Whenever you go to the local brewery, then you are heading there after a long day of work and you expect to be served your favorite drink. Or you and your friends are all getting together and want to drink and chat. You expect to be served and treated well, and you will certainly remember the breweries that treat you very well and those that do not.
Breweries know this and one of their main jobs is to make sure that they keep customers around through top notch services. Breweries are all about relationships with the public, and if you own a brewery, then how do you make sure that you are serving your customers well and keeping them around?
Here are some of the best ways to make sure you are serving your customers well.
1. Talk to Your Customers
Nearly every drink, from the ones that have been around for years to the ones that are made by the people in your brewery, has a story behind it.
Brewers and staff members can tell people the stories behind their favorite drinks and most common orders, and they can also get an inside scoop on what is happening with the customers. These interactions can keep everyone informed as to what is working and what isn’t, and can create genuine friendships with customers.
That will keep the customers coming back, because like the song says ‘sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name!’
2. Answer Frequently Asked Questions by Providing a Guide
For breweries that also operate as kitchens or tasting areas, some of the most common questions are ‘what beer goes with what food?’ or ‘what does this beer taste like?’
In order to avoid hosting the same message over and over again, you can provide printed guides where you outline the newest beer options or the most common beer orders and what they taste like, as well as which of your menu items are able to go with those beers.
A lot of people want to come in and just try some beers or pair a brand new beer with an old favorite food. These guides can help you out and also make sure that your staff isn’t answering the same questions again and again, but instead answering new questions about your selections.
3. Make Sure Your Employees Are Happy
You can go to the best restaurant in the world, have the greatest meal, and enjoy the best conversation and ambiance. But if your waiter or server is unhappy, unenergized, or simply rude to you, the entire experience is ruined.
This works for breweries too, because having rude employees or employees who don’t care about beer and just see it as a job are going to bring the entire vibe down for all your customers.
So make sure that you get very enthusiastic and dedicated employees who want to focus on the art of brewing beer and who also want to educate themselves and others about the craft. Also try to take steps to help motivate your employees.
Make sure to ensure that your employees are excited to come into work and also feel like they are a valued part of your team. Then they can take all that energy and show it to your customers, and happy customers will spread the word about your business.
4. Use Technology to Help Manage Your Business
No one wants to order something and find out that the inventory is sold out, or that their reservation got lost in the queue. For breweries that want to stay on top of the game, they need to use technology to keep organized, technology like Ollie’s brewery management software.
It is designed to help breweries manage inventory and make sure that everything about their business is running smoothly.
Keep the Customer Experience in Mind All the Way Through
No matter what, you need to make sure that the experience of your customer is perfect from the beginning to the end, because that is going to help them want to come back and they will also tell their friends!
Plus, happy customers just give you a better vibe across all of your business, and happy customers certainly drink more beer!
