How to keep your pub going during lockdown

The coronavirus outbreak has closed down businesses left, right and centre, bringing with it an overwhelming time of economic uncertainty. If you run a pub and you are worried about how the pandemic is going to impact your business, have no fear – there are several things you can do to ensure you stay profitable and in the mind of your consumers over this trying period. Join us as we take a detailed look at the five key things you should think about doing. From focusing your time on marketing to utilising your time in lockdown effectively, the ideas listed below should help put you in a good position once the pandemic has finally passed. Utilise Social Media. With everyone now stuck at home, people will be using their phones more regularly than ever before. Therefore, as a pub owner, social media can and should be your best friend over this period. After all, keeping your customers up to date with your pub’s latest news is imperative to keep them consistently engaged. Whether it be an upcoming pub quiz, an open mic night or a new beer you’re trying out, customers like to be kept in the know – and that’s especially now they’re stuck self-isolating at home. While on the topic of pub quizzes and open mic nights, social media can be an effective tool to set up events like these, albeit on a virtual basis. Using Facebook’s, YouTube’s or Instagram’s Live Streaming function, you can set up and host virtual events fairly effortlessly, ensuring you keep your regular customers up-to-date with your pub’s usual weekly events. Keep It Clean. Keeping your pub clean and tidy is imperative over this period, in order to attract customers back through your doors when you can finally reopen. The last thing you want, after all, is to go back to your pub at the end of lockdown to find it’s covered in graffiti, had a pest infestation or become incredibly dirty after being left alone for so long. Only by keeping it regularly maintained and checking on it when possible can you feel rest assured that it’ll be sparkling clean when it comes to reopening. Otherwise, you may need to rope in the help of a professional cleaning service, costing you both valuable time and money. Offer Delivery. If your pub is known for its quality food, why not take advantage of food delivery services like Just Eat or Deliveroo? With all your regular customers stuck at home, they’ll be craving your home-cooked pub grub like no end. While you obviously can’t offer them the true pub experience right now, by providing your culinary classics to your customers on a delivery basis you will not only help sustain a strong relationship with them in the long run, but you’ll also help them get through their time in lockdown more easily too. Renovate. If you’ve been looking for an excuse to give your pub a little spruce up, the lockdown has given you the perfect opportunity to do exactly that. Whether it be a few new decorations here and there, an entire repaint job or a complete renovation, adding a bit of life back into your pub and restoring it back to its former glory can help ensure you bring in the punters again once the pandemic finally comes to an end. Renew Your Supplies. While on the subject of making changes to your pub, now is the ideal time to evaluate the services that your pub offers. If, for example, you have ten ales on tap, yet you tend to sell more cocktails than beer, maybe it’s time to renew your thinking and change your supplies. By targeting your pub’s offering more towards your consumers, you will encourage more people to come through your doors, potentially saving yourself a lot of hassle and wasted products in the process. Final thoughts… While the coronavirus outbreak may have caused global devastation, it’s important to remember that this time will pass. Whether it be days, weeks, months or years, your customers will return through your pub’s doors again one day – it’s just a matter of getting through this process as unscathed as possible. Therefore, utilise your time in lockdown to your advantage. Take control of your social media marketing, set up a food delivery service and use the time you have available now to prepare in advance of your pub’s eventual reopening. Then, when that time does inevitably come, you’ll be able to rest easy and enjoy a beer or three with your feet up. By Annie Button