keep them engaged while they wait for their orders. Engaging content, such as videos, animations, and games, can entertain and educate customers, enhancing their overall experience and fostering a positive impression of the brand.
2. Digital signage also provides QSRs a powerful platform to communicate their brand messaging effectively. Through visually appealing displays, businesses can showcase their brand identity, values, and unique selling proposition, reinforcing brand recognition and building customer loyalty. Consistent and compelling brand messaging on digital signage can create a lasting impression on customers and differentiate QSRs from competitors in a crowded market.
3. Using digital signage has been proven to increase sales. According to a study by Intel, digital signage can increase sales by up to 32%. Eye-catching displays featuring enticing promotions, limited-time offers, and upsell/cross-sell promotions can drive impulse purchases and boost average transaction value. It also allows businesses to easily update and customize content in real time, enabling them to promote new products, seasonal offers, or promotions, thus creating a sense of urgency among customers.
4. Data also supports the effectiveness of digital signage in driving brand awareness. A study by Nielsen found that digital signage in QSRs can increase brand recall by up to 47%. Engaging and memorable content on digital signage, such as social media walls, user-generated content, and brand storytelling, can create a lasting impression on customers, leading to increased brand recognition and recall. 
5. Finally, digital signage can facilitate social sharing, where customers can share their experiences on social media, amplifying the brand’s reach and increasing brand awareness among their networks.

By leveraging the power of digital signage, businesses can create a memorable and immersive customer experience, drive sales, and gain a competitive edge in the dynamic QSR industry.

Cool digital signage ideas

Interactive menu boards

Interactive digital menu boards are a game-changer in digital signage for QSRs. These innovative displays allow customers to interact with the menu, creating a personalized and engaging experience. One of the key benefits of interactive menu boards is the ability for customers to customize their orders. Customers can select their preferred ingredients, toppings, condiments, and more, creating a sense of ownership over their meals and ensuring their preferences are met. This level of customization enhances customer satisfaction and promotes upselling opportunities, as customers are more likely to add premium toppings or extra sides to their orders.

Another advantage of interactive menu boards is the ability to provide nutritional information to customers. With increasing emphasis on health-conscious choices, customers appreciate having access to nutritional information such as calorie counts, allergen information, and ingredient details. Interactive menu boards can display this information visually, appealing, and easily understandable, helping customers make informed choices that align with their dietary preferences and restrictions.

Interactive menu boards can also showcase promotional offers and limited-time deals in an eye-catching manner. QSRs can leverage the dynamic nature of digital signage to highlight special promotions, combos, or discounts, enticing customers to try new items or upgrade their meals. This can drive impulse purchases and increase the average transaction value, ultimately boosting sales and revenue for QSRs.

By allowing customers to customize their orders, view nutritional information, and explore promotional offers, QSRs can create a more interactive and memorable customer experience, resulting in increased sales and customer loyalty.

Social media walls

Social media walls are an innovative way to leverage user-generated content in QSRs through digital signage. This is one of the cool digital signage ideas that we highly recommend because by displaying customer reviews, testimonials, and social media posts that mention the QSR, social media walls can amplify the voice of customers and showcase their positive experiences. User-generated content adds authenticity and social proof, as potential customers are more likely to trust the opinions of their peers rather than traditional advertisements.

Incorporating social media walls in QSRs can have several benefits. Firstly, social media walls can significantly boost brand awareness. By showcasing positive customer feedback and testimonials on digital signage, QSRs can create a positive brand perception and encourage potential customers to try their offerings. Social media walls can also foster customer engagement, as customers are more likely to share their experiences on social media if they see their posts displayed on a public wall. This can result in increased user-generated content and social sharing, extending the brand’s reach beyond the physical location of the QSR.

Social media walls can also encourage social sharing, where customers may be incentivized to post about their experience at the QSR on social media in exchange for promotions or discounts. This can create a buzz on social media platforms, generating free publicity and word-of-mouth marketing for the QSR. Social media walls can also provide valuable customer feedback and insights, allowing QSRs to monitor and respond to customer sentiment in real time and make necessary improvements to their offerings or services.

Social media walls offer a unique and engaging way to incorporate user-generated content in QSRs through digital signage. QSRs can boost brand awareness, increase customer engagement, encourage social sharing, and gain valuable customer insights by showcasing customer reviews, testimonials, and social media posts. Social media walls can be a powerful tool in the QSR industry to create a positive brand perception and foster customer loyalty.

Digital order status boards

Digital order status boards are a cutting-edge application of digital signage in QSRs that can significantly enhance the customer experience. These boards provide real-time updates on the status of customer orders, allowing customers to track the progress of their orders from the moment they are placed to when they are ready for pickup or out for delivery. This transparency and visibility into the order fulfillment process can greatly improve customer satisfaction.

One of the key benefits of digital order status boards is the ability to reduce wait times. Customers no longer have to constantly inquire about the status of their orders or wait anxiously at the counter. Instead, they can glance at the digital order status board to see the progress of their order. This can lead to a more efficient and streamlined ordering process, as customers are better informed about when their orders will be ready, reducing frustration and anxiety associated with long wait times.

Digital order status boards also enhance transparency, providing customers with a sense of trust and confidence in the QSR’s operations. By displaying real-time updates on the status of customer orders, QSRs can demonstrate their commitment to efficiency, accuracy, and timeliness. This can help build customer trust and loyalty, as customers appreciate the transparency and visibility in order fulfillment

A final benefit of digital order status boards is the ability to streamline the order fulfillment process by reducing the need for staff to update customers on the status of their orders manually. Staff can focus on preparing orders and providing quality customer service, while the digital order status boards keep customers informed. This can improve operational efficiency and staff productivity, allowing QSRs to serve more customers in less time.

Digital order status boards effectively use digital signage in QSRs that can significantly enhance customer satisfaction. By providing real-time updates on the status of customer orders, reducing wait times, enhancing transparency, and streamlining the order fulfillment process, digital order status boards can contribute to a positive customer experience and improve overall operational efficiency in QSRs.

Interactive games and contests

Incorporating interactive games and contests into digital signage in QSRs is fun and engaging in entertaining customers, encouraging participation, and creating memorable experiences that drive brand recall and repeat visits. Creative ideas for incorporating interactive games and contests can include trivia games, spin-to-win wheels, digital scratch-offs, and virtual photo booths. These interactive elements can be displayed on digital signage screens, allowing customers to participate while waiting for orders or dining in the restaurant.

Interactive games and contests entertain customers and encourage participation and interaction with the QSR brand. Customers are more likely to remember and recall a brand that provides an enjoyable and interactive experience. Moreover, interactive games and contests can create a sense of excitement and anticipation, driving customer engagement and creating positive brand associations.

Additionally, interactive games and contests can incentivize customers to participate by offering rewards, discounts, or promotional offers. This can further motivate customers to engage with the QSR brand, increase their loyalty, and even share their experience on social media, creating word-of-mouth marketing. The programs can be used as a data collection tool, allowing QSRs to collect valuable customer data, such as email addresses or preferences, for future marketing efforts. This can help QSRs personalize their marketing strategies and build a loyal customer base.

Dynamic digital signage

Dynamic digital signage is a powerful tool that allows QSRs to easily update their content in real time, making it ideal for displaying daily specials, promotions, and limited-time offers. The ability to quickly update content ensures that the digital signage remains relevant and engaging, keeping customers interested and informed.

One of the key benefits of using dynamic digital signage is its ability to create a sense of urgency among customers. QSRs can drive impulse purchases and spur customers to take immediate action by displaying time-sensitive content such as limited-time offers or flash sales. This sense of urgency can create a FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) effect, motivating customers to purchase or try a promotional item before it’s gone.

Dynamic digital signage can help QSRs highlight seasonal items, new menu additions, or special promotions, creating customer excitement and anticipation. This can increase sales as customers are more likely to try new things or take advantage of limited-time offers.It also allows for targeted messaging, where QSRs can display relevant content based on location, time of day, or customer preferences. This personalized approach can enhance the customer experience and increase the likelihood of purchasing.

Dynamic digital signage in QSRs offers the benefits of easily updated content, creating a sense of urgency, driving impulse purchases, and increasing sales. Its flexibility and targeted messaging capabilities make it a powerful tool to enhance the customer experience, increase brand awareness, and boost sales in the competitive QSR industry.

Brand storytelling

Digital signage can be a powerful tool in brand storytelling, especially in the QSR industry. By utilizing digital signage in-store, such as video walls and kiosks, QSR brands can effectively showcase their history, values, and unique selling proposition to create an emotional connection with customers and foster brand loyalty. Digital signage software allows for easy customization of templates to design captivating and visually appealing signage displays. 

In addition to using inspirational quotes, real estate spotlights, and team member features, QSR brands can incorporate QR codes and countdowns to upcoming events or promotions to encourage customer engagement. By leveraging creative signage design, QSR brands can build customer trust and reinforce their communication strategy. Digital signage can also be used in an advertising campaign to promote new products or limited-time offers, further enhancing brand storytelling. Through in-store digital signage, QSR brands can effectively tell their story, leaving a lasting impression on customers and fostering brand loyalty.

Digital signage implementation tips

Implementing your cool digital signage ideas in QSRs requires careful planning and execution to ensure maximum effectiveness. Here are some practical tips for successful digital signage implementation:

Choose the proper hardware and software: The right hardware and software are crucial for digital signage success. Consider display size, resolution, durability, and compatibility with your QSR environment. Choose a software solution that offers easy content management, scheduling, and remote updates.

Create engaging content: Content is king when it comes to digital signage. Create eye-catching and relevant content that resonates with your target audience. Use high-quality images, videos, and animations that capture attention and communicate your brand messaging effectively. Consider incorporating interactive elements like polls, quizzes, or surveys to encourage customer engagement.

Ensure proper placement: Proper placement of digital signage displays is critical for maximum impact. Consider factors such as customer traffic flow, viewing angles, and visibility. Place digital signage in high-traffic areas such as the entrance, waiting area, or near the point of sale for maximum visibility and engagement.

Monitor and measure effectiveness:

1. Implement tools to monitor and measure the effectiveness of your digital signage campaigns.
2. Use analytics and reporting to track customer engagement, content views, and sales impact.
3. Adjust and optimize your digital signage content and placement based on the data collected to improve results continuously.

Train and educate staff: Properly train and educate your staff on effectively using and managing the digital signage system. This includes content creation, scheduling, and troubleshooting. Ensure that your team understands the goals and objectives of your digital signage campaigns and can effectively communicate the messaging to customers.

By following these tips, QSRs can effectively implement digital signage to drive sales, increase brand awareness, and enhance the customer experience. Monitoring and measuring the effectiveness of digital signage campaigns allows for continuous improvement and optimization for better results.

Enhance your digital signage strategy with Keyser

Digital signage presents an innovative and effective solution for quick-service restaurants (QSRs) to drive sales and increase brand awareness. By leveraging cool digital signage ideas, such as interactive menu boards, social media walls, digital order status boards, interactive games and contests, and dynamic digital signage, QSRs can engage customers, enhance brand messaging, and create memorable experiences that boost sales and brand recall. 

As the competitive landscape of the QSR industry continues to evolve, QSR owners and operators must explore and implement digital signage strategies to stay ahead of the competition and create a compelling customer experience. At Keyser, we can help you invest in innovative digital signage solutions and come up with more cool digital signage ideas so your business can effectively connect with customers, drive sales, and build a loyal customer base.