Why Your Bar Needs A “Ritual” To Crush The Competition

Posted by barblog on Mar 22, 2010 in Bar Marketing | 1 comment

Would anyone buy a bottle of Corona if it didn’t come with a lime? Isn’t Stella Artois a lot like many other beers on the market except that it’s served in a Belgian Chalice. What about Guinness? Doesn’t the two part pour make it unique? And wouldn’t Crispin Cider be just another standard cider if it wasn’t for the fact that it has a ritual of being served over ice?

Rituals are what separate these products from their competitors. The ritual is what makes the customer remember and what allows for exceptional marketing opportunities. Marketing that can be so powerful that a customer who doesn’t get a lime in their Corona will ask for it to be delivered. So it’s clearly not about the beer and consequently, not always about  the product when so many comparable products exist in the marketplace. It’s always a bout the ritual and it’s always about the show.

Your bar/restaurant is one of many similar businesses in your area, and probably serves many of the same foods and beverages as your competitors. What can you do to stand head and shoulders above the competition?

Create a ritual and put on a show. It’s what you’ll be remembered for.

Who hasn’t turned their heads to see a sizzling szechuan meal with steam and smoke trailing behind it as it’s brought to a table. There is a restaurant near me that offers a signature Fondue dish complete with all the showmanship you imagine goes with serving this elaborate dish!

Then there’s the bar that also offer their specialty Smores complete with a large saucepan of chocolate served on a mini gas stove at your table with a flame to melt your marshmallows. Everyone passing a table with this dish soes a double take and asks the server what it is.

Take one or two items from your menu and build a ritual and show around them. Make sure these items are profitable and worth selling. Train your servers to always push your signature item and refer to them as “Murphy’s Famous Smores” (as long as your name is Murphy and the signature dish is Smores!)

So start today: Identify your signature items, train your staff in how to sell and serve them and build your marketing campaigns around these new items!