Typically, bars and clubs make the most money off of their liquor tabs, but surprisingly enough, beer can be just as profitable if you take the right approach. The following are some tactics that have resulted in significantly higher beer sales.
Variety
When curating your list of drafts, it is important to remember to appeal to all customers. Even out of a crowd of beer lovers, many of those people will enjoy a craft beer, while others prefer domestic beers. Make sure that you stock up on all of the popular options for this wide range of customers so that everyone is pleased. To keep a variety of beers, offer seasonal options and update your menu according to the time of year. For example, customers love seeing a shandy during the summer and are usually willing to pay more for those fun and unique options.
Presentation and Price
If you want your customers to keep buying more beer, make sure that the product is priced correctly to make a profit and to cater to your market. For example, if you are located in a very wealthy city, you can offer higher priced and higher quality drafts, whereas in a college town, cheaper options may drive a larger profit. Price specials such as happy hour deals may also increase profit since every customer loves a steal. Another way to ensure that your prices are correct is to look at your competitors and see what price they are offering.
When presenting your beer options on a list, avoid ordering them from cheapest to most expensive, because it will only cause customers to compare and have a negative outlook towards the higher end options. Another presentation detail to keep in mind is where your drafts are located at the bar. The most ideal presentation would be to group all of the beers together so that customers can clearly see all of the options, and bartenders can work at a quicker pace, not having to go back and forth on the floor.
Events
Another simple way to improve beer sales would be to host events that are themed around beer to highlight your amazing selection. It could be a really good happy hour deal, or if you want to make it more large scale, host Oktoberfest, Springfest, or Saint Patrick's Day parties where customers are coming specifically for beer. Your happy hour menu can select brews to go with the food offered to further entice customers to purchase a beer. There are other days that you can draw attention to when hosting an event like National Lager Day on December 10th. Even having draft deals for big sports games will draw in a huge crowd. This is where your creativity can shine and you can create beer-centered events that your competitors will not offer.
Advertise
The events discussed above are great opportunities to raise beer sales, but they may not take off unless you effectively advertise. Every time you rotate your draft menu, make sure that you update your customers and post it to your social media. For events, it is extremely important to generate pre-event excitement and post often so that people know the details.
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