How can you increase tab size by 473%?
Think about all your visits to other taprooms. How often is staff encouraging you to take beer home? Looking at a data set of 8216 unique taproom visits from 2018-20221, excluding 2020, we see that taproom staff only suggest beer to go on 1 out of 5 visits. To flip this, 80% of taproom visits do not include staff encouraging a guest to take bottles, can, crowlers, or even growlers home.
When guests are not asked to purchase beer to go2, they only make the added purchase 9% of the time. However, when asked a question like, “Would you like to take beer to go?”, the guest will make the additional purchase on 52% of taproom visits – resulting in tabs over 27% greater. These 7 words increase the likelihood of a guest purchasing to go by 473%.
To Go Beer Purchases Increase Tips
The benefit isn’t just to your bottom line. Your taproom staff will also see the reward in the form of higher tips. The average guest who was asked and made the purchase tipped 27.4% - 10% higher than visits not including to go beer.
The ultimate taproom experience consists of quality beer, a memorable atmosphere, and engaging staff. The action of encouraging to go beer is the behavior of a staff member who is already engaging at a high level. Thus, this behavior is one of many they are exhibiting that helps create not only more memorable guest experiences, but also more profitable.
Strategies to Increase To Go Sales
Train your staff to master the habit of encouraging beer to go. Here’s a quick list of authentic ways to encourage beer to go:
- To a first-time guest: Did you know we also offer beer that you can take home?
- To a regular: Did you know we have your favorite beer in cans?
- To anyone: It looks like you really enjoyed that _______, would you like to take some to go?
Your Takeaway
There is still room to improve. Taproom staff should find authentic ways to encourage to go beer. No guest will ever get upset by the question. Worst case? They say no. You’ve got about a 50% chance they’ll say “yes.”
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