Beat the lull
Phil Mellows suggests some ways to manage the quiet period of the New Year's lean winter months when customers are thin on the ground.
Right now you'll be mostly worrying about Christmas. But there's an argument that the most important time of year for publicans is the first couple of months of the New Year. That's when trade hits a natural lull and cash flow becomes tight.
Many licensees will be hoping for a bumper Christmas to help see them through, but if you're simply dismissing January and February as no-hopers it's a dangerous game to play.
Keeping a focus on maximising your business in the New Year really starts now. The weeks leading up to Christmas offer a great opportunity to develop the loyalty of customers, to win a hard core of regulars who will see you through the lean winter months.
You not only need to make sure you are impressing them with a high level of customer service - you need to market to them too.
Decide on a couple of events you can stage early in the New Year - check out the list on page 23 if you want some ideas - and advertise them. Use posters, leaflets and, most effectively, word of mouth. Get your staff to talk about what's coming up.
It's not entirely true that everyone goes into hibernation after Christmas. True, many try to make up for the excesses of the festive period both for health and financial reasons. But there's an equally strong attraction to get out and beat the winter blues. That's the feeling you've got to tap into.
Steady progress
Community pubs tend to do OK in January because they've got a loyal band of regulars and because the activities continue - the sports events, quizzes, parties and so on.
If you're a food-led venue it may be trickier. But there are things you can try. Bounce back promotions usually work well - where you give pre-Christmas customers a voucher for, say, a two-for-the-price-of-one meal offer in the New Year. Or you could perhaps set up a themed menu evening or two.
If, despite all that, you are likely to be quiet, make good use of the time. Many licensees never take the opportunity to step back from their pub and review what they are doing in detail, yet this is an important part of keeping any business thriving.
January 2005 will be a particularly important time for administration too as from February you should be putting in an application for one of the new premises licences.
You'll need to put in some thought on whether to carry on as you are or to go for longer hours, regular entertainment or a family audience - and soon. All this will need to go into your operating schedule so it's a time like no other for some analysis of your business.
At the centre of any decisions you make will be your customers. Understanding them and their needs will be more crucial than ever to your success in the years ahead. If you open late will you get the trade to justify it? If you put on live music what kind will attract an audience? If you launch a children's menu is the market there?
Take time to consider your options carefully and carry out all the research you can. There are some general insights into the behaviour of pub-goers on pages 24 and 25.
Meanwhile, have a profitable Christmas - and a very prosperous New Year!
CAMRA livens up February
National Pubs Week 2005 is scheduled for February 19 to 26 and organiser the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is lining up plenty of ideas to raise the profile of the great British pub and boost trade for licensees at a quiet time of year.
Special promotional packs are already available and include a free quiz and tips on running it successfully. CAMRA is encouraging publicans to hold the quiz on the Tuesday (February 22) aiming to create the biggest-ever national pub quiz.
In the run-up to the week pub-goers are asked to snap themselves with a celebrity drinker at the pub. The best picture will be revealed during the week and the winner will get a £350 iPod.
There will also be a beer mat competition in which drinkers have to collect four mats which fit together like a jigsaw. There is a question on each of three of the pieces and an entry form on the fourth. People will have to go from pub to pub to find the set. First prize is a £350 digital camera.
CAMRA will also use the week to launch a database of pub trails, crawls and passport schemes on its website and is inviting entries. In the week itself it wants licensees to link up with other local pubs to create their own pub trail and loyalty scheme.
More information will be available in the New Year. Visit www.camra.org or call 01727 867201.
