March 17, 2017

7 Tips to Make More Sales at Your Bar

Tags

  • Holiday Marketing

  • Restaurant Loans

It can also be challenging to set your bar apart from competing establishments. That’s why it is crucial that you brainstorm new ways to produce more sales. In this post, we’ll explain seven ways that you tackle bar management and in-turn run a bar that makes more sales.

1. Update your menu

If your menu hasn’t been refreshed in months (or even worse, years), it may be time to update it. Customers who frequent your bar will become bored of your menu, and will head to an establishment with specials and exciting options. That’s why you should give your menu some much needed attention to drive sales! Offer new specialty drinks and appetizers, and you’ll see old and new customers visiting your bar. If you aren’t already offering food, or have limited options, customers will be excited that you’re expanding your menu. Of course, in order to develop your menu, you’ll need to review your restaurant business plan so that you can determine how much food inventory you can afford to carry. Once you’ve ironed out these details and get to the point that you’re able to roll out your new menu, make sure to advertise it well on social media and other platforms. You’ll want to inform as many existing and potential patrons as possible about your new items!

2. Invest in decor

Take your bar’s decor from drab to fab. Pay for an interior overhaul, and it will attract more customers. In addition, you should renovate outdoor signage, so that if someone passes by your bar they will be enticed to come in. Although paying for decorative costs can add up, it will pay off in the long-term when you have a comfortable atmosphere to offer your customers.

3. Offer special social events

Instead of just marketing your bar as a place to grab drinks, you can host special events that will bring in additional patrons. Consider hosting trivia nights, TV-show viewing parties, company happy hours or charity events. Bars that have a social calendar in addition to their usual bar specials will be more likely to attract clientele than a bar that sticks to status quo. Plus, you’ll appeal to different crowds that may not visit your establishment normally.

4. Hire more staff members

Who likes visiting a bar and not being able to get a drink? If you’re realizing that your bar is short-staffed, your customers have probably taken notice too. Keep track of when your busiest days are, so that you can hire extra staff members for these time slots.

5. Adjust hours

In addition to better serving your customers with more staff members, considering lengthening your hours so that you can serve customers for longer periods of time. This could depend on where your bar is located, so consider local liquor laws and see how late alcohol can be served in your area, or if there are noise ordinances. If you’re able to have longer hours of operation, you’ll have more of an opportunity to increase sales.

6. Take advantage of holidays

Whether it’s St. Patrick’s Day or National Margarita Day, know how to bring in a crowd to drink and celebrate. Having drink specials and other offers during these types of holidays or holiday weekends will attract a bigger crowd; which means the sales will roll in for your business. Stand out among other bars by advertising your celebrations on social media, outdoor signage and your bar’s website.

7. Pay attention to inventory orders

As we previously mentioned, assessing your bar restaurant business plan is an important part of running a bar. Examine which drinks and food items are best sellers, so that you can always have these ingredients on-hand. Being exact in your inventory orders will enable you to make more sales; as you’ll never have to risk running out of items, and losing out on customers. Running a bar can seem like a challenge, but if you make the most of what your bar has to offer, you’ll be able to increase your sales. In order to afford these revisions to your business, it may be prudent to apply for additional working capital. Check out our financing options here, so that you can start making more sales at your bar. Then, let us know in the comment section below if you have any other bar management tips to share!