Want to know how to have a great Christmas? Take a look at our other 10 top tips:
1. Know your market
Find out what the pubs around you are doing. What opportunities are there for doing office parties, Christmas day lunches etc? Are there any gaps in the market that you can fill?
2. Do it properly - and keep within your budget
It's all about giving great customer service on the big occasion, anything less will put your customers off. Make sure you have plenty of staff on but keep an eye on the costs, remember you will have to pay extra for staff working bank holidays.
3. Get the communication right
Make sure you let people know well in advance before they have had chance to book anywhere else. Details of the events should be clear - starting times, menus, tickets, entertainment etc.
4. Consider your range of products
Customers may want something a little different at Christmas time - but remember not to overstock. A few examples would be premium soft drinks, no and low alcohol beers, winter warmers, mulled wine and champagne.
5. Try not to overdo it!
Your pub decorations should be in keeping with what you have on offer.
6. Consider offers after Christmas
January can be a quiet time after the Christmas and New Year festivities, so why not try a bounce-back offer to get customers in.
7. Ticket or no ticket?
This is the big question! Before you decide on whether or not to hold a ticket-only event on the main Christmas and New Year's Eve sessions, make sure you find out what your competitors are doing so that you can go with the general trend. Customers may be put off with an entry charge if the other locals are not doing the same.
8. Serve by the rules
Retrain your staff to ensure that you are serving customers within the local guidelines on drinks promotions and therefore not putting your licence at risk. Display responsible drinking materials in key positions in your pub to remind your customers and staff.
9. Look after your staff
Your staff will be working really hard over Christmas so give them your extra consideration; you could offer transport home if there is no public transport available, treat them to a party or event in January as an incentive to get them into work, try setting them a goal/sales target to work towards.
10. Pay attention to detail
The finishing touches to your Christmas and New Year events will help to make your pub memorable to your customers. Make sure the bar snacks, crackers, prize draws etc are all well taken care of so your customers will want to come back next year.
