Tips for Better Beer Sales [WEBINAR]
Beer’s resurgence in popularity due to the craft beer movement has made it a profitable source of income for many bars and restaurants. With a few key tricks up your sleeve, you can dramatically increase your beer sales. The following are just a few ways to build a great craft beer menu and boost your beer sales.
Know Your Market
Your location and market should determine the type of beer you choose to sell. In any business, catering to your market is directly related to sales. If you are located in a large and affluent business area, try offering more upscale, pricier beers. If you’re in a college town and your patrons don’t have a lot of disposable income, consider more inexpensive selections. You can also consider happy hour and other beer specials to draw in the correct crowd and increase revenue.
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Carry (the Correct) Craft Beers [Webinar]
Since the industry is growing at exponential rates, you should have no problem offering a unique variety of beers. Take note of new brews that sell, and cut your losses on anything that isn’t popular. You should also consider offering seasonal varieties, as those can be big sellers when the seasons change. The concept of your restaurant can also determine the types of beer you choose. For example, if you’re an English pub, you should consider unique imports from the UK. Sticking to your theme can be essential to how well your beer sells. Watch the webinar for more insight.
Choose the Right Draft System
Choosing the wrong draft system can really affect your overall sales. A few common types include: air-cooled, direct-draw, and glycol systems. Some factors that should determine your choice are: the space you have available, how many drafts you can actually carry, and where your coolers are located. Knowing these things, and doing a little research, should put you on the right track to improve profit.
[FREE CHECKLIST] OPENING & CLOSING PROCEDURES
Group and Showcase Your Taps
In the bar industry, time and speed equate to money. Instead of having your drafts spread out across the whole bar, group the beer towers together. This will allow bartenders to pour several different types of beer at once, rather than having to run back and forth to fill a single order. The increase in speed and efficiency will gain repeat business, and will result in greater profits.
Showcase your beer towers, and make sure your taps aren’t hidden from customers. Drafts often draw the most attention at the bar, and you want to put them at the forefront of your customers’ line of vision. Since drafts are fresher and more flavorful, they generally cost more, so make sure you promote them the most.
Be Sure the Price is Right
This is probably one of the most important ways to increase your sales, but also one that can be detrimental to them. Pricing is a very temperamental science, and one that can either put off patrons, or drive them in flocks. If you’re not sure where to start, check with your local competition. Who is popular? What are they selling and at what price? Check their menu and even pay them a visit. How would you improve on their pricing, based on your experience as a customer? Once you have completed that research, apply your learnings to your bar. You could even ask a trusted friend or family member to pay you a visit and ask them for their honest feedback.
Overall, you should try to keep beer costs as low as possible. Beer is known for being the “cheaper” drink in a bar, but if you value your craft beer and know enough about each one, pricing shouldn’t be too hard. One way to measure how to price craft beer is the overall beverage cost. Obviously, the more a beer costs your bar, the higher the price tag.
Lastly, tailor prices to your market. College kids are probably not going to pay much for a single beer. They may spend a significant amount of money over the course of a night, however, if you can keep them ordering with lower prices. On the other hand, if your establishment is more upscale, people will expect to pay more and you should be careful not to shortchange yourself.
Advertise
Of course if you’re making all of these changes, you want to inform your patrons. Whether it’s a drop in price, a new seasonal, or the start of a happy hour, people need to know. The TapHunter app is a highly utilized program in the industry for promotion. Evergreen’s simple dashboard also allows you to notify all of your social media accounts at once when you update your drink list. They can also help you to install digital menu boards that can alert customers of any new changes.
No matter what avenue you choose to explore to increase sales, know that it may need fine tuning every now and then. If you are paying attention to what is selling, your market, and what your customers want, you should do just fine!
