Are you a bar owner who is serious about creating a successful plan that you and your team can stick to? Too often bar owners and managers simply move away from the goals and objectives set forth. However, if your plan is well laid out with buy in from all levels of leadership and you remain steadfast, you will put yourself and your team on the path to success.

Here are 7 simple steps to developing a great bar and beverage business plan.

1. Capture Trends: It is obvious that the beverage and bar industry evolves quickly with trendy products, new innovation, and cyclical tactics. Part of a great plan will be the need to shift from trend to trend and use best in class category management initiatives that most large beverage companies can provide. Shifting a bit does not mean you sway from your original plan --it simply means that you’re nimble with a desire to stay ahead of or in tune with beverage trends. This gives you the necessary edge amongst your competitors.

2. Identify your Target: When planning, establish your sweet spot with respect to your target customer. Are you looking to build your business around Millennials and their demanding influence in hospitality? This is powerful demographic has the highest incidence of trying new adult beverages, especially in the casual dining segment. On the other hand, Boomers are a strong demographic since they still have a strong pocket book and love happy hour and visit bars on weekends. Determining your target customer may also play a key factor in how to select, train and develop team members.

3. Leadership: You will need to ensure that leadership places a high level of confidence on performance management. Put the right leader in the role to develop and follow-up on all activities related to your bar. Writing schedules and ordering liquor is not enough. Your bar manager position should be one attained through delivering upon and maintaining a level of excellence in sales building, margin improvement, staffing and manpower planning, and marketing your products. Trends in mixology show that new products come fast and furious. Your lead bar manager should remain attuned to the changes in the beverage industry.

4. Layout and Schematics: How does you bar look and feel? Are you creating the right vibe for new traffic and current customers? Is it sustainable? Your bar (and back bar set up) must look and remain fresh. Your back bar is part of your landscape and architecture, so take time to lay it out properly. Schematics or how the mechanics work with storage, work stations and working applications for team members are critical. This plays well into execution and how long it takes to deliver a drink feature or quickly cash out a guest. Throughput at your bar will play a key role in return traffic as your honored guest will always remember excellent efficiency.

Read the entire original article written by Synergy’s beverage expert, George Barton, here at Nightclub.com