July 2009 Archives

     The economic downturn is pounding the food and beverage industry, and the prevailing forecast suggests battening down the hatches and run a tight ship, so to speak. One thing is certain; as the economy continues to slow it will become increasingly important to extract every drop of revenue out of their operations. Well, if you were deprived in your youth the experience of navigating a bar or cocktail lounge through heavy weather, worry not; the cumulative learnings can be rendered down into a bite-sized nugget of advice--returning guests keep the doors open, newcomers pay your salary.
     Attaining the elite status as a destination venue necessitates building a core of loyal patrons and accepting the reality that today's regulars were yesterday's newcomers. Enticing people to walk through your doors for the first time invariably involves an expenditure of marketing and advertising dollars.

Americans tend to drink in good times and bad. Historically accurate or not, it's nevertheless safe to anticipate that in a slumping economy there will be fewer people on the street and they'll have less money in their pockets. The moment the markets stumbled and crashed was when it no longer became business as usual. 

Perhaps the best piece of business advice for rocky times is coming up with a plan to increase revenue and sticking with it. Taking a breather and maintaining status quo solidly fixes you at a point in space, allowing competitors to surge past. This is no time to be tentative. Armed with the right plan, the only difference between financially under-performing and exceeding expectations is commitment.