By Glenn Clifford-Perkins, accounting partner, Armstrong Watson LLP
With the holiday season now revving up, how can business owners in the hospitality sector tap into the increased voracity for socialising when faced with pressing challenges like the cost of living crisis?
Here are a few tips gathered from Cumbrian hospitality businesses:
Offer value-for-money deals
People are more likely to spend money on socialising if they feel like they are getting a good deal. Offer discounts, promotions, and bundles to make your events/services more affordable.
Change your menus quickly
The throwaway menu has been commonplace since hospitality businesses were able to reopen as COVID restrictions eased.
While its purpose was maintaining hygiene standards, it has also been a useful way of ensuring you can quickly update your menu as prices fluctuate, allowing you to make swift changes in line with market forces and increasing costs.
Additionally, a QR code ordering system can also relieve pressure on staff during busy periods.
Get creative with marketing
Promote events and deals early and find ways of reaching people who might not be familiar with your business, for example, using a contest or giveaway on an Instagram story.
Partner with other businesses
Partnering with other businesses can help you reach a wider audience and offer more value to your customers. For example, you could partner with another local business to offer a package deal that includes dinner and tickets to an event for example.
Use data to invite returning customers
Whilst it’s tempting to rely on booking platforms to hold customer data, savvy operators are taking the opportunity to collect email addresses independently – with permission of course – enabling them to directly communicate with previous guests to encourage repeat business without the hefty fees of solely relying on booking services.
Check you’re getting the best deals
Review your business’s costs and merchant services amongst other things to see whether there are better prices out there. With prices increasing and good deals hard to find, there’s never been a better time to check you’re on the best tariffs.
Consider consolidating loans
With interest rates increasing, now might be the time to consult with your accountant to consider consolidation or even fixing interest rates to provide some certainty over outgoings.
These are just a few of the many options you can take to assist with the pressures of operating in the current environment.
