6 Ways to Easily Manage Menu Content Across Multiple Restaurant Locations

For many operators of quick-service and fast-casual restaurants, the logistical challenge of managing menu content across multiple locations can seem like a nightmare. The challenge is compounded for operators who travel frequently and need to update menu content outside their offices.

At WAND Digital, our digital menu technology helps to solve this problem by offering convenient ways for operators to oversee their restaurants at any time from anywhere in the world. Consider these six tips for managing digital menu board content across multiple locations:

1. Build your marketing strategy.

Before your design team produces digital menu content for your brand, consider how you can make the content work for you. Consider introducing variable content, allowing limited local control, and ensuring that your content can be easily updated across the brand. This will save you time and allow your restaurants to function effectively. When outlining your strategy, involve your team members to gain valuable input and ensure alignment on the strategy you create.

2. Use a content calendar.

Start by determining what digital menu board content you’d like to feature in the next three to six months. Consider when to promote current marketing campaigns, make seasonal updates, or release LTOs. You’ll also need to decide when to make major menu updates, such as adding calorie counts or introducing a new menu offering. Lay out all of this information in a calendar to organize it. If stakeholders are frequently remote, consider using a digital calendar that is easy to access and change across users and locations.

3. Determine who is allowed to update content.

One of the best features of digital menu technology is the ability to use dynamic content, which allows you to create a number of different content options and choose what content to display on your digital menu boards. For example, you could choose three content overlays to run on all menu boards at all restaurant locations. Then you could create five content overlay options and give specific locations the ability to pick and choose what overlay to display at any given time. It’s a win-win since each store manager knows their individual restaurant best and you won’t have to spend time managing individual content at the store level.

4. Stay Organized

Once you have a marketing strategy and content calendar in place, use task lists and calendar reminders to stay organized. This can help you keep track of multiple menu items, LTOs, marketing campaigns, and daypart changes. Submit creative requests well in advance and make note of important deadlines. When you are proactive and organized, you can better react to market changes and keep your restaurants operating smoothly.

5. Go mobile.

When you partner with WAND’s Digital Menu Technology team, you gain the added convenience of effortlessly making digital menu board updates on your mobile device. Once you’ve created your digital menu boards, WAND’s mobile app allows you the flexibility to complete tasks such as:

Similar to the desktop version, the WAND App grants certain people access to the mobile version, so store operators can change their digital menu boards as needed.

6. Train your operators.

Even with the best content overlays in the world, your digital menu boards won’t be effective if your operators don’t know how to change them. Hold training sessions, create a “how to” document, and send email communications to make sure your operators know how to update content. Webinars are effective training tools since you can hold them quickly and make a recording to share with those who cannot attend. You can either host the webinar yourself or ask your WAND account manager to present a training webinar for your operators.

By incorporating these tips into your WAND Digital menu technology strategy, operators with restaurants in multiple locations can enjoy increased convenience and efficiency. That translates to more time you can devote to developing your business and boosting your bottom line.