Plan your Xmas presence early…

And while the Indian summer came as a welcome boost to many publicans, it would be unwise for the trade to rest on its laurels and not plan ahead. Christmas is one of the biggest revenue generating periods of the year — and preparation in pubs should already be well underway.

“Christmas is one of the key times of the year in which to generate additional income and attract new customers,” claims Keith Parsons, customer marketing manager at Scottish & Newcastle Pub Company (S&NPC).

“To capitalise on this it is useful to think beyond the Christmas party and Christmas quiz, and plan well in advance. It is the pubs that plan early and get a name for being festive venues that do the best.”

A key element of planning, says Parsons, is customer research. Find out what events and activities your local customer base would like. If you haven’t any ideas of your own, ask staff and customers for suggestions, and offer a prize for the idea that wins the most votes.

It’s also worth trying to get a name as a festive pub well in advance of the big day. “Put out festive snacks to create that celebratory feel at the start of the month,” suggests Parsons. “If you run a town-centre operation, think about offering customers storage and somewhere for a quiet cup of coffee while they’re doing the Christmas shopping.”

Similarly, for community pubs, Parsons suggests thinking about arranging for carol singing to start and end at the pub. “Consider offering a free glass of mulled cider for adult singers,” he advises.

The ethos at Greene King Pub Partners is also to plan well in advance. So much so, in fact, that it sent out a range of Christmas tools to its tenanted estate over a month ago. Publicans have been given a selection of posters, menus, banners and Christmas ‘bounce-back’ cards, available in a number of bespoke designs and messages. There is also a Christmas Know How online guide, consisting of an A to Z to maximising Christmas and a month-by-month planner.

“We know more customers visit pubs over Christmas, and we also know regular customers visit for longer over the period, so it’s a great opportunity to maximise the time they’re at the pub and encourage them back in the New Year,” says Greene King Pub Partners managing director Simon Longbottom.

“If you get it right, you can engage many more customers over the quieter winter months. It’s all in the preparation,” Longbottom adds.

SA Brains is adopting a similar approach by supporting its tenants with poster kits, and a brochure offering cash-back incentives when purchasing products from the brewer’s Christmas edition of Inn Profit.

“Last year we provided tenants with bounce-back vouchers, offering money off a pint and so on. They were designed to be handed out to customers if they visited their pubs during December,” explains SA Brains sales and marketing director Richard Davies. “This year, we plan to do something similar for our wet-led venues.”

Get tweeting​

In addition to the usual PoS advertising and promotions, it’s also well worth using social media to promote Christmas. “Start a fan page on a social network such as Facebook and post your Christmas menu on it, as well as photos of Christmas parties,” recommends S&NPC’s Parsons. “If you’re on Twitter, tweet about special offers or events in the countdown to Christmas.”

Of course, it’s vital to get the Christmas menu right if a pub is going to make a success of the festive season. Crucial to that is getting the wine offer right as well. Rather than choose wines in isolation, it’s best to work with suppliers to identify those that best match seasonal menus.

“If a pub is planning to promote a traditional Christmas dinner during December, for example, we recommend selecting a white and red from their list that matches roast turkey and all the trimmings,” says Heritage Wine managing director Guy Adams. “The white needs to be a little bit special, with a bit of oak to take on the richness of gravy and stuffing.”

Adams says the Heritage sales team spends a great deal of time in September and October working with pub customers to review

and refine their wine lists. “One of our customers with a large estate of pubs sells a significant amount of fizz in the run up to Christmas. They mentioned that during busy periods, their junior staff struggle with the time it takes to pull the cork, so we sourced a Prosecco for them with a screw cap,” Adams says.

This solution provided the necessary consumer appeal — a fashion-able Prosecco in a serve format that saved time and minimised the need for training. “Our focus is on helping pubs to sell more wine — and this means ensuring staff are comfortable with the wines they are selling,” Adams explains. “Most publicans will take on extra staff during busy periods, and if those staff aren’t properly trained to sell, they are missing a crucial opportunity.”

Parsons at S&NPC advises encouraging staff to “up-sell” where possible, and reward them for their successes. “Helping them to get home if there is no available public transport will always be a winner,” he suggests.

Before the parties are over, the turkey has been eaten and the dec-orations have been put away, it’s finally worth remembering that 2012 promises to be yet another tough year for the trade. So, it’s vitally important to use Christmas to generate custom in the New Year.

“Identify those groups of workers whose jobs do not allow them to celebrate before Christmas, and offer them a venue to have a party at a later date,” says Parsons. “You could put together some voucher offers for these customers to take up in January.”

It seems that the secret to success, then, is to keep planning ahead and thinking about what’s around the corner. After all, the pubs that have put in the groundwork during our Indian summer will be the ones revelling in the warm glow of success come Christmas

And don’t forget the snacks​

It’s common knowledge that customers tend to visit pubs for longer over the Christmas period. With that in mind, a pub’s food offer becomes even more important over the festive season, and snacks should be considered a major part of that offer.

United Biscuits UK (UBUK) has launched an array of seasonal Christmas products for the on-trade. New for Christmas are two additions to the KP nuts range — jumbo sweet chilli and maple syrup flavour cashews. Look out for the KP Nutty Nibbles caramel mix as well.

“Christmas this year is all about identifying the right opportunities and products to make the most of the Christmas sales,” says UBUK commercial manager Nick Stuart. “Publicans should make sure they have their ‘must stock’ products displayed prominently to attract customers. It’s also important to stock up well, early on.”