Whether you manage a restaurant, a bar, or a combination of the two, happy hour promotions can be an effective way to increase your business. By giving prospective patrons an extra reason to visit your establishment during this hour or two each day, you'll ideally be able to boost your profitability. You can choose the happy hour time that works for you. Commonly, however, it's sometime between 5 and 7 p.m. during the workweek. Advertising different deals and promotions can make people who might otherwise head straight home after work eager to visit your establishment for happy hour. Here are some ways to proceed.
Drink And App Promotions
For many patrons, happy hour is synonymous with visiting an establishment for a couple drinks and perhaps splitting some appetizers with a friend. As such, you should plan to offer promotional pricing on some or all of your drinks and apps. There are several different approaches that you can consider, but a simple idea is to offer a price reduction, such as 25 percent off everything, or a buy-one, get-one promotion, such as buy one regular-priced alcoholic beverage and get 50 percent off any one appetizer.
Special Happy Hour Items
You may also wish to explore the idea of developing a special happy hour menu that consists of drinks, appetizers, and perhaps even main courses that aren't available on the menu outside of your happy hour. Work with your kitchen team to come up with some enticing options. Ideally, you can tailor them to the season so that they're always changing. Then, you can promote them on social media and even on a sign outside of your establishment to hopefully entice people to visit during happy hour. The more tantalizing the choices are, the higher probability that people will go out of their way to visit your establishment during happy hour.
Live Entertainment
Live entertainment is another effective way to encourage people to show up at happy hour. Booking a live band to play during this span can give your restaurant a festive energy that many patrons will find appealing. If your restaurant has a patio, it's ideal to have the band set up in this location. This way, people sitting outside can enjoy the music, and those who might be passing buy can ideally hear the music and be drawn to your establishment because of the fun atmosphere that is evident.
