If you’re not moving beverages across the table, bar, or serving window of your establishment, the biggest reason is likely a lack of awareness. This happens both internally and externally. Internally, do your servers, employees, and staff know the importance of a robust beverage program? Externally, the lack of awareness is just that. Your customers and patrons just don’t know what you offer. In order to bridge those gaps, communication is key. As part of their initial training, include beverage sales in your servers’ education programs. Keeping in mind that the word beverage isn’t exclusive to your beer, wine, and alcohol.
The biggest opportunity to increase sales actually lies in your non-alcoholic offerings including soda and other carbonated beverages, sparkling and premium water, juices, teas, coffee, and “crafted” offerings. Teach your staff the importance of knowing what you pour outside of your syrup label. Pepsi products run the gamut of traditional fountain soda brands to Lipton, Gatorade, Dole, and Rockstar Energy. If a customer orders “water with lemon” – which is quickly becoming the standard – your server could answer with, “Certainly. Would you prefer Aquafina, bubly, or Klarbrunn Sparkling?” This isn’t pushy. This isn’t necessarily an upsell tactic. It’s simply offering your valuable customers options and customization. It’s no different than asking them what they want alongside their burger or pizza. It’s another aspect of stellar service.
Tips to Increase the Beverage Sales
There’s always room for improvement relevant to your beverage costing strategy and increasing revenue. However, it’s often an aspect of the food and beverage industry that is overlooked or underprioritized. And we get it. It might seem insignificant or too time-consuming to devote precious brainpower and strategy to a “small” part of your overall business. And by no means is your beverage program small—we’re trying to highlight the impetus of providing dedication for an ongoing commitment to increasing overall sales.
Variety
Customers are more likely to purchase a beverage if they have a variety of options to choose from. Consider adding new and popular flavors to your fountain machine to attract customers and increase sales.
Sense of Urgency
Create limited-time offers to attract customers and increase sales. For example, offer a special flavor or combination of flavors for a limited time only. Use signage and social media to promote these offers and create buzz around your fountain machine.
Brand Promotion
Use social media to promote your fountain machine and the beverages it offers. Share photos and videos of your fountain machine in action, and encourage customers to share their favorite flavors and combinations on social media. This can help increase brand awareness and attract new customers.
Promotions and Marketing Through Drinks Fountain
Have you ever considered your beverage program as another employee that can work for you? Considering all angles, you can drive revenue from the point at which you’re pouring. Leveraging the equipment and products you already have onsite can mean a productive avenue for you to explore how to capitalize on not only beverage costing but your ancillary revenue as well.
So … how does one go about this? Here are a few helpful strategies to inspire you to explore how to make the most out of your fountain system.
Data-Backed Insights
Leveraging data to make informed decisions is key to optimizing beverage sales. By analyzing sales trends and consumer preferences, businesses can make strategic choices around inventory management and menu design.
Inventory Management
One way to optimize beverage sales is to manage inventory effectively. By analyzing sales data, businesses can identify which beverages are selling well and adjust inventory accordingly. This can help reduce waste and increase profits.
Menu Design
Another way to optimize beverage sales is through menu design. By analyzing consumer preferences and sales data, businesses can create menus that highlight popular beverages and encourage customers to try new ones. This can help increase sales and customer satisfaction.
Consumer Preferences
Understanding consumer preferences is key to optimizing beverage sales. By collecting and analyzing data on customer demographics, purchasing habits, and taste preferences, businesses can tailor their beverage offerings to meet the needs and desires of their target audience. This can help increase customer loyalty and drive sales.
Let Us Devise a Proper Plan for You
There is no such thing as a “set it and forget it,” mentality when it comes to your fountain system; it’s not the same as a napkin dispenser or the condiments your staff keeps topped off prior to an opening shift. Your fountain program is a dynamic moneymaker—or at least it can be. Partnering with a distributor who specializes in ways to leverage your beverage program is a smart way to ensure your business sees the benefit of intentionality and ongoing commitment to delivering the best–to your customers and your bottom line.
