Who doesn't love a happy hour after work? Heading to a little bar or restaurant at the end of the day, having a cold beer with friends, and unwinding after your shift is a tradition in many places. And it can be an opportunity for your business.
Hosting a happy hour is an excellent strategy to attract more customers and increase your revenue. Mas, para ter sucesso, é preciso saber como criar as ofertas, divulgar o evento e proporcionar uma ótima experiência.
If you want to know how to do that and boost your happy hour sales, keep reading this article!
What is happy hour?
“Happy hour” is exactly what the name suggests: a happy hour. The term refers to a moment of relaxation that comes after work, school, or other tasks. That is why it usually takes place in the late afternoon or early evening.
Bars and restaurants run events at this time to attract customers who want to relax with friends after a tiring day. These happy hours usually feature limited-time deals on drinks and snacks — from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., for example.
To liven up the atmosphere, some venues add live music, stand-up comedy, karaoke, or sports broadcasts.
Some places welcome happy hour customers every day of the week, while others prefer to run the event just once a week, picking a specific day. In some spots, Thursday is already known as the “official happy hour day.”
There are also bars and restaurants that run happy hours only on special dates. They can be themed, like St. Patrick ‘s Day , or lead up to another event, like Carnival.
Leia também: How to Create a Perfect Happy Hour Menu
Why host a happy hour at your restaurant or bar?
Hosting a happy hour at your restaurant or bar has plenty of advantages. The first one, of course, is to attract more customers.
By running this kind of event, you are inviting groups of people who work or study together, and that can expand your customer base. Algumas pessoas talvez nunca conhecessem seu estabelecimento se não fossem convidadas para um happy hour.
With a packed house, you can also increase revenue — all you have to do is create good promotions and know how to sell! Your customers will definitely want to take advantage of the offers and, if the mood is right, they may want to stick around longer.
This is also a way to liven up those days and times that tend to be a bit slow. Além de atrair um público diferente, o happy hour estimula seus clientes fiéis a chegarem mais cedo para aproveitar as ofertas.
Learn more: How to develop special programming to drive traffic to your business
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This kind of event can also be strategic for your inventory management. Se perceber que algum produto não está vendendo muito ou está perto do vencimento, por exemplo, uma promoção do happy hour pode ajudar a evitar perdas.
Finally, since it is an event that usually runs for a limited time, it is great for testing new menu items. Para isso, você pode criar um menu especial com pratos e drinks que gostaria de implementar. Se a saída for boa durante o teste, você já tem a validação dos clientes.
How to create happy hour offers?
When people look for a place to have happy hour, they want a pleasant, laid-back setting with special offers. That is why one of the secrets to making it work is creating effective promotions.
First of all, it is essential to know your customers' profile and what their preferences are. Busque dados nos seus relatórios de vendas que ajudem a compreender quais são os pratos e bebidas mais populares. Você deve montar promoções com base neles.
It is also worth understanding which days are your busiest and your slowest. Isso vai ajudar a escolher os dias do evento e delimitar a promoção para o período correto.
The idea is to bring in more people and keep the house full, so it makes no sense to run a happy hour and promotions when business is already good. It can even overload your team and hurt the customer experience.
Another important aspect to analyze is the profitability of your menu items. Para criar boas promoções, você deve considerar não apenas os itens que são mais populares, como também os que são mais vantajosos para seu negócio.
With all of that in mind, check out some happy hour promotion ideas below.
Leia também: Is Paying a Cover Charge for Live Music Mandatory? Understanding the Law
Happy hour offer ideas
The most popular happy hour promotions are:
- Double drinks: Double draft beers or cocktails are a happy hour classic and always a big hit.
- Drink + platter: Pick your most popular platters and create a special drink combo for happy hour.
- Progressive discounts: Order one drink and the discount is X. Order two drinks and the discount is 2X, and so on.
- Welcome drink: Customers get a free drink when they arrive, as long as they order another one afterward.
- Group combos: Buckets of long necks, draft beer by the liter, bottles of spirits at attractive prices for larger groups.
- loyalty programs: Every X points earns a free drink or platter.
5 strategies to sell more during happy hour
Besides creating effective data-driven promotions, there are a few actions you can put into practice to boost your sales. Check them out below!
1 – Fast service
The best strategy for selling more at a happy hour is fast service. Your operation has to be ready to handle demand efficiently.
After all, if customers have to wait too long for a refill, they will think twice before ordering the next one. On the other hand, if service is fast, they will keep ordering and, consequently, spending more.
Another point is closing the bill and payment. If it takes too long, tables stay occupied longer and customers who have just arrived end up waiting to order.
2 – Team training
Another crucial point is training your team to sell. Your waiters are not there just to deliver orders, but also to make suggestions and encourage customers to order more.
Your team should know the menu well, know what is most profitable and how to make the right suggestions to customers. For example: to go with a draft beer, suggest the platter that is the house's flagship, and sell that dish to drive more spending.
3 – Last chance
Happy hour usually has a limited window for promotions. You can use that to encourage your customers to order “one for the road”, taking the last chance to order and get a discount.
All it takes is stopping by every table a few minutes before closing time and asking whether they would like to order anything else. It is a simple move, but an effective one.
4 – Partnerships
Talk to your customers to find out whether they work or study nearby and whether they go out for happy hour often. From there, you can pursue partnerships with those companies and schools to offer special discounts.
This strategy is great for attracting large groups and building loyalty among the customers in your area. Your happy hour may well become part of their routine!
5 – Self-service
How about putting technology to work for you? With a digital menu or self-service kiosks, your customers gain autonomy and can place orders or grab another round without waiting to be served.
Imagine having a Self-Service Kiosk where customers can buy their draft beer, print a receipt and pick it up right at the counter? That is just one of the possibilities.
Digital menus are also more appealing and encourage people to order more. Browsing more easily, customers end up spending more — and your ticket médio goes up.
More speed and efficiency for your happy hour
Did you like our tips for creating promotions and boosting sales at your restaurant or bar's happy hour?
As we have seen, it is essential to know your customers' profile, know which of your menu items are most profitable and provide fast service to get the best results.
All of this gets much easier with a platform like EPOC. We offer POS, ERP, Analytics, Digital Menu, Self-Service solutions and much more! Schedule a chat with our experts and find out how we can help your restaurant or bar.
