If you ask an entrepreneur in any type of business why they made their investment, the answer almost always involves making money. Businesses are crafted and built specifically to make a return on the initial investment, and running a bar or nightclub is no exception. Though many people imagine that getting into the liquor industry is simple because of the huge margins you get from liquor sales, the truth of the matter is that it is very expensive to offer all the luxuries that customers funnel in for and the high margins simply replace an entrance fee at the door. However, if you know what you’re doing, opening a bar or nightclub can be a huge success with a great return on your investment over time. Here are 7 ways to make your club more profitable and see a larger profit margin in no time.
Bar Organization
Product placement is crucial in any type of business, so keeping your bar organized to promote certain products is very important. You can’t just throw your bottles on the back shelf in any order you choose if you want to increase sales, there needs to be a strategy. Make sure you’re highlighting your premium spirits and removing any unsuccessful spirits that are taking up space.
Staff Training
You need to have an educated staff that can explain and justify the prices of premium spirits. Your ultimate goal is to have more premium spirit drinking customers than rail variety spirits, and good training can improve that ratio greatly. Additionally, avoid hiring servers that simply bring what the customer asks for. You want your servers and bartenders to be salespeople who offer new and exciting options that your customers may have otherwise never tried.
Bottle Service
Offering bottle service is a great way to get a customer to commit to a large sale at the beginning of the night and keep your bar easier to access for those who prefer to purchase by the drink. Presentation is everything with bottle service, and there are many companies who offer sparklers for bottles and even LED lights that clip onto them to help draw attention and make the experience better for the guest.
Infusions
Infused cocktails are all the rage right now because it allows you to create unique flavors that cannot be duplicated by your competition. Once you’ve created a cocktail with “that flavor”, your customers will only be able to get it at your bar or nightclub. To create an infusion, simply take a spirit and marinate it using any variety of fruits or spices such as kiwi, blackberries, or whatever you think might taste interesting. Be creative and experiment until you have that perfect infused cocktail.
Creative Cocktails
One of the most popular new trends right now is creating cocktails using champagne. The bubbly texture of champagne makes it an ideal choice, plus the sweet flavor will drive more sales to your female clientele. Another popular trend is beer cocktails. This can be something like a black and tan with two different beers being combined to make a new flavor, or something more complex like and “apple-jack” that uses an apple flavored lager and a shot of Tennessee whiskey to create a great beverage.
Alcohol-Free Beverages
Though you are in the beer and liquor industry as a nightclub owner, you are also in the entertainment business. That means you need to cater to the non-alcoholic drinkers in your crowd as well. It may be that they just don’t drink alcohol or that they are the sober ride for a huge group of drinkers, but it really doesn’t matter. Your club should offer sparkling drinks and teas that taste delicious to bring in this demographic and offer an alternative to basic soda flavors or water for these customers.
In-House Marketing
Once you have a whole slew of great infused beverages, custom cocktails, and alcohol-free options on your menu, you need to advertise them throughout your venue. The most obvious way to do this is to create table tents with a menu of your signature items, but having your servers pitch them in person is much more appealing to customers. Once you’ve turned enough customers on to your signature drinks, they will come back time and time again to taste what they can’t get anywhere else.