Pubs get tips on how to beat the crunch

Licensees heard top tips on how to boost trading this week at an event held by the London Region of the BII.

Speaking at Shooting Star on Middlesex Street, London, award winning licensee Richard Macey discussed 20 profit generating ideas based on his experience of running The Fountain at Clent in Worcestershire.

Top tips included promoting a festival pint consisting of three traditional ales for £3, changing menus daily and providing feedback forms.

"You have to be different and offer that little extra," he said. "That includes trying to involve your customers in your business as much as you can. People only have so much income nowadays and you have to give them a reason to stay."

Richard emphasised the importance of branding when developing a successful business. Advice included providing staff with uniforms and badges and offering gift vouchers.

He added photographing birthday occasions and providing a free photograph with the logo of the pub was an effective marketing tool. "It costs pence to do and means that when customers go home and put it up on the mantelpiece other people will it. You have to imprint your name on as many minds as possible."

Richard said training staff should be a top priority and added that bad service was often the result of poor confidence. "A lot of staff don't work as hard as they could simply because they don't understand the business." he said. "And 84 per cent of people won't come back if they experienced bad service, even if they enjoyed the food."

Licensee Sue Stevenson, from the Cock at Headley in Surrey, said she found the event helpful. "There are a lot of tips that I'm definitely going to adapt to my business because I think marketing is crucial nowadays."

Tom Richardson, chairman of the London Region of the BII, said: "Recession is not all about doom and gloom. It can offer an opportunity to refocus and to try and make excellence a habit."