The Howard Company's Blog

The Howard Company did a social media survey that asked the question, 'Before entering a restaurant's drive-thru, how often do you know your exact order?' The answer options were 'Always, Sometimes, Rarely, and Never.' With 51 total participants, 37 individuals (73%) voted 'Sometimes, Rarely, or Never,' and only 14 individuals (27%) voted 'Always.'

In our small sample, nearly three-quarters of drive-thru customers say they do not know their exact order beforehand. At the same time, they choose the drive-thru for convenience and speed of service. This indecision hints at how important it is to present items before customers reach the main menu board—giving guests time to make a decision, upselling, and cross-selling with special, limited-time offers. The Howard Company designs presell boards for these scenarios.

Jim Reeder talks more in-depth about the top three reasons businesses should include a presell board in their drive-thru(s) in the video titled 'The Benefits of Adding Presell Boards.'

The Howard Company has many innovative solutions and a customer favorite is our outdoor digital menu board. It is named the ‘Flex,’ as it allows businesses to be flexible with their content in the drive-thru. While onsite, printed graphics and digital menu boards can easily be switched out in a short amount of time. The best part is that the drive-thru can remain open during installation!

In January of 2021, a few team members from The Howard Company (Grant Gustke: Regional Vice President, Jean Jones: Marketing Director, and Rob Vaccarella: Installation and Product Support Specialist) visited The Human Bean in Woodland Park, Colorado, to make this change on one of our three-door Drive-Thru Flex Digital Menu Boards. Watch the time-lapse of the transition below:

An intriguing public relations trend that many major restaurant chains have jumped on in the last few months is publishing images of their "drive-thru of the future." The renderings are sometimes flashy and futuristic, and the headlines tell the tale of 2020. But there is a lot more going on than what is indicated by the headlines. 

Imagine businesses combining their kiosk content, mobile content, and website content all into one software. Interacting with guests would seem much more simple.

Well, it is possible and it is a reality!

The Howard Company is now offering branded omnichannel ecosystems. Jean Jones, Marketing Director at The Howard Company, lists out some of the top benefits of omnichannel solutions. 

The term 'omnichannel' is becoming widely used across many markets, including the restaurant industry. For restaurants, an omnichannel solution involves combining mobile apps, kiosk apps, and website apps into one software. It is organized and it allows for more efficient communication with guests.

Whether you operate a business that is fully utilizing omnichannel capabilities or hearing about it for the first time, it is important to understand how a branded omnichannel ecosystem can enhance customer experience and take a brand to the next level. In the 'Integrated Restaurant Ecosystems as an Engine to Accelerate Sales Growth' webinar below, The Howard Company and MENU Technologies AG talk about some of these advantages.