Zeller Pub Report: Pints, Patrons and Possibilities for Growth

However, with 3 in 5 pub merchants using at least two pieces of software to run the payments side of their business, having an integrated system is key. Without a streamlined payments system, important data cannot be put to use.

3. Renew your target market appeal

Over time, many traditional locals’ pubs have evolved into family-friendly dining venues. For publicans, this presents an opportunity for business growth — something the team behind Ascot Vale Hotel know all about. 

When the original site of the Ascot Vale Hotel, a public bar with a rich history, was up for sale, locals worried it might be bought by a developer. Instead, the new owners revitalised the interior back to its former glory and broadened its appeal.

“We wanted to hang onto all of the old fellows as much as we can, because they're the ones that tick the wheels over and make up what a pub is. We never wanted to come in and scrap the existing audience. You’ve got to find that happy medium. Now we have young families sitting next to people who have been coming here for 30 years,” says managing partner Bradley.

To boost customer spending, the Ascot Vale team has dialled up its happy hour specials — giving locals more incentive to visit the pub, even on quiet days. “Having access to all of our financial information makes it a lot easier to make decisions, like moving happy hour from just one day to Monday through Friday,” says Bradley.

Some publicans have found similar success by introducing live music and trivia nights. For others, it’s offering an extended menu, with appropriately-sized kids’ portions. By using technology to sense-check these ideas, publicans remove a lot of the risk of implementing changes.

4. Protect your profit margins

“For our business to work, we need to stick with our margins. You need to have a really clear understanding of what you're actually selling, and how much money you’re making from each product to create the revenue and the profit that you require for the business to work,” says Andrew.

It’s becoming increasingly expensive to run a business, and across the globe merchants of all types are tightening their belts. 

While some business costs simply cannot be cut, there are opportunities to protect your profit margins. When it comes to ingredients — one of the biggest operating expenses, whether you offer à la carte fine dining or traditional pub fare — publicans have three options.

1. Pass the rising costs on to patrons.
2. Absorb the cost.
3. Look for new suppliers.

The latter is an option more experienced publicans have the confidence to take, as Glenn (co-owner of Union Club Hotel) explains. “We haven’t had to pass on huge increases, as I know some places have, because we’ve questioned pricing and explored where we can do a better deal for our customers.”

It is, he admits, a time-consuming task. “But, at the end of the day, if we don’t we will be passing the increase on in full.”

5. Pass transaction costs on to customers

While publicans are taking a mixed approach to getting ahead of rising costs, other strategies — such as surcharging — are being more uniformly implemented. An increasing number of Australian merchants are opting to pass the cost of transactions on to customers and keep more money in their business. Zeller data shows the number of purchases with a surcharge attached has tripled in the last 12 months

“With the jump from 60% of customers paying cash to almost 90% using cards now, it makes more sense to relay the surcharge onto the customer. The customer gets their credit card rewards, and we’re all happy,” says Andrew. 

Zeller merchants have the option to toggle surcharging on or off and pass transaction costs on to the purchasing customer, in full or in part, whenever it suits them. As the data shows, a growing number of business owners across all industries are using this strategy to reduce operational costs by thousands of dollars every year.

6. Look beyond the traditional business banks

When it comes to changing suppliers, publicans are also looking beyond the big banks for their financial services needs. Fewer than one in five publicans say they are tied to their bank. The vast majority of publicans recognise the opportunities technology affords their business, and the efficiencies that can be gained from partnering with forward-thinking providers.

One of the most frustrating realities of relying on incumbent banks is that settlement can take multiple business days, stifling cash flow and making publicans’ jobs that much more difficult. “You work with pretty tight margins in hospitality, and not having access to funds that you know are coming is really challenging. Getting faster access to those funds with Zeller means you can pay bills and buy produce,” explains Andrew.

By looking beyond the traditional incumbent banks, publicans can benefit from:

• fast, overnight settlement to speed up their cash flow
• innovative technology that identifies the most and least profitable areas of the business
• up-to-the-minute bank feeds for simple reconciliation

and much more. Backed by a financial services provider that truly understands their business, publicans have the opportunity to grow their revenue in new and impactful ways.

7. Market to larger groups of patrons

Marketing during a recession is always going to be difficult. This is especially true for new merchants, who are 3 times more likely to report marketing and promoting the business as their biggest concern. As we enter a challenging economic period, this uncertainty threatens to stifle new hospitality business growth.

Union Club Hotel has found an opportunity for business growth through locals’ revitalised appetite for socialising post-lockdown — optimising their group dining experience, and utilising their various spaces to create unique spaces for larger groups. After two years of capacity limits and contract tracing, patrons have a renewed passion for group get-togethers. As Glenn puts it, “You’ve got to listen to what people want.”

Making it easier for bigger groups to book in, order and pay is all key to optimising the dining experience and attracting larger transactions for larger bills. However, with the swift shift from cash to digital payments, patrons expect a convenient payment experience — even when dining in large groups. 

Gone are the days where each patron could pass a handful of notes to the leader of the group. These days, each patron expects to be able to tap, dip or swipe their chosen card or smart device. Making smarter decisions about EFTPOS technology by keeping in mind features like broad card acceptance and back-up connectivity, so you can swiftly process payments throughout the venue, can help to reduce load on staff while improving the customer experience.

8. Optimise your staff and operating hours for profitability

Staffing is a perennial issue for hospitality merchants. “Staffing has always been hard, and COVID amplified the situation. It's the hardest part of the job,” says Andrew. “For us to improve the business or work on the business or do the things that we want to be doing, we need staff.”

While always on the lookout for an extra set of hands, The Peacock Hotel has come up with a way to optimise their current staff using insights from Zeller. 

“I look at the trends in Zeller Dashboard and work out exactly when we need a certain amount of staff. You can see the busy periods, and know how many people you need for that shift. In quiet periods, you can keep your wage costs low so you can improve your profitability.” 

The Ascot Vale Hotel managing staff are using the Dashboard to make decisions about their operating hours. Opening a pub on a public holiday can be particularly expensive, especially if all the locals decide to head out of town.

“We track how busy the pub gets on public holidays, and use that to decide if we’re going to open or close on the next. Zeller lets us keep track of how each day goes, when people are coming in, and different data points we’d never get using our previous bank terminals,” says Bradley.

ad on staff, while improving the customer experience.

Zeller was built to give Australian businesses an integrated, powerful and centralised alternative to outdated business banking. Since launching in May 2021, thousands of publicans, bars, restaurants,  and venue owners have made the switch to Zeller and grown their business using functionality like in-built surcharging, contact management, real-time reporting and more. 

To discover how Zeller can help your pub or hospitality business grow, contact our local Sales team today.