Pub Doctor: Take a good look at yourself

People are the heart of your pub business. From the selection that you hire to the customers who visit, people drive things forwards and are a key part of what makes a pub a great place to be. Retaining good staff is fundamental to your business and investing in training them is also crucial. But how do you get everyone working together as effectively as possible?

If you are to maintain control of your staff, all employees should have job descriptions, preferably signed by the staff member who identifies all the duties to be performed in their role. After an initial burst of motivation in a new job, people's standards can drop. This should be acted on immediately, and the staff member disciplined in the appropriate manner, re-iterating the performance level required.

A convenient time should be allocated during quieter trading periods for training sessions; this has to be one of the most important disciplines in managing a bar. Personal experience has taught me staff training 'on the job' lacks professionalism and can lead to slow service for the waiting customer, and consequently is less effective.

• Do you have an operation manual that all staff have read?

• Have they or you, received training on customer service procedures?

• Are they aware of cellar management schedules?

• are there hygiene procedure check lists?

• Are there perfect pour dispense programmes?

• Are there customer care/complaint procedures?

Team operation review meetings

These meetings are imperative for team cohesion. Sessions have to be open and honest. If members of your team become frustrated, they start to gripe with other staff, which leads to de-motivated performance, which eventually will be conveyed through to the customer. Ask your team:

• how did we do tonight?

• how can we do better?

• could we work faster and smarter?

• did we work in a friendly and compassionate manner, and deal with any customer issues efficiently?

• was our ambience, music, hygiene and tempo of performance up to standard?

Encourage feedback - allow staff to air their views and grievances during sessions.

Also, tell your team when you have achieved targets and reward them accordingly - even an arm round the shoulder or "thanks for your efforts" can be motivating for any team member.

Tip

Construct a simple document highlighting the main points, issues and tasks mentioned during the session. Identify who is responsible for the action and by what date it will be completed. This will keep cohesion and standards of performance to the optimum level for the coming week. ​

Completion of these tasks can then be reviewed at the next meeting.​

Sales strategy and techniques

• If you are consistently offering excellent service and a quality product compared with your opposition, look to raise your prices.

• Before commencing your new financial year, forecast your weekly sales target based on last year's actual sales. This need to be achievable and will focus you and your team on the appropriate marketing plans and budgets required to achieve those targets.

• Price-pointing - price items at £9.95 instead of £10. When designing menus make them easy to read, have the cheapest at the top and dearest at the bottom in each section. Customers tend to look for the cheapest first to give them a guide to the cost of the meal.

• Cutting prices is a lazy tactic, erodes margins, and over a period of time may damage your brand image. It will also make it difficult in the future to raise your prices to your current customers.

• Sales follow-ups - keep connected with your customers, for example emailing or using blackboards in the pub to highlight special offers for the month ahead.

Tip

Turning "can't do", into "can do" cultures will give your customers the wow factor, when your competition just can't be bothered with the extra effort.​

Advertising and promotion

The internet has changed the way we advertise and promote our business. You must have an arsenal of cost-effective weapons that you can trial on a small basis first. After evaluation, use the ones that work and are profitable. This will save you wasting money on ineffective marketing. A simplified sample test-and-measure may look like this:

Cost of advertisement £100

New customers: 10

Cost per new customer: £10

Average spend per customer: £20

Gross contribution per customer: £10 @ 50 per cent

Gross profit per customer: ZERO

Building an advertising and promotion programme

Build two spreadsheets, one for advertising, one for promotion, split into 12 monthly columns, then insert your activities in blocks using different colours. This will give you an early indication of your busy times. This can then be split into weeks and each individual advert promotion then costed out - for example, art design costs may total £3,000 for the year. Instead of initiating this work on an individual invoice basis arrange a meeting with the designer and negotiate a discount for the forthcoming year based on the quoted level of expenditure.

Cost-effective weapons

• Website and search engine optimisation

• Social media - Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn

• Capturing data and email marketing

• Press releases

• Personalised 'thank you' letters

• Giving presents

• Adding value and keeping your margins

• A warm approach to potential new customers

• Trade journals

• Connect with your customers during their visit to your pub

• Outside events - music, local exhibitions, fairs, fêtes, outside catering

• Targeted flyers

Tip

Remember it's six times more expensive to attract a new customer than to retain an existing customer. So before looking to add new customers, concentrate on how you can​

• retain your customers

• increase the size of the individual transaction per customer by using upselling techniques and creating sales bundles (for example, a pint and a pie for £4.95)

• boost the amount of transactions per year from the customer. Use a variety of entertainment occasions or broaden your range of products or food options

• Use the referral power of the customer

Case studies

1. Added value - Valentine's promotion

• Set an enticing price point - four courses for £19.95

• Get promotional stock from your champagne supplier in return for their logo in an advertisement and internal branding around the event.

• Source a local supplier for roses and a mini box of three chocolates in return for a free dinner with wine.

The purchaser will total up the perceived value and convenience factor of the offer and realise if purchased individually it could be worth over £30 per head. This style of promotion has seen Valentine occasions fully booked for the following two years.

2. Outside events promotion

Using your outside space during the summer can be a great way to make more money, especially at weekends.

One music venue had an issue over their August Bank Holiday Battle of the Bands festival, which was too busy. The restricted space inside the pub limited takings.

A solution was to use the car park, which allowed the licensee to promote an all-day-and-night event to a wider audience (parents with children). Beforehand he analysed and forecasted:

• what potential extra sales forecast he might make

• the cost of erecting an external stage

• the extra cost for staffing and additional food stalls.

After care