Location: Chicago, IL
Number of Taps: 40 Taps
Number of Screens: 20 Screens
Beverages Offered: Beer
For our first Fireside Chat, we had the pleasure of speaking with Greg Lamacki from District Brew Yards, one of our favorite breweries powered by PourMyBeer’s technology! With four breweries under one roof, District Brew Yards is serving up something unique for its customers. While speaking with Greg, the Chief Operating Officer, we learned how to take advantage of your social media presence, champion your differences and create an atmosphere that fosters community. Listen below to hear more from Greg!
Customers love that self-pour technology gives them the ability to taste and sample as many beers as their heart desires. Since many people have never experienced it before, you need to make sure to get the message about its benefits on your social media.
Instead of using a tipping system, hire employees (or beer ambassadors) who are knowledgeable about your offerings and will not be motivated by tip money but rather driven by passion to work for a great establishment with a fair employer who treats them with respect.
You want to make your self-pour beverage wall as unique as possible. Customers don’t want to drink brews that they can get at any regular bar. They want to taste that local craft beer, and they’ll pay more for the experience. This will be a huge selling point and will keep patrons coming back for more!
Emphasize the specialness of the products you’re serving and the fact that customers don’t have to commit to one glass or drink! This is a huge selling point that you don’t want to lose out on.
Self-pour beverage walls are designed for customers to interact with one another and share in the tasting experience. In order to create a community among your patrons, consider skipping out on TVs and offering board games and similar interactive entertainment instead.
If someone has been to your establishment before, tell them what’s new on the wall and what’s worth trying before it runs out. If someone has not been to your establishment, tell them how the card system works, how to pour their beer, and tell them about your rewards system if you have one.
Add a loyalty program to your establishment’s operations, as this will entice customers to come back for more with the discounts they will receive.
Create goals to track and maintain. Make sure your management team is informed weekly on your numbers as well. To learn more about District Brew Yards’ KPIs, click here.
Take a look at whether your Happy Hour is benefitting your business or not. Many lose out on customers and sales during their regular hours due to the discount in pricing during Happy Hour. As an alternative, offer specials during the week at a fair price to entice diners.
Take advantage of social media and the ability to market the self-pour concept! Reach out to influencers in your area and pay them a small fee to get them to market your business as well.
What are their pain points? What don’t your customers like? Consider all of these factors to help you improve your business and make it the best for the customer. You’ll learn from your failures and turn them into successes!
These can help make your business successful and draw in bigger crowds. Respond to both the bad and good reviews, comment back, and engage with them! Never let any review go unanswered. This will make your business look more personable, and you can share them on your social accounts.
Keep inventing. Keep innovating. Change your product when necessary. Find out what your customers don’t like and get rid of it. Find out what they do like and make it better.
Set a date when you think you’ll open your doors, but don’t set a grand opening until after that, so there’s no pressure to be perfect on night one. You’ll be able to make some operational changes and finalize some of those little things before fully opening.
Post on social media with the date and time of the grand opening to build the suspense. Tell your followers what beers and specials they’ll get to try when coming to the grand opening.
They’ll help you get the word out about your business creating news stories, building relationships, and pique interest around your bar or restaurant. Try it for a three- to six-month period and go from there.
Have you ever been to four different breweries all in the same place? District Brew Yards, a brew collective, is bringing this unique experience to the residents of Chicago, IL. Each brewery has 10 self-pour taps, giving customers the ability to sample and taste 40 different craft beers that they can’t get anywhere else. Talk about a unique differentiator. District Brew Yards just paired up with BBQ legend Lillie’s Q so guests can pair their beer with some delicious eats. If you’re in Chicago, go check them out and see what all the hype is about, and if you’re not, we highly suggest you make the trip.
Whether you have questions regarding your self-pour setup or you have a general inquiry, don’t hesitate to contact us! To go back and check out our other Fireside Chats, click below.
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