For restaurants, Happy Hour — defined as any limited period when drinks are sold at a cheaper price — is a simple but lucrative way to drive drinks sales and deliver a great customer experience.
Whether your promotion is strictly limited to a singular hour or you offer a more leisurely two-to-three-hour discount, Happy Hour is a great way to attract groups large and small, especially younger crowds looking to snag a deal.
But as a restaurant manager, you don’t simply want guests to buy a couple of discounted drinks and then leave. Your goal is to win over these punters enough to convince them to stay for a meal, or come back and dine with you another time.
Converting Happy Hour crowds into regular diners can be extremely lucrative. Discover our four top tips in this blog.
While everyone enjoys a cheap drink, the Happy Hours that really make an impact are those with a well-crafted drinks menu that shows the thought you’ve put into your offering.
Cocktails are a popular choice for Happy Hour deals, as you can still maintain a strong profit margin on these drinks even once they’re discounted. Consider updating your cocktail selection seasonally, offering year-round classics alongside a rotating selection of specials, such as a summery strawberry daiquiri or a festive sloe gin fizz.
Of course, it’s vital that people who don’t want to drink alcohol can enjoy your savings, so ensure you have a delicious selection of mocktails available to delight them too.
By showing off your creativity and mixology skills through your Happy Hour drinks menu, customers are more likely to take an interest in your food menu.
Good bar snacks and nibbles are a Happy Hour essential. As revellers make the most of your drinks deals, they’ll likely start to feel peckish. That’s where you get another chance to shine with your bar snacks.
As well as your classic mixed nuts or olives, how about offering something different? You could serve up bite-sized versions of some of your regular dishes to give punters a taste of your à la carte menu, or take inspiration from small plates restaurants with a tapas-inspired selection.
Not only does a strong food offering alongside your Happy Hour drinks menu give you a lucrative chance to upsell, but you can also give customers a small taste of your culinary delights and tempt them to stay for the evening — or return another day.
It’s easy to convince people to visit your restaurant to take advantage of your Happy Hour drinks deals, but it’s harder to convince them to stay for dinner too. But one of the best ways to do it is to create an atmosphere that’s so good that guests can’t resist carrying on their evening at your establishment.
You could do this through live music, such as a band or DJ, or you could leave a variety of board games around the bar area for patrons to help themselves to. The key is to keep your customers entertained and make them feel welcome to spend the rest of their evening with you.
One of the most straightforward strategies for converting Happy Hour crowds into future diners is by promoting an exclusive food offer during this time.
In addition to including bar snacks at a cheaper price on your Happy Hour menu, you could also give these customers a special discount when they return for a meal off your à la carte menu.
You could use touchpoints such as bar mats and receipts to promote this offer, either by including a QR code for customers to scan or by encouraging them to visit a specific landing page on your website. Whether you choose to offer a discount on their whole meal, a free drink, a free dessert, or something else, creating a sense of exclusivity for Happy Hour drinkers is a compelling way to build future loyalty.
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