Monday July 9: Pop the question
Next Monday is the day we are urging you to find out exactly what your regulars and your not-so-regulars want from their local.
Of course, licensees talk to their customers every day of the week. But how often do you talk to them about the business?
And how often do you reach out to the customers who don¹t currently visit the pub and ask them why not?
Spending an hour or two delivering a short questionnaire to houses within a mile radius of your business could have a really positive result. Offering a free meal or a round of drinks as a prize to the questionnaire that is pulled out of the hat at the end of the week should ensure you get some answers.
The Hack & Spade in Whashton, North Yorkshire, is one pub that has made changes as a result of carrying out the exercise. The rural pub in our Sell More, Save More project, which has seen The Publican following the fortunes of three pubs during 2007, put out a questionnaire to the village, near Richmond, in February, and a third of the papers were returned.
Licensee Alastair Dowson-Park says it was an initiative well worth carrying out. "The main thing that came out of it was that people told us they wanted to turn the place back into more of a traditional pub, with cheaper meals," he remembers. "We already had our own ideas about that but the questionnaire confirmed what we were thinking."
Carrying out the exercise also helped the pub connect with customers, adds the licensee. "Ultimately people appreciated being asked the question," says Alastair.
Be prepared
Business development expert Carl May, who has been working closely with our Sell More, Save More pubs, offers the following words of wisdom for licensees considering putting out a questionnaire.
"Keep it short and sharp, and make sure every question is directly relevant for your pub," he says.
"If you ask a question, you¹ve got to be able to act on the answer. And if you act on what people have told you, tell customers you have listened to them. Put it on a blackboard in the pub: 'We¹ve asked your opinions and this is what we¹ve done as a result!'"
Carl advises licensees to be as open and honest as possible about their business when introducing their questionnaire headlining it 'How can we help you bring your pub back into the community?', for example. He also recommends making absolutely sure people fill it out by giving participants a chance to win something back in the form of a lucky draw.
What's lucky for your customers could be lucky for you, if one of your customers suggests the nugget of information new opening hours perhaps, or a new dish on the menu which could make a real success of your business.
