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QSR operators' digital signage life extension planner

Digital signage is almost daily becoming more affordable and functional, but the fact remains that it's still a costly part of the QSR business. The good news is you can make it last long and live a happy life of delivering for your brand if you follow the three suggestions in this article.

September 5, 2018 by Bradley Cooper — Editor, ATM Marketplace & Food Truck Operator

Equipment obsolescence. It's the perpetual challenge of our increasingly technology-dependent QSR business. And that is certainly the case for the digital signage most QSRs now employ as the technological "front doors" of these types of businesses.

This is the high-profile tech we use to connect with customers and sell the menu our teams work so hard to deliver daily. But image-reliant tools like digital signage improve at a stupifying rate that can have the QSR operator reaching into his or her pockets almost monthly to keep up with the latest and the greatest signage technology.

That's an unnecessary expense operators cannot afford in this ultra-competitive marketplace, and that's also why QSR operators should keep the following three principles in mind to extend the life and usefulness of their digital signage to the maximum.

1. Buy commercial, not consumer

When you look at consumer devices, you might be tempted by some lower prices. After all, can't you just take a big 4K TV screen and turn it into digital signage? Well ,you can, but you might pay for it in the long run.

Commercial displays are built specifically for use with digital signage, which means they likely come with the inputs and outputs you need, and they can handle round-the-clock use. They are also available with system on a chip for content, or discounts when purchased with a particular media player.

Finally, it's no small perk that commercial displays also often come with professional installation and maintenance from qualified digital signage vendors. In essence, these often pricier displays can and frequently do save your brand time and money in the long run, while extending the life of your display.

Know what you want

One of the best ways to extend your digital signage systems life is to start out with a very clear idea of what your brand needs the technology to accomplish. If, for example, you're hoping to almost reach out and grab customers as they come in the door, you'd be well advised to start out looking at top-end displays with 4K content to ensure it looks good for a good, long time.

Or if you're currently a mom-and-pop shop and you really only want to use your display to highlight weekly specials, a mid-sized LCD display with a simple plug-and-play media player on a USB might well be all the expense and system you need. When you have a clear idea of your communication goals, you can pick the solution that will last.

Have a good content strategy

Without good content, even the most expensive display in the world is useless. If you are going to keep your display effective for a long time, you need a good content strategy.

Your strategy should answer these types of questions:

Who will create your content?
How often will they update it
Which content management system will be used?
Are we equipped with adequate resources to create and update content as desired?
How will our content engage our audience?
What type of display can handle the aforementioned digital signage demands?

If you can answer all of these questions, you will have a far more effective and longer-lived digital signage strategy overall, even when hundreds of new displays are released between deployment and even signage retirement.

Editor's Note: A previous version of this story appeared on sister site, Digital Signage Today.

Photo: iStock

About Bradley Cooper

Bradley Cooper is the editor of ATM Marketplace and Food Truck Operator. He was previously the editor of Digital Signage Today. His background is in information technology, advertising, and writing.

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