3 Ideas to Increase Taproom Customer Average Check Size

To increase taproom sales, you can bring in more customers or get them to spend more when they visit. Or both.

The taproom sales projection formula: Number of Customers x Average Spend = Taproom Sales

To help you increase taproom sales, I borrowed three great ideas from beer industry experts Andrew Coplon of Secret Hopper, Brian Deignan of Validation Ale, and Aaron Gore from Arryved.

Below are three ideas to increase customer spending and average check size:

1. Ask the customer if they want beer to go (Andrew Coplon, Secret Hopper)
2. Use the order bump – “steal the glass” (Brian Deignan, Validation Ale)
3. Offer different mug club levels – Gold, silver, bronze (Aaron Gore, Arryved)

#1 Ask the customer if they want beer to-go

We all want to make data-driven decisions to run a better business.

The data from Secret Hopper shows that customers are 5x more likely to make to-go beer purchases if they are asked. “Do you want some beer to go today?” 

It’s a simple question that can 5x your to-go beer sales.

#2 Use the order bump

Brian Deignan’s “steal the glass” order bump idea is very interesting. And profitable. And customers love it.

“My staff hated the idea at first. But we tried it, and it worked.” Brian told me.

“What surprised me most was that every day a customer thanks me for the opportunity to ‘steal a glass'”

Validation ale also covers 70% of their glassware costs from this order bump idea.

#3 Offer different mug club levels

One of my pet peeves is when I want to buy into a taproom mug club but I’m told that I can’t. “We’re currently sold out, but check back later.”

The taproom is ‘sold out’ because they don’t have space for any more mugs. Traditional mug clubs have the name (or favorite number) of the member, and space behind the bar is limited.

For some people, this custom mug is important. For some people, like me, it’s not.

Some folks just want the perks that a mug club typically offers: A larger glass, a small discount, a free beer on your birthday.  These folks don’t care about a mug with their name or favorite number.

I asked Aaron Gore from Arryved about this pet peeve of mine, and he gave me an interesting idea: Offer different mug club levels.

For example, offer a Gold, Silver, and Bronze Mug Club Membership.

The Gold Membership comes with your name on the mug, and all the usual perks. The Silver comes with a generic mug, same size and shape of the Gold, all the same perks. The Bronze is the same as the Silver but maybe no birthday beer.

Get creative with the names, prices, and offerings. But for goodness sakes, don’t turn away customers (like me!) who want to give you money. 

Do this next:

1. Watch the short video overview of each idea
2. Check out the Beer Business Finance Association – a network of beer industry owners and managers working to build financially successful businesses