Publicans should develop an offer that meets all the reasons why customers visit their outlet - the 'occasions'.
It's not a simple as "we're going down the pub" anymore - if only it were. The days when a publican could unlock the door at opening time and simply wait for the crowds to start queuing at his bar are long gone.
The competition for people's leisure time and disposable income has increased dramatically over the past 15 years. At the same time we have 40 per cent more disposable income than we had in 1986, according to the Henley Centre (June 2001).
Cinemas, restaurants, sports and health clubs are all looking to grab their share. Even the pub sector itself has become more diverse and complex, ranging from high quality restaurants to lively destination venues that rock all night - or at least until last orders.
For most pubs, specialisation isn't the answer. The way to succeed is to recognise the diversity of your customer base, understand the variety of reasons why people visit the pub - the "occasions" - and develop an offer that meets all these needs.
An individual may use the pub in a range of different ways - a lunchtime meal, a quick drink after work with colleagues, an evening meal for two, or meeting a group of friends to watch the match on television.
To complicate matters further, it's quite likely that a whole range of these different customer occasions are taking place in the pub at any one time. The challenge for you is to ensure that you are able to adapt your offer to meet the customers needs on a variety of occasions. Soft drinks have an important role to play in this.
Why are soft drinks important?
It is essential to understand the reasons why people order soft drinks. Many publicans regard soft drinks as a distress purchase but in fact they are a positive choice. For example, food is becoming more important to pubs all the time. Thirty-two per cent of all on-trade occasions now involve eating, and of these, 46.7 per cent include ordering a soft drink (Alco Vision June 2001). As such soft drinks are closely linked with food sales and will increase as food sales do. "Eating out" is the key occasion within this area, but other occasions "quiet drink", "meeting friends", "sociable get together" and "big night out" could involve snacking as well.
Soft drinks play an important role in all of the occasions. In recent research, 19.3 per cent of respondents gave the reason for drinking soft drinks in the on-trade as to gain refreshment or to quench thirst.
The biggest reason given for drinking soft drinks in the on-trade is still driving, with 27.8 per cent of respondents citing this as their reason for ordering soft drinks. Even so, this means that more than seven out of 10 soft drinks purchases are made for reasons other than driving. Indeed 23 per cent of respondents state that they "never drink alcohol" (Alco Vision - July - December 2000).
The "big night out" at the pub is often viewed as a solely alcohol-driven occasion. Even here, though, soft drinks play a role in a number of ways:
- when a spirit mixer is the chosen drink for the evening or is chosen as a repertoire drink
- when a soft drink is used as a pacer between alcoholic drinks
- if a member of the group is driving
- if a member of the group chooses not to drink
- when rehydration is needed during or at the end of the evening.
All the more reason to take soft drinks seriously!
Bigger than you think!
"People don't realise how big the soft drinks brands are," said Rob Sutton of Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE).
The total value of Coca-Cola in the UK on-trade is £364m (AC Nielsen MAT November 2001). This is greater than all but the biggest selling alcohol brands - for example, Coca-Cola outsells Tetley's, Budweiser, Bacardi Breezer and Smirnoff Ice (see chart left).
Understand your competition
To successfully market by occasion, you first have to assess your competition and understand the strengths of their offer, and from that what you can do to make your offer more attractive.
Remember, from your customers' point of view, the competition is not just other pubs in the area, but a whole range of options. The competition may well change at different times of day.
For example, at lunchtime it could include high street retailers, coffee shops, fast-food outlets, restaurants, forecourts and motorway service stations.
Some retailers aggressively target lunchtime trade. High street retailers, such as Boots and M&S, offer "meal deals" featuring sandwiches and soft drinks at a set price, to attract more customers.
If you assess these outlets to be your competitors, a lunchtime meal deal in your outlet could feature a sandwich and a Coca-Cola or any hot meal and a soft drink for a set price.
The customer will make their choice according to convenience, quality and value for money. In all of your competitors the one thing that customers will take for granted in their soft drinks offer is quality.
They will expect to be served a quality drink on each visit, so ensure that you serve chilled soft drinks, served in branded glasses with ice and lemon.
By distributing menus and leaflets publicising the offer to local businesses, you can make sure customers know your pub is one choice for their lunchtime occasion.
Success stories
JD Wetherspoon has spent time analysing their competitors to ensure they have the relevant offers in placeClare Martin of JD Wetherspoon said: "We highlighted lunchtime competitors as being fast-food restaurants and coffee shops, and introduced a 'meal deal' option featuring Mediterranean Pasta Bake and a Diet Coke, Perrier or a glass of house wine."
Soft drinks form 15 per cent of lunchtime sales for JD Wetherspoon.
Langley's in Kings Langley, one of Scottish & Newcastle Retail's family dining brands, is an outlet where soft drink sales are extremely important.
"Soft drinks represent 40 per cent of our wet lunchtime trade," stated manager John Kidby.
"We pride ourselves on serving quality food quickly. Ensuring soft drinks are served cold is just as important as making sure our customers receive their food piping hot."
Key messages
- soft drinks have a role to play in all eating and drinking occasions
- soft drinks are particularly important with food
- soft drinks are not a distress purchase and should be taken seriously.
Five key occasion types
- big night out
- sociable get together
- meeting friends
- quiet drink
- eating out