Introduction
Salmon Company, fronted by Bocuse d’Or winning chef Geir Skeie identified a gap in the market for a restaurant that appealed to people on the move or people that wanted a short break from everyday life to enjoy fresh salmon served with delicious international flavours, at a reasonable price.
With global expansion in mind, Pink Fish needed an internationally recognizable format. The in-store navigation of the restaurant and its look and feel have the appeal of a familiar setup wherever in the world the customer may be. The key principle has been to design the stress out of the process by taking away all the friction points in the customer journey. The restaurant is designed with zones that have digital signage to help make the customer journey frictionless.
Challenges
Retail (including QSR) has two major challenges to overcome. It needs to be easy, and it needs to be an experience. Easy means:
- To take away all friction points in the customer journey. In doing so, one needs to make all back-office systems talk together.
- Having clear and visible markers in each zone from entry to the counter to make the navigation smooth.
- Having a self-explanatory ordering process. Normally, a customer must approach the counter to place an order and then wait for the food to be prepared. This waiting time could pose a problem for people in a hurry.
Experience means that the restaurant needs to be a place where customers on-the-go can:
- Take a deep breath
- Move calmly and easily through the process
- Enjoy a smile along the way.
- Reward themselves with delicious, feel-good food in a space designed just for them.
Solution
To make the customer journey seamless, every system is integrated into the digital signage. When ordering a meal online, on the app or in store, their name will pop up on displays in the restaurant when the meal is ready. The menu boards are integrated into the POS systems, so when changing price on products in the POS system, the price will automatically be displayed on the menu boards.
The whole customer journey is mapped. Upon entering the restaurant, the customer is welcomed by storefront displays showing products that are relevant at that time. Going further in, the customer is met by campaign displays helping the customer make a choice before coming to the counter. Over the counter are several menu boards that are dayparted as well. The menu boards are synced to be able to show a swimming fish in the background of the menu boards. This subtle animation makes the menu boards come alive.
Benefits
All restaurants are “born” with a digital DNA, hence it’s not possible to compare sales without digital signage. Due to an omnichannel ordering system, customers do not experience any waiting time. They can decide when to have the meal ready, and where to eat, and they can see the status of the order on digital displays.
The employees have also been able to experience the effect the digital signage has in the restaurants. When changing an item on one of the displays (campaign or menu board), they are immediately selling more of that product. The employees have also received very positive feedback from customers that like the content on the displays. They also say that the displays make the store modern and nice, in addition to having something nice to “rest” their eye on while eating. Digital Signage ticks all the boxes to make Pink Fish’s presentation be ideal.