The happiest part of the day is, in fact, happy hour.
Happy hour offers patrons the ideal chance to relax with friends and colleagues while enjoying half-priced nachos and discounted drinks. Happy hour is a win-win situation for restaurateurs as it increases foot traffic, records more orders in the bar POS, and boosts revenue.
To make your happy hour a success, however, you need the correct components, much as when creating the ideal drink. Drink promotions are available to all restaurants; but, to get people in at this time and have them stay for dinner, you need to provide an excellent experience.
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We’ll lay down our formula for success so you can organize and execute the ideal happy hour.
Happy Hour: What Is It?
Let’s start by answering the query, “What is happy hour?”
Happy hour, also known as beer o’clock, social hour, cheap drinks, or affordable cocktails, is that wonderful time of day when many restaurants and pubs provide a discount on beverages and snacks. These savings include exclusive prices on some meal and drink combinations as well as two-for-one offers.
Due to the pause between the conclusion of the workday and the beginning of the dinner rush, it occurs in the late afternoon and early evening. But depending on the kind of business you own, happy hour can happen almost any time of day or night.
Although the restaurant business has long used this marketing as a hidden weapon, it’s crucial to note that some states do not approve of this technique.
Some states have laws prohibiting the type of alcohol specials that are often associated with happy hour, including Vermont, Massachusetts, and Alaska. In states where happy hour cocktails are prohibited, you may choose to concentrate your offer on food and non-alcoholic beverages.
Four Reasons in Favor of Happy Hour for Your Restaurant
Yes, it seems like a fantastic offer to customers—after all, who doesn’t enjoy half-priced well drinks and discounted sliders?
But as a restaurateur, what’s in it for you?
Offering discounts in an attempt to increase sales may seem odd, but happy hour can be the secret to larger checks during the day’s quiet periods. We go over some of the main advantages of running this kind of campaign at your restaurant down below.
1. Increase Sales and Traffic
It’s just excellent business, which is the main (and greatest) reason.
Even with significant reductions offered, happy hour accounts for 60.5% of average weekly revenue for American pubs and restaurants, according to a 2018 Nielsen survey. Additionally, the average check during happy hour is $68.99, $8 higher than the average check at other periods of the day.
Larger checks are only one benefit; it’s also a terrific method to increase foot traffic during dull periods of the week. According to Nielsen, Wednesday happy hour is the “fourth most valuable day part for bars and restaurants,” with average traffic being 23.9% greater than other weekdays.
This astounding figure illustrates how effective it can be in increasing traffic during sluggish times.
2. Upsell Orders
The fact that happy hours offer a plethora of chances for upselling—the skill of slightly raising a customer’s order price—helps explain in part why happy hours may be so lucrative.
Put another way, not everyone has to pay extremely low costs simply because a reduced drink menu is offered to entice customers in. Upselling may be included into this campaign by offering customers the choice to upgrade to a larger drink for only one dollar more or to pay a little bit more for a side of guacamole.
3. Bring in New Customers
Happy hour may undoubtedly be a fantastic method to temporarily increase sales. However, it may also be a formula for sustained success.
Consider happy hour as an audition for your restaurant rather than as a one-time event. These patrons experience a little sample of what your eatery has to offer. If you execute it well, they will be begging for more.
Offering a carefully selected version of your normal food and drink menu is one method to guarantee that your new visitors become devoted regulars. When customers see the slider-sized lamb burgers or little espresso martinis at your restaurant, they are more likely to get the entire meal the next time.
4. Create Excitement About Your Restaurant
Happy hour, unless you own a speakeasy, is usually not an enigmatic event that requires concealment! Conversely, this period is seen as a social occasion that may create a lot of attention about your company.
Promoting your happy hour food and drink offers may help you increase brand exposure through social media, table signage, and even word-of-mouth marketing.