Guests come to bars for all sorts of reasons. Almost counterintuitively the reason guests come into your establishment is not for food or drinks. If someone just wanted to eat chips and drink a few beers, they could do it a lot easier and cheaper sitting at home. So what drives your guests? Once you determine why they come in, you can create an avatar that combined with your culture will create marketing magic.

Cocktail menus came into their own in the last few decades with the boom in interest in craft cocktails. Where cocktail lists were once the domain of high-end bars, now guests at even the smallest rural dive bars are looking for a cocktail list. That means every bar needs a cocktail menu, and it needs to be designed to drive profits.

Review sites have a grip on bar marketing. Most potential patrons do research before they go to a bar, and they are more likely to view review sites than your social media. How your bar is presented on review sites is key to attracting new customers and your bar’s online visibility.

Food-based happy hours are a way to drive guests to your bar without cutting into your bar sales. For many bars, food is used as a way to sell drinks. Statistically, guests who eat food while at a bar stay about an hour longer. That means that food is a great way to increase your beverage sales. By using time-specific food promotions you can keep the higher margins on your drinks while increasing guest satisfaction and length of stay without decreasing your cocktail margins.

For most people looking to get into the bar business, purchasing a bar is the easiest, cheapest, and often smartest way to do it. Not only are you buying all of the used equipment you need at once, but you are also purchasing what is hopefully a great location and customer base. Plus, you should have some standards and procedures already in place, so you don’t have to build everything from scratch. However, there are a few key things you should always remember to investigate when looking at bars that are available for purchase.

For many bar owners, one of the most difficult tasks is determining what price to charge for cocktails. This guide will walk you through a methodology that you can use to maximize your bar profits through your pricing, ensuring that you can hit the margins you need. Without a repeatable, standardized approach to pricing, you are only guessing, which means leaving money on the table.

Running a thriving bar business demands more than just great drinks and a welcoming atmosphere; it hinges on having an exceptional bar manager. There is no way you can spend your time working on your bar unless you have a manager in place to handle the day-to-day operations. The process of hiring and training a bar manager can significantly impact the success of your establishment.

What is the difference between a consultant and a coach?

Sunday morning is my time to sit, reflect, read and write with a fragrant cup of strong coffee. It has become one of the true joys in my week. It is one of the rituals that centers me and keeps me sane and my priorities in check.