Marketing At Bars Essay Examples

The business plan is, by definition, a crafted, action-oriented blueprint for a business in order to perform – and, for that matter, predict – routine and non-routine functions including, for example, operational, marketing, financial and management functions. Two primary reasons stand out for developing a business plan in a bar context: product (e.g. beverages and snacks) offering planning and competition analysis. The product offering planning reason refers to how a bar offers (and plans to offer) beverage products of value differentiated from similar products offered by competitors. The competition analysis reason for developing a business plan is, primarily, about appraising a bar's market positioning against competition, local, national or international. The business plan is, compared to a budget (a projection of future expenditures and revenues), a comprehensive statement of business activities, including financial functions.
The market segment is, fundamentally, a cluster of existing or potential customers for which, in current context, a bar offers beverage products on- or offsite. Put differently, a market segment is, conventionally, a group of individual customers sharing similar patterns of age, income, geographical spread, education or interests.
Senior, retired and young, working professionals are possible customer groups in a bar. Turning young, working professionals on (particularly during late night) are bustling bar activity (e.g. loud music, music shows and changing lights), "strong" cocktails (after a long working week), broad variety of snacks (quick "fixes" over drinks) and, in a beach bar, a swimming pool.
If anything, a guest experience at a bar is made up of ambiance. This is interpreted into a good "feel" about a bar's setting (e.g. decorations, lights or on-wall paintings), superior guest service, appealing product offerings and, not least, a constant (but, "invisible") surveying of services during and after being in bar. The physical features of a bar are, indeed, a constant in weighing whether a bar is good enough or not. The invisible (but always present) features are, however, becoming increasingly more significant not only in a bar context but in hospitality industry in general.
Ten details are necessary in understanding a customer across market segments: (1) age, (2) income, (3) professional and personal interests, (4) marital status, (5) education, (6) profession, (7) online activity, (8) shopping pattern, (9) geographical location and (10) affiliations (e.g. club or special service/ society memberships). This information is critical to developing well customized, low-budget promotional events and campaigns. By better understanding customers, existing and potential, appropriate marketing plans can be developed for each and every customer segments. This should cut out promotional costs by more accurate targeting and, not least, more customized product offerings.
Typically, bars, like any business, resort to publicity and public relations for marketing (more specifically, branding) functions. Still, publicity and public relations are distinct functions and are often confused. By "publicity" are meant, primarily, promotional functions a bar performs in order to advertise one or more products and/or bar's brand as a whole. For example, a bar launching a new "craft" cocktail is said to publicize such a product when TV commercials and online ads are placed or (sports or otherwise) events sponsored. The public relations function is, in contrast, about, if anything, a more or less a positive or negative image a bar wishes to enhance or eliminate in response to, say, increasing competition or complaints which have gone viral on social media. Typically, businesses respond by launching public relations campaigns meant to enhance a positive image or dilute, if not eliminate, a negative one.
The "happy hour" is now a common concept across different food and beverage businesses. The underlying logic for a "happy hour" is, mainly, driving more "feet" into business, particularly during low-activity periods. There is not a single answer to whether happy hours are actually happy (for business) or not. This depends, if anything, on different variables including for example, customer profile, geographical location and, not least, a bar's market share and revenue in one or more areas or countries.