Architectural Signage for Improved Customer Experiences: How Does it Work in Restaurants?

The design of buildings plays a crucial role in the overall customer experience. Well-designed architecture enhances the customer experience, encouraging repeat business and brand loyalty.

This statement may be considered to be trite, but think about it for a second: how many times have you driven past an impressive building that made you want to stop in? How many times have you walked into a beautiful restaurant or retail space with delicious aromas wafting through the air, only to find out after your meal that it was delicious? These are aspects of architectural signage services that can help improve customer experiences.

What are Architectural Signage Solutions?

Digital signs are a solution to enhance customers’ experiences while they wait for their food at fast-food restaurants. It gives customers something fun to do with their phones and a little bit of art to admire.

The innovative design in the form of cleverly placed advertisements within the actual architecture of the building creates positive impressions. 

Customers’ attention is drawn towards these advertisements while they wait for someone to take their order or serve them food when seated. In many cases, a customer’s experience begins even before they enter a business establishment. Here’s how. 

Understanding with an Example

A customer drives past the business establishment. Now, you can ask the following questions to see if they’re impressed by your architectural signage.

• Is the exterior of the building attractive?
• Will the customer enter the business establishment?

• What is their first impression? How does this fit into your restaurant’s new branding strategy?
• Is it an innovative way to present your menu choices to potential customers driving by?
• Does it create excitement about dining at your restaurant for new patrons or make current customers more likely to return soon?
• What message does this architectural design send out about what it means to be part of your brand community?

Some methods of how architectural signage has been used in restaurants are explained below.

1. High-Energy Content

Firstly, many restaurants are adding digital display screens with ad content focused on increasing foot traffic and enhancing customer experiences while they wait for their food. Many of these display screens play fast-paced videos, content that appeals to a wide range of potential customers. It will attract everyone from hip young eaters to baby boomers and millennials to the bright colors and high-energy content.

2. Stunning Designs

Architectural signage can also include vivid painting of tattoo designs on building walls and columns.

What does this accomplish? The key is in the word ‘painting’. When such artwork is created directly onto restaurant surfaces (such as the wall or column), it becomes an integrated part of the overall interior design theme. It becomes more than just attractive artwork: customers would want to look at it while waiting for their order, creating a comfortable aesthetic for the space.

3. Keep it Dynamic and Fun

Architectural signs should be dynamic, lively, and fun. For example, you can look at some whimsical designs at McDonald’s branches in Singapore – they’re perfect for drawing customers’ attention towards the menu boards as they wait to place their orders! 

Here’s why architectural signage services work as an effective tool.

1. Non-Intrusive

It’s not intrusive like other types of advertisements: e.g., pop-up ads that keep flashing whatever creative content they can use up virtually anywhere on your screen.

2. An Art Form

It’s an art form that invites customers to look, not simply at the signage screens themselves, but at the entire environment in which they are placed.

3. Unconventional and Innovative

Because it is not advertising in a physical sense, architectural signage can be used in places where traditional advertisements would never fit, like a tree or brick wall that has been there for ages.

4. Social Media Exposure

Architectural signage works well with social media advertising because of its ‘shareability’ factor. When people have their photos taken next to cool-looking architectural designs in your restaurant, they’re more likely to want to share them with friends and family via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. 

After all, any user who happens to stumble upon their friends’ social media posts will be curious to learn more about the business and what it offers, increasing your restaurant’s visibility in the online space.

5. Strengthens the Brand Community

Architectural signage services can strengthen your brand community. When customers feel close enough to you that they’re perfectly comfortable taking photos while ‘posing’ for a given advertising campaign, this definitely enhances their overall experience while dining at your restaurant. Do keep in mind that the marketing implications of this are also quite significant.

6. Facilitates Data Analysis

It works well with Big Data because it heightens customer awareness of your location and reinforces positive sentiments about the brand.

Remember that seamless integration into your overall interior design is key to whatever architectural signage designs you choose for your restaurant. If your signage appears out of place, it is unlikely to achieve the same level of success in drawing customers’ attention and enhancing their experience.

Getting Started with Architectural Signage

Using technology to enhance your restaurant’s visibility in the online space is extremely important. It would be wise to make use of digital signage software (a cloud-based system) for designing, creating, and deploying your architectural signage campaigns. This will allow you to reach out to more customers and increase brand awareness within a shorter time frame.

Another tip is the importance of getting customers involved early on in your architectural signage campaign. This can be achieved by creating an online contest where customers are encouraged to vote for their favorite designs. It doesn’t have to be anything too complicated, just something that gets them talking about your business in a positive light while also raising awareness regarding the launch date.

Final Words

As you can see, architectural signage is a great advertising tool that should be used to enhance the customer experience and boost your restaurant’s visibility in the online space. It could even help generate business among customers who are too shy to step inside.