If you own a pub struggling to get customers through the doors, worry no more – we’re here to help.

Whether you like it or not, marketing and understanding your audience are two key considerations to take on board when it comes to making your business more profitable. Put yourself in your customers shoes for example – if you were them, what is it that would make you want to go and visit your pub? Décor, drink choice, opening times? Knowing this is vital.

Thanks to the rise of technology, long gone are the days where word of mouth reigned supreme – nowadays it’s all about making sure you stand out, ensuring you are in the public eye as much as possible.

So, how can you do this? A good question, and one we look to answer below.

Step 1: Identify your target audience.

First things first, you need to identify your pub’s target audience. If you’re based in a city centre near a load of nightclubs for example, chances are you’re going to attract quite a few students and customers more in the mood for cheap shots than quality kept real ale.

Similarly, if your pub is based in a rural village, your scope of customers is going to be much more limited. Therefore, you may find you’ll be more successful offering amazing food, rather than an incredible range of drinks.

After you have defined your target audience, which can be easily done through monitoring the customers that come through your doors, you should then think about tailoring the pub’s design to fit this clientele. After all, the better suited your pub is to your target market, the more likely it’ll be for it to get repeat customers.

Step 2: Nail the décor.

Choosing the right décor can really make or break a pub. Nobody wants to see stained, old-fashioned carpets that darken the room, or bland colours that evoke dinginess – they want to see eye-catching decorations which enhance the pub’s features. From the tables you buy to the candles you put on top of them, it’s important for your pub to show off its personality.

If you love playing games, for example, and are keen for your pub to stand out amongst the rest for games availability, factor this into its design. Think about which games you want to have, how much space they are going to take up, and whether you want to have a designated games room available.

While it may be tempting to rush in and decorate the pub how you think is best, stop and think about the impression it’ll have on your customers. Always make sure to keep your target audience in mind – people will be much more likely to come back if they feel at home.

Step 3: Market the sh*t out of it.

OK, so you’ve identified your target audience and have decorated your pub beautifully – now it’s time to get those customers flooding through your doors. How, you ask? Marketing and, more specifically, via these two methods.

Social Media/SEO

Having a great online presence is imperative to standing out online and being seen by the masses. Creating a clean, well-designed website should be your first port of call, and should include all forms of information that is relevant to your pub (i.e. drink choice, menu, dog friendliness, pub’s history, etc). Coupled with this, social media pages should be created that navigate to and from your website, making it easy for potential customers to find and engage with you. In order to help this even further, you could think about running a dedicated SEO campaign to make your website more findable on search engines.

Facebook, Twitter and Instagram can all be your best friend when it comes to marketing your pub. Not only are these incredible tools to use when keeping customers updated with news about upcoming events, but they’re also a fantastic way of showing off your now beautifully designed pub. They also encourage a rapport between you and your customers, allowing you to hear their views and opinions on your business. By acting on this advice, you will bulk up your online reputation and ensure a steady stream of customers pop into your pub for a drink or four.

Advertising

When you have an event on, how is anyone going to find out about it if you don’t advertise it?

While technology may be slowly taking over, there is still a huge market for paper-based advertising. Whether it be a bespoke designed poster or flyer, a dedicated leaflet, or even just a simple business card, print-based marketing methods such as these can help generate a lot of interest in your pub and the events you are holding.

Step 4: Enjoy a profitable pub.

Once everything is set up and running, you can kick back, relax and enjoy the fruits of your labour. However, in order to maintain a steady stream of customers, you will need to keep on top of your marketing strategy: keep your social media feeds regularly updated, optimise your website, listen to suggestions, and always, always, always make sure to put the customer first.