Is Your Bar or Tavern Branded?

Most of the articles I write for the bar and tavern industry focus on "business basics."  They are intended to offer small bar and local tavern owners proven strategies to increase their profits. This article (or post) will be slightly different; it is a narrative story that conveys an important concept that every bar and tavern owner as well as bartenders should understand - Branding. 

Corporate America struggles with "branding" - a strategy to let the public know what their business does, what their products are, and what makes their company different, etc. Unfortunately, many small bar and local tavern owners have never heard of branding and few understand the concept.   So here is a real life example that might put "Branding" in perspective for you. 

Last November, a bar owner from Michigan called.   He had gotten my name from a former client.  His name was Frank and he and his wife had purchased a small bar and literally sank their entire life savings into it.   Now they were thinking it was a mistake.   They needed help.   

I asked Frank, "What’s the name of your bar?" 

 

He replied, "The Tiki Bar". The following week I had to meet with a client in a city about 130 miles away and I suggested I drive over for a visit.   I had Frank promise that both he and his wife would meet with me if I drove over.   

Frank’s bar was hard to find.   It had no exterior sign and was located in the middle of a city block in a nondescript building. A small neon palm tree sign flashed "Tiki Bar" in one of the windows. 

A bartender wearing a flannel shirt and faded blue jeans greeted me and I introduced myself.   He said, "Frank will be back in soon."  I strolled through the bar and nothing other than the flashing sign in the window indicated this was the Tiki Bar.  Frank arrived alone and said his wife would not be joining us.

 

Huh, I thought.  

 

My first question for Frank was, "What’s with the name the Tiki Bar?"   He grinned and replied, "Years ago my wife and I visited Florida and had a great time in a little bar called the Tiki Bar.   We decided if we ever bought a bar, we would call it the Tiki Bar."

 

Huh, I thought.  

I asked Frank, "Did the bar in Florida look like this?"

 

"No way." he said.   "That bar was on a sandy beach and had a really cool roof made out of palm leaves."

 

Huh, I thought. 

 

"How did the bartenders dress?" I asked. 

 

"Oh, they wore cool Caribbean style flowered shirts, khaki shorts and beach sandals – they looked real sharp," he replied.

 

Huh, I thought.  

"Frank, do you offer drink specials?" I asked.

 

Frank pointed to a sign reading "A Bucket of Bud - Five Bottles - $7.00." 

 

"Did the Florida bar have specials?"

 

"Yeah, lots of fruity cocktails like Bahama Mamas, Rum Punches, Pinot Coladas and Frozen Daiquiris," he said. 

 

Huh, I thought.  

"Can I see a menu?" I asked. His menu listed a variety of burgers, pizzas, and lots of deep fried appetizers.  "Is this the kind of food the Florida bar had?" I asked. 

 

"No way." he said, "It had great jerk chicken strips and lots of delicious fish sandwiches." 

 

Huh, I thought. 

"Frank does your juke box have Caribbean and steel drum music on it?" I asked.

 

"Nope!"

 

Huh, I thought.  "How often do you schedule Caribbean parties?"

 

"Never!"

 

Huh, I thought.  "Do your bartenders make Caribbean style drinks served in coconut or bamboo style glasses?" I asked.

 

Frank laughed and said, "No way!"

 

Huh, I thought.   "So other than that neon sign in the front window, what have you and your wife done to create a real Tiki Bar experience?" I asked. 

 

A long period of silence, then "Nothing, I guess!" said Frank. 

I stood up, shook Frank’s hand, said adios to the bartender and turned towards the door.   Frank asked, "Where are you going Eba?"

 

"Out I replied!   Find your wife, then call me on my cell within the next two hours.  The three of us need to talk if you really want to increase your bar’s profits."

I wandered through town and visited some local shops. Two hours passed and Frank never called; I left.   A few months later, I heard the Tiki Bar closed and was now up for sale or lease. 

Question:   Do you now understand branding?   Does it kind of make sense?
If you enjoyed this post please let me know.  If you have any questions or suggestions, also let me know.  Eba G. only wants to share knowledge you can use to increase your profits or maximize your tips.

Important Survey Question For All

We just posted a poll on Linked In regarding Should small bar and local corner tavern owners bring their dogs into their bars?

You opinion is important.  If you want to vote visit Linked In   or post a comment below.

The Poll Question is

Should small bar and local corner tavern owners bring their dogs into their bars?

The choice are

A)  Yes, it is fun seeing a dog in a bar

B)  No

C)  Absolutely not

D)  Not sure

Thanks for your Support

Eba G.

Check Out This Wonderful Site

www.taverntoys.com

Great Resource for Small Bar & Local Neighborhood Tavern Owners

I just came across a website that every small bar and local neighborhood tavern owner should visit.

It is packed with just about everything a bar or tavern owner can use to help them grow their profits.

Please check out this site.  If you need to contact them - tell them Eba G. recommended you contact them.

Eba

Seven Guaranteed Ways to Lose Money

It’s hard to believe there are small bar and local tavern owners who don’t seem interested in making big profits.  You can tell that by the way they manage their business. To assist these bar and tavern owners, I thought I would share seven strategies that are guaranteed to help them lose money.  I assure you the ideas below are easy to implement and produce quick results.  The best part is they won’t require a lot of effort on the part of any bar or tavern owner.  So here are Eba G’s seven ideas to consider:   

1)    Look Dirty.   Make sure whoever tends bar wears well worn clothing; better yet the same clothes they wore the day before.  Preferably their clothes should have stains or grease spots.  If soiled clothing is not available, then any clothing with rips or tears will work just as well.  Shabbily dressed bartenders really help bars and taverns lose sales.

2)    Bitch, Bitch, Bitch.   Whenever possible, the bar staff should bitch in front of customers.  Any subject is good, but the best topics seem to be spouses, taxes, local law enforcement, religion and any state or federal politician.  Customers who have to listen to a bar staff bitch drink less and reduce their stay in a bar, thus sales go down significantly.  

3)    Over Serve Customers.  It’s hilarious to watch customers get over served.  It’s fun watching someone mumble incoherently and sway back and forth in a bar stool; however, the real thrill is watching someone who is over served head for the restroom or walk out the door as no one knows for sure if they will stumble or fall.  Yeah, once people know a bar over serves its customers, it reassures them the bar staff will over serve them as well and again sales will decrease.  

4)    Tolerate Obnoxious Customers.  Allow small groups (men or women – it makes no difference) to be obnoxious and rude.  Permit them to frequently and loudly drop the F bomb.  It is so charming to hear a group of people in a bar talk about this F-ng thing and that F-ng thing and all the F-ng things wrong in the F‑up world and all the things F-ng up their lives.  Yeap, tolerating rude and obnoxious customers is a great way to run off customers and lose sales.  

5)    Loud Juke Boxes and TVs.  Blaring juke boxes and deafening TV volumes are two favorite ways small bars and local taverns can lose sales.  There’s nothing better than sipping on a drink and watching the few people who wanted the volume cranked up wiggle on the floor or yell out songs off key; it’s almost as exciting as listening to a couple of loud mouths at the end of the bar shout and curse at the TV during a sporting event when the TV is turned all the way up.     

6)    Garbage and Trash.  It doesn’t have to be a lot, but garbage and trash should always be visible if a bar wants to lose money.  Good examples are empty beer bottles on game tops, rubbish and dust in the window sills, and trash building up under the pool table.  Other great techniques are never clean under the bar’s foot rail or dust items on the bar’s shelving.  Customers love seeing filth under the foot rail and dust building on the ceiling fan blades.  To really limit profits, it is important that a bar seldom pick up trash outside.  Customers are always impressed when they see beer cans and trash blowing around in front of a bar or in the parking lot.  Finally, seldom wipe down the bar counter or table tops when customers leave.  New arrivals love the surprise of laying their forearms or hands down on a tacky surface.  It makes them lose their thirst and appetite and want to leave quickly; thus sales go down quickly.   

7)    Repulsive Restrooms.  Only scrub the sinks, wipe down the mirrors, brush out the lavatories and empty the trash receptacles in restrooms once a month.  If a bar attracts characters who like to write or carve graffiti, it is important the walls and stalls only be repainted or repaired every two or three years.  Offensive and disgusting graffiti should be left up for years so others can enjoy it.  Another great idea to accelerate a loss in sales is to have broken paper towel dispensers and out-of-order hand dryers.  Nothing beats entering a foul, graffiti-marred restroom and not being able to dry your hands when you leave.    

Well, there you have it, Eba G.’s Seven Guaranteed Ways to Lose Money with Your Small Bar or Local Tavern^©.  If you have been in business for a while, you may have tried a few of these strategies and know how well they work.  Do you have any comments or any other suggestions on how a small bar or local tavern can lose money?  If so, please share them with me.  Just send me an email at barprofitman@gmail.com.

Whether your goal is to increase you profitability or lower your sales with your small bar or local tavern, Eba G. is here to help.

Eba G

www.linkedin.com/in/ebagee

 

Special Annoucement from Eba G at Bar Profits

Every Monday - starting Monday, April 29th, we will be posting a new featured article on how small bars and local taverns can increase their sales, revenues and profits.

If you own a bar, tavern, local pub & grill or small family resort you may want to check in or subscribe to our bar and tavern profit making articles.

Eba G.

Does Your Bar "Sizzle" or "Fizz"

To appreciate this article, I need to share some history. Years ago there was a very popular television series based on a father raising three sons. No, it wasn’t My Three Sons; it was the other one, the western, set back in the late 1800’s. It had a powerful name, Bonanza. Ben Cartwright was the father; Adam was the oldest son; the middle son was Hoss; and the youngest boy was Little Joe. Dan Blocker played Hoss. Now you are probably saying, Eba G. what does any of this have to do with my bar or tavern sales? Very little, unless you want to significantly attract more customers and increase sales.

You see, Dan Blocker never enjoyed the Hollywood lifestyle. His dream was to run a business. Hoss was the only star on Bonanza smart enough to realize he could capitalize on his fame and the popularity of Bonanza. Hoss decided to create two restaurant chains, one chartered in America and the other in Canada. The two restaurant chains Hoss founded were Bonanza and Ponderosa - both family-friendly steakhouses with names to which people could relate.

Hoss was brilliant. Before he opened the doors to his restaurants, he hired a consulting firm; a firm that employed Elmer Wheeler. Hoss’ question to Mr. Wheeler was, “Is there anything I can do to ensure success with my steakhouses?” Elmer asked for some time to think about it.

Nearly three weeks passed before Mr. Wheeler came back to Hoss with a phrase that is now immortal. Elmer said, “Dan, if you want to achieve financial success with your steakhouses – don’t sell steaks, sell their sizzle.”

“What?” was Hoss’ knee jerk reaction. “Don’t sell steaks?”

“That’s right.” Wheeler replied. “Don’t focus on raw meat. People can get that anywhere. Instead, focus on the sizzle you offer.” Elmer suggested Hoss highlight the good times families will have at Ponderosa and Bonanza: their steaks arriving cooked exactly the way they want; the access they would have to an all you can eat salad bar and all the free drink refills they want. Sell the sizzle, Hoss.

During the time Dan Blocker owned Ponderosa and Bonanza, commercials never focused on raw meat. Every commercial focused on the sizzle – the beautifully charred lines running across the face of piping hot steak and served on a thick pewter platter; the unbelievable choices of steak toppings on every table, A-1, Heinz 57 and a neatly paper-wrapped bottle of Worcestershire sauce. Hoss made millions. When he sold these two chains, the new owners immediately focused on the meats they offered and sales plummeted. Eventually Ponderosa and Bonanza steakhouse filed for bankruptcy.

So let’s talk about your bar or tavern. Do you sell the sizzle? For example; do you sell beer, cold beer or ice cold beer? Do you serve beer in a glass, a mug or in a stein? Do you offer an assortment of snacks behind the bar, or do you provide delicious, handy treats to help quell an appetite?

Here’s a good one. What sounds better - Fried Chicken, Deep Fried Chicken, or Southern Fried Chicken? If a bar offers a bowl of ground beef simmered in a tomato-based sauce, which is more appealing - Chili, Cowboy Chili, or Montana Style Chili? If a bar sells slices of potatoes dunked in hot oil, which sounds more appetizing - Fries or French Fries? But what if a little paprika was sprinkled on them and then called Bohemian Style Fries? Which would be more desirable and command a premium price?

What do regulars and potential new customers see when they enter your bar or tavern, raw meat or a sizzle? Are you providing a four-walled enclosure that sells beer and booze or are you offering customers a good time, in a fun atmosphere that they can’t stop thinking about?

The two largest breweries in America – Budweiser and Miller - don’t sell a concoction of hops, malt and barley boiled in water. One sells ‘The King of Beers’ and the other ‘The Champagne of Bottle’ - two sizzles. To attract more customers, sell more products and increase your sales. Stop selling beer and booze and start selling “your sizzle” (your uniqueness).

If you have been in business awhile, you know why sizzle counts – sizzle often makes the difference. Have comments or suggestions on how a small bar or local tavern can create its sizzle, please share them. Send Eba G. an email at barprofitman@gmail.com