Marketing matters

Product and marketing go hand in hand for menu success.Successful marketing begins with your product. Get it right and everything else should follow. But what is the product? It's more than the meal on the plate. It's also about the environment, ambience and atmosphere you create. In fact it's the whole experience. So everything from the floor up is part of your marketing.​

Think of your pub as a brand. Like all successful brands, it should have a clear personality and strong set of values. What do you stand for? When you have the product in place, consider the rest of your communications. How do you maximise the value of each and every customer and create extra business?

Advertising - What's the story?​

Word of mouth is powerful and a good reputation sells. Good advertising takes your message even further. But what is that message? Effective ads contain one clear idea. While tone and style can make or break your ad.Also consider who you are targeting. How do you reach them? Think creatively and you will find opportunities that tie in with your audience, your offering and the occasion. For example, advertise your "after-show" menu in theatre programmes to reach late diners.And your pub itself is one big advertising hoarding. Roadside signage, "A" boards and window bills can help to attract passing trade.

• TIP: Whenever you advertise, give clear reasons to eat with you - highlight what sets you apart and make sure you stand out from the crowd.​

Make your display sell for you​

Every customer should know your food - for now, or next time. Your menu alone won't grab everyone. Chalk boards, mobiles, postcards, and table tent cards are tried and tested ways to get more attention.Use separate menus to create extra business. A "hot bites" menu on the bar will drive extra impulse purchases.

• TIP: Ads and messages on staff t-shirts and bottle neck collars are effective ways to encourage wet trade to try your food.​

Is the price right?​

Naturally, your pricing needs to be profitable. But look around and you could find that customers will pay more than you think! But value is king. Premium pricing is tempting - but make sure you deliver. Equally, we all know that cheap is often far from cheerful.

Promotions - What's the deal?​

However good your menu and prices, sometimes you'll need incentives to make customers buy. Early birds, meal deals or short term BOGOFS are all effective. Look for deals like complementary wine for theatre-goers in exchange for ticket discounts. And for students, meal deal vouchers in "fresher packs" can build your name for value. Bar top tasters can encourage menu trial. And don't overlook your own people. The right staff incentive can work wonders for sales.

Be direct, be personal​

Successful marketing is sometimes about saying the right things into the right ears. That's where direct marketing comes in. The beauty of direct marketing is that you can measure success and avoid wasting money on people who aren't interested. Start with your core customers and build from there. Identify different types of customer and target them according to their needs and tastes. Then keep talking and building loyalty! A personal letter can be incredibly powerful. But try new techniques. Email menus to local companies for "business lunches" or after-work sessions. Customers can even email back their orders. Texting is a great new route, especially for the younger market. It's easier than you think - look for a specialist agency.

Keep yourself in the public eye​

Always take advantage of any PR you can get your hands on. It?s free and it's powerful - people still believe what they read in the papers! Spend time building relationships with local editors. They're always hungry for news - so feed them snippets about your pub, your food, your punters or your staff. And why not invite a food critic to review menus? Sponsorship is a great way of supporting the community and getting positive PR. Likewise, offering your venue as a meeting place for local clubs (ie football) is good news when the club makes the headlines.

• TIP: Sponsor the "announcements" classified section in the local paper. Offer a complementary drink for anyone who places a celebration message.​

• TIP: Invite local influencers such as taxi drivers and hairdressers for a free meal. It's amazing how quickly they spread the word.​

There's value in evaluation​

Whatever you do, make sure you measure success. That way, you can identify the things that work. Revenue, incremental profit, bookings, customer and staff feedback are all effective measures. Evaluate your activity in relation to your objectives. Assess whether you achieved what you wanted. Only then will you be in a position to plan for your next stage of menu marketing.

VIRTUAL VICTUALS​

Our virtual pub is a "good food" destination. In fashionable area and packed at weekends. There's a new business park on the doorstep, with 23 firms - none have catering. Here's what we did:

What we wanted to achieve​

• Increase weekday sales by 20 per cent (profit by 10 per cent) within six months
• Create awareness and drive trial of a new menu

Who we were targeting​

• Business park employees - staff dining and business lunches

How we did it​

• Created an area with plenty of tables to cater for the lunch rush
• Introduced a new light lunches menu
• Placed hot bites menus on the bar to drive snacking
• Sent posters to personnel people for notice boards display
• Advertised business lunch deal in company newsletters - including "email your order" service
• Emailed weekly menus with corporate price deals - including "free drink" voucher
• Used "A" boards to advertise our two-course menu - outside the pub and business park

How we calculated the risk​

• We serve 200 covers per weekday, with a £7 average spend per head on food and work on a 65 per cent margin = £3.85 GP per cover
• We calculated the number of additional weekday covers we would need to sell to break even over the six-month period, if we were to spend £4,000 on marketing our business
• This resulted in us having to serve an extra nine covers a day to break even - roughly five lunches and four evening meals which we felt was achievable - an increase on our daily 200 cover average of 4.5 per cent.

How we evaluated​

• We calculated the incremental profit delivered by the marketing activity