1 Invite people in
You may have just updated your pub interior and revamped your drinks offering, but if the exterior is looking tired, you could be losing out on valuable business. Put yourself in your customers' shoes and walk up the path or road leading to your pub, as if for the first time. Does the pub look open? If not, simple devices such as A-boards letting people know the opening times and what hours you serve food are a good start. Similarly, make sure the exterior of your pub is properly lit in the evenings a sure sign that you are open.
2 Flower power
If you have a beer garden, let people know about it. Again, a simple A-board can help draw in the crowds on a sunny day. But if you are promoting it outside, make sure it is actually open to customers. This may sound obvious, but many licensees close the garden for a day while they get the place shipshape and forget to remove the sign. To avoid this, sort out the garden during the colder months and make sure it is in full bloom by summer. If you don't have a garden, window boxes and hanging baskets are a good alternative.
3 Door stickers
If your pub is recommended in any guides, such as AA or Les Routiers, stickers are an excellent way of drawing customers in. However, make sure they reflect the pub's high standards and aren't peeling back at the edges not quite so impressive.
4 A lick of paint
You may not have the time (or the desire) to watch the endless home-improvement programmes, but giving the interior a coat of paint is a cheap and easy way to freshen the place up. Try to remember when you last painted the walls and what colour you used. How has the colour lasted? Has that brilliant white faded to off-brown? Remember, a couple of pots of paint are much cheaper than splashing out on new furniture or fittings.
5 Bright prints
Most licensees correctly choose neutral wall colours on the basis that while you might love lilac, it will have some customers reaching for the sick bag. However, neutral colours call for a few bright prints to liven up the atmosphere. These need not break the bank stores such as Athena and many framing shops have a wide range to suit all budgets. If you have a local artist in your area, you could negotiate a business arrangement, whereby they loan pictures to you on a long-term basis on the under- standing that you tell custo- mers they are for sale.
6 Food
Is it time to change the menu? Your sales should tell you the answer to this, and if you don't know, the answer is probably yes. Why not ask a few long-standing, regular customers what they like and don't like about the food? They will feel flattered that you value their opinions so highly, but at the same time they will be doing you a favour by helping you to improve your business. Is there a particular item on the menu that customers rave about? If you do a fantastic pie or pizza, why not offer it in a number of original and interesting flavours?
7 A clean bar
A customer's pet hate is standing at the bar to order a drink, only to find their elbows and clean top sticking to the surface of the bar. If you don't like long beer towels to put the freshly-pulled pints on, get into the habit of cleaning up any spillage immediately, to avoid sticky-arm syndrome. It's worth also keeping the drinks preparation area behind the bar as clean and clutter-free as possible to create a good impression, since customers will be looking at this area for several minutes while ordering drinks.
8 Windows
You clean the tables, bar area and floors regularly, but what about the windows? A grimy coating of cigarette smoke and food grease is unattractive. Clean windows also maximise the natural light entering the pub, which will brighten up the interior.
9 Maximise
space
It's amazing how stressed some customers can become if they have to needlessly walk around cumbersome tables or negotiate awkwardly-placed chairs in the middle of the bar area. Try moving your tables and chairs around the pub to achieve the maximum amount of space. Customers will feel more relaxed, which is good news all round.
10 Parking
Why mar a visit to your pub with litter in the car park or faded white lines? Clearly-painted lines help customers to park properly and can reduce prangs, while decent lighting will also keep bored teenagers at bay. Customers expect to leave their car in a secure place while enjoying a few drinks. Regardless of how good a night they've had in your pub, returning to a dented or vandalised car won't go down well with even the most sympathetic of customers.