How do we keep up with technology changes?

Several days ago I had a meeting with some of my old friends at Yum! Brands to discuss outdoor digital menu boards and order confirmation units. Most of my meetings are with people that know very little about digital menu boards so I have to spend a lot of time giving them an update or education. However, I consider Yum! Brands to be one of the most knowledgeable QSR chains on digital menu boards because they have been testing them longer than most other chains and have learned a lot.

As we progressed through the 90 minute meeting we started discussing the benefits and problems with digital menu boards. I was surprised by the number of items they mentioned as problems that I did not consider problems. During the meeting I simply assumed they had been misinformed.

It wasn’t until I was in my car driving away that I realized our few differences were simply a matter of timing. They were stating problems that existed a year or more ago but have since been corrected or improved. I realized that some of the equipment they had in the field was several years old, which brings me to my point. Keeping up with changes in this industry is difficult because they happen very quickly. How do we keep up with all these changes, and more importantly, how do we keep our customers up to date?

It would clear up a lot of confusion and help our industry grow more quickly if there was a way to keep all of us and our customers up to date on improvements and important new developments. I’m not talking about all of the ads and marketing campaigns we see almost every day. It should be something on a weekly or as needed basis that is generic and factual that lists all the important developments and improvements industry wide. Something we can forward to our customers regularly to keep them up do date.

Does anyone have any ideas?