The Pub Sector Carnage - Which Way Now?

“Over to port, over to starboard”, is probably what you hear from the tannoy on the captain’s bridge as the pub sector cruise ship lists from side to side pulled this way and that by the pub  governing associations grappling for supremacy to protect their best interests.

 Visualise a bickering parliament’s question time, like a scene from Titanic with passengers cast overboard flapping around in the water clinging to fragments of broken business models.

Back on shore young, energetic, proactive, adept business people had the foresight to wait for the bricks and mortar wreckage to be sold off allowing them to become prosperous pub owners with outlets for all the community to enjoy.

So what caused the pub sector ship to break up so quickly? Simply bad foresight and business strategy. When market conditions and customers' lifestyles change you can push as many barrels of beer up a hill as you like but they will end up back at your feet. The recession just speeded up the closure process.

The pub company tactic was to play monopoly and buy more and more pub property imitating estate agents and wholesalers, which eventually resulted in no custom for under invested traditional properties.

Pub companies forgot what the supermarkets are now learning, it’s all about customers. Managing and operating a pub outlet is a totally different scenario to what it was twenty years ago when social demand for beer was at its peak.

What the landlords needed was a stringent pre-opening business training programme with a steering and support relationship period through the first precarious twelve months of trading.

Empty pubs created a panic with pub companies adopting time share salesman tactics to get the next untrained incumbent in place as quickly as possible. Departing, dejected landlords were seen rummaging in their pockets to see if they had enough money for a taxi into the abyss and left scarred by uncompetitive, unsustainable rents and bloated wholesale pricing levels.

As baby boomers fade away and generation x and y take their place there is no regard for 400 years of brewing history. Instead there is an on the go, fickle, “give me what I want, when I want it or I’ll go elsewhere” attitude reinforced and conditioned by 'easy' internet activity.

Moving forward chief executives need to swallow their pride and down a tumbler of humility. Getting to the sharp end of the ship they should look at what their customers really want. The reorganisation   of over inflated middle management systems and creation of call centres for “property and compliance” issues .Also well trained Business Development Managers are required to coach and mentor already overworked landlords will generate turnover and profit growth to mutual benefit.

The pub sector will eventually learn and prosper but it may take a new independent steering group to turn the ship well and truly around and point it in the right direction. Once the failures trickle to a halt the pub sector will be leaner and more adept with a cohesive long term strategy of how it will grow its diminishing share of the leisure pound. Once the lesson is learned maybe the next excursion out to sea won’t be such a bumpy ride.

Lester Pyatt

The Pub Specialist
 www.thepubspecialist.co.uk

Omark Hospitality Solutions

Supplier of the governments Growth Accelerator Programme

07931 238211

On your marks get set grow 2015 - growth schemes explained

Did you know that there are government funded programmes available to assist you in growing your business? 

Small businesses are being encouraged to make use of Government backed schemes where they can apply for assistance to cover a proportion of the costs for professional advice.

Research carried out found that 69 per cent of small firms seek advice from family and friends but only 57 per cent take advice from a professional. This is despite 36 per cent saying they are most likely to trust guidance from a professional above other sources.

Of those taking advice from friends and family, 43 per cent said they did so because it was free, and four in ten businesses that have not taken professional advice felt that it was too expensive.

However, 60 per cent of small business leaders said they would gain from some form of professional advice, particularly in sales and marketing. The next area in which most firms thought they would benefit from help is digital technology.

Lester Pyatt of Omark Hospitality Solutions supplier of the schemes to the pub sector commented “I am surprised how many pub outlets are not aware of the funding opportunities out there. This gives landlords the chance to have a cost effective solution whereby the operator’s vision and aspirations for the business can be achieved.

He continued “Landlords can quite rightly be sceptical of “get rich quick” schemes, but any provider of the programmes has to go through rigorous acceptance checks, be accredited by a governing association, have professional liability insurance and have all completed work signed off to the operator’s satisfaction.”

Growth Voucher

The programme will seek to provide support in the form of advice which is provided by approved growth voucher adviser's such as Omark Hospitality Solutions

It must be said that it is not a case of meeting criteria and receiving a growth voucher but instead, out of those who meet the criteria, will be chosen at random.

To qualify, the business must be situated in England and actively sell goods and/or services. Furthermore, turnover must not exceed £45m and have no more than 250 employees. 

To complete your application 

 You will require Companies House registration number or unique taxpayer reference from HMRC

·         registered business address  - business turnover details

·         VAT registration number (if you’re registered) - PAYE number (if you have one)

·         contact phone number-   email address

What if I am successful? 

     

Successful businesses will receive a voucher for up to £2000 matched funding which can be used in exchange for advice from a growth voucher advisor in one of the following areas:

• Raising finance and managing cash flow,
• Recruiting and developing staff,
• Improving leadership and management skills
• Marketing, attracting and keeping customers and,
• Making the most of digital technology.

If your business has been successful with your application for a growth voucher, that voucher can be used in part payment for strategic leadership support in improving a business’s processes and procedures.

  

 Growth Accelerator

 

Growth Accelerator exclusively targets high growth businesses who want to enter their next growth phase focused on the specific needs of your business, and will help you get to the heart of the barriers that are holding your business back and work alongside you to identify the critical steps you need to take.

It is a government backed programme designed to help Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) achieve 20% per annum growth over 3 years or double turnover in two years. Businesses pay a one-off fee, based on their size, and subsequent coaching is paid for by the programme.

To be eligible for Growth Accelerator, your business needs to:

·         Be determined to grow

·         Be registered in the UK & based in England

·         Have fewer than 250 employees

·         Have a turnover of less than £40 million

In addition you’ll also have exclusive access of up to £2,000 Leadership & management match funding for every senior manager.

For more details

Contact Lester Pyatt, Managing Director Omark Hospitality Solutions on 07931 238211 or www.omark.co.uk

Or apply at: https://marketplace.enterprisenation.com/about   and www.Growth accelerator.com

Who's steering the pub sector ship?

I recently was speaking at an event for the Morning Advertiser to 20 pub companies BDM's and regional managers on how they could improve their service to landlords.

My reason for taking this opportunity was to demonstrate how, with some investment and TLC,  operators could grow their customer's [landlords] turnover and at the same time add a few pounds to their bank balance as well.

On average my programme will generate and deliver healthy profit over a twelve month period, but the problem or stumbling block to mirror this activity is that the pub co's business manager is time spent trying to juggle the requirements of some 45-60 outlets and overburdened with administration.

If large pub cos were to split compliance and property administration with focused development managers, whilst it may incur extra costs in the short term, having happy and healthy customers generating a decent profit would mean that from a time management perspective the papering over of the empty pub syndrome would abate.

Whilst I believe some debatable landlords have been allowed into the system without adequate training and due diligence, a dose of nurturing ,coaching and creating a vision and goal for the business,would create a more focused and passionate landlord who can see greater profits for all his/her hard work and create a decent future for themselves and their families.

A further issue is, at present there doesn't seem to be a father figure steering the sector in the right direction,and whilst great strides have been made in judicial systems, surely a long term strategy of training and growth would eradicate most of these financial nightmare cases.

The problem I fear is that whilst pub companies go round and round in circles on a repetitive strategy, nobody will take the bull by the horns and take a different route.

Find out how you can take a different route to financial freedom here with your own unique business growth training day .

                                        www.thepubspecialist.co.uk
                                                    Lester Pyatt
                                                   07931 238211

Do you have an MOT for your pub outlet?

 From time to time i get asked what is it you actually do as a business development specialist?

Well i suppose its a bit like taking you car into the garage because you have a malfunction or and odd sound coming from the engine grudgingly you have to pay the price to keep it running smoothly as its a necessity in getting from A to B..

The fact is, the longer you leave these issues they sometimes fester,ending with an up extortionate bill so we tend to act straight away. Its the same with your business, sometimes your not getting the petrol economy [turnover and profit] for all your hard work, a bit like pressing your accelerator and nothings happening.

If 80% of UK pubs have some sort of business malfunction what's stopping you making sure your not a victim? Don't you want to be cruising down the outside lane to financial success whilst others are coughing and spluttering , getting no where and eventually  abandoning their car[the pub] with a big financial hole in their pocket.

Don't you deserve to keep your business in tip top condition optimising every opportunity for your future success, maybe personal pride gets in the way? What if every pub outlet had to have a yearly M.O.T to keep their doors open? would attitudes change? The good news is that i now have a one day programme that makes sure your outlet [car] is in tip top condition for the future success you deserve...its right here.

http://www.thepubspecialist.co.uk/training-at-your-pub/4585333257

Regards
Lester The Pub specialist
07931 238211

20 steps to a landlord’s financial bliss 2014 and beyond

 

                                                          You

1. Review … You need to step back from the business sometimes and wonder how well are you really doing. Have you got a plan, vision or any lifetime goals in place?

2 Family…Get yourself and your business in a position, so you can spend more time with loved ones.

3. Structure… your week so you get those menial “I don’t like doing these jobs” out of the way. sweep it under the carpet culture allows issues to fester, which means they escalate further down the line.

4. I think I’m rich!!- Whilst cash flow is important, don’t have a counting the cash mentality it’s all about bottom line profit!!

5. Train …yourself or find guidance on taking more calculated risks .following the norm is boring and your customer’s will think so too!!

6. Smile more- if you do not have a customer service procedure, just smiling and saying hi how you are today at your customer and staff is a good start.

7. Trust your team and delegate - Stop thinking you can do everything yourself, it’s simple you can’t!!

8 Motivate -It doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to get the best out your team, a “well done today” can be appreciated by everyone.

                                               Your Business

9. Monitor- the opposition, go and have a meal and benchmark the ambience, service and menu prices is there something you could be doing better?

10 Promote- good referrals on sites like Trip Advisor- by monitoring how well you operate through the eyes of the customers get a mystery audit done.

11 Don’t believe- you’re so good that you overprice menu dishes, it’s easy to get out of sync with the market place…it happens a lot!!

12 Point -your business  offer in the right direction, stop wasting advertising monies targeting the wrong type of customer  just because it’s convenient to do so.

13 Your Message- think of your outlet as a brand, how do customers perceive it, and what emotional state does it evoke with them?

14 Broadcasting- is advertising for big blue-chip companies. Think narrow casting the smaller/closer the target the bigger the bull’s eye.

15 Think- of your website as an information site, and what you can do for the customer.

16 Stop pushing- on social media sites like Twitter, selling your products should only be 10% of the conversation.

17 Entice the customer - with the perception of value -Valentine’s meal £24.95 per person. Free bubbly on arrival, red rose for the lady and chocolates on departure. DON’T DISCOUNT. People love presents.

18 Appreciate - the lifetime customer value and how you can develop different entertainment occasions to drive sales.

19 Think of your marketing- like heartbeats, keep it consistent and repetitive and keep your outlet in the customer’s attention window.

20. End of year accounts- are like dust collectors ,get your business under control so you have weekly or monthly profit and loss information on how much you are really making.

And the good news!!  Project 10k will do all this for you!!, and on a £300,000 business  put 50-80ks worth of turnover and a minimum of 10k profit on your bottom line in year 1.

                      http://www.thepubspecialist.co.uk/business-booster/4582077649

Growing your business 2014 and beyond

Generally landlords have a tough and challenging time of it, time spent,increasing competition and mounting personal pressures that can even strain the most loving of family relationships,if you feel a little overwhelmed your not alone most people feel the same.

That means you  never get to the point where you never extract the potential profit in your business. It basically begs the question do you want to have a better lifestyle, or are you just going to allow these issues to get in the way and carry on making excuses!!.

Slowly but surely the sector is changing for the better,[statutory code etc] and once the big operators realise they have to improve service and treat their customer's better [that's you] everyone in the long term will benefit.

In the meantime you can't wait for things to happen,and you can actually do something about it if you really want to,so take a gulp of humble pie and get positive!!.

The fact of the matter is your probably doing 80% of the stuff correctly, but what happens when you are immersed in the day to day running of the operation, you become blind to the opportunities available to you.

The first step is to know what true reality is. what really are the issues with the paying customers,staff,your market and how you operate.

Sometimes you have to invest to move forward, to allow you to get where you want to be financially even faster. Business coaching will do this and more!!.The problem is our defence mechanism is riddled with scepticism and resistance.

Coaching is for people who can't do it alone
Coaching will make me appear inadequate to my operations team
Coaching is for under performers
Coaching is time consuming
Coaching is expensive.

These are all myths, in today's market even  the big operators are starting to realise and understand that maybe their business models are broken and Business Development Manager's should actually live up to their title and stop acting and working like estate agents.

A study by Manchester INC resulted the key benefits of coaching assistance as follows
Improved productivity           53%
Enhanced quality                   48%
Superior business strength    48%
Superior customer service     39%
Reduced complaints              34%
Reduced costs                       23%  to name a few

So you've got a choice, carry on with that ten ton weight of worry dragging round your ankle or do something about it!!. Your success may just be a phone call away.

                                                              Lester Pyatt
                                                        The Pub Specialist
                                                              Project 10k
                       http://www.thepubspecialist.co.uk/business-booster/4582077649