The Guv'nor Andrew Eccles

Be proactive — or risk going backwards

For many years, the cliched saying "if you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always got" has driven many a business to consider its strategies in order to move forward.

The 21st century has rendered this sentiment outdated — it is virtually guaranteed that if you continue to run your operation as you have done, you will end up going backwards rather than standing still.

With so many other places for customers to spend their hard-earned cash, licensees have to take the view that they are involved at the heart of a retail industry and compete head on, not only with other pubs, but a whole host of other market sectors.

My wife and I have recently taken on a Punch lease at the Jester Inn, reopening this village/community pub after a long period of closure, following a string of tenants who were unsuccessful with the customers to the point of changing their spending habits.

With the support of our business development manager and the knowledge gained from many years in sales and marketing, we have seen some life breathed back into both the Jester and the whole community.

We haven't applied rocket science, we aren't experts and we don't claim to know everything, but where we have gained our success is by doing the very basics right — a clean, tidy, warm and inviting pub is a good foundation on which to build.

We haven't had to spend a fortune to make the Jester and its amazing beer garden really appealing; a repaint, general overhaul and some feminine touches such as scented candles on the tables and fresh flowers attract positive comments from the most unlikely of customers.

Thereafter, the key to success is down to listening to customers to find out what they want from their local, then taking it a step further by finding out what the people who don't frequent your pub, or any other for that matter, actually want.

If you can satisfy the majority of their needs and create the right atmosphere, then you have entered the world of salesmanship and retailing.