Identify target customers and analyze the market environment

The first step of any marketing plan is to select the market and identify the target customer group; the second is to determine the products and services that the target customer group needs to purchase. If these two basic elements are confirmed, then the problem of attracting customers and selling products will be solved. This is true whether it is planning to build a new bar or transforming an old bar that has lost its vitality.

1. Identify target customers

　　People come to the bar for different purposes. Under normal circumstances, drinking beverages is not the original motivation, because people can buy beverages in the wholesale market and drink them at home. We can divide customers into different types according to their different purposes when they come to the bar:

(1) Customers who have dinner

　　 The purpose of such customers is to enjoy a delicious meal in a restaurant, and alcohol (whether it is cocktails, liquor or after-dinner wine) adds to the overall pleasure of the customer experience. Although food may be the customer's first goal, usually they also have a demand for alcohol.

(2) Customers passing by

　　The purpose of such customers is usually to rejuvenate themselves, that is, to take a short rest after a day of fatigue. Those who wait for planes, trains, or date friends in bars also fall into this category. The bars that serve these customers are usually located near office buildings or factories, and some are built in bus stations, train stations, airports, or hotel lounges.

(3) Leisure and entertainment customers

　　 This type of customer has free time to relax. They like to go to the bar to find excitement, change or chase a certain opposite sex. Such customers often visit bars, clubs or restaurants, because these places have opportunities for music, games, dancing and meeting new friends, where they can get in touch with social fashion. Such customers may visit several different bars every night, but if the entertainment, drinks, and playmates at a certain bar are good, they may be there all night.

(4) Customers who frequent bars

　　In these bars, familiar people often gather together. They are happy to enjoy life and relax, but their most original purpose is to be with people they know and love. In the bar, the guests feel as comfortable as they are at home, and can have a sense of belonging. Most customers belong to the above several types of groups. Although different types of customers have different moods, tastes, interests, backgrounds, and life styles, different types of individuals occasionally cross. In general, these customer types are not compatible. Customers of a certain type may feel uncomfortable when they come to a bar frequented by customers of another type, thinking that they are incompatible with the surrounding environment. There are many sub-groups in the above 4 broad customer types. Generally speaking, the classification standards are mainly life style, interests, age, salary level, family situation, occupation and social status (freelancers, blue collars, community leaders) Wait. Under normal circumstances, these subgroups do not overlap; in addition, because a common interest (such as football, jazz) can form more specific subgroups, sometimes a special small group that has been formed can also form a special Subgroup. You can cater to the needs of any type or subgroup of customers, but you have no ability to please all customers. A mistake often made by inexperienced bar operators is to try to attract all customers without considering the types of customers. This is unrealistic. For any bar, a part of its atmosphere is the customer. If the customer has nothing in common in their mood, attitude, or purpose of coming to the bar, then the customers who patronize the bar will not be able to enjoy themselves because of the lack of something in the bar. Experienced operators will focus their energy on a single target customer group. Customers of this group patronize the same bar for similar purposes, so that the entire bar’s business activities are aimed at attracting and pleasing this group.

Under normal circumstances, as long as the different target customers are separated, different target customers can be served. Larger hotels can receive different customers in different bars, or provide services to different customers in different rooms in the same bar. For example: a hotel can provide services to passing customers (including a group called happy hour in a nearby office building) in bars and lounges; provide services to diners in restaurants and coffee shops (two subgroups); in different meeting rooms The simple bar serves business groups and conference delegates.

2. Bar design, products and services

　　When choosing the products and services to sell, the first thing to consider is to meet the needs of customers. It usually includes two kinds of external demand and potential demand. If the customer doesn't need your product at all, then no matter what the bar does, it can't convince the customer to buy it. Once the bar has selected a group of target customers, it should do its best to understand the needs and requirements of the customers, and adjust the bar’s products and services accordingly. The items to be adjusted include everything that customers have to pay for, such as the location of the bar. Location, equipment and facilities, wine, prices, staff, service hours, food, entertainment and environment, etc. All types of customers have certain expectations. For example, they expect value-for-money products and services, as well as fast, accurate and courteous wine service; expect every wine to be worthy of its name; expect bars and toilets to be clean and tidy. The wine ware is bright and clean, the staff are neatly dressed and the service is attentive; the transaction is expected to be fair; the customers also expect them to be popular in the bar, and this welcome must be expressed on the face of the bar staff. Once a customer has doubts about the wine in the bar, even if this is not the case, the customer may find some illusory evidence around to prove his guess. In addition, due to different types of customers, their expectations will be different, but no matter what kind of customers, they should feel that the bar’s products are worth the money.

　　 Since different types of customers have different reasons for patronizing bars, the task of the bar should focus on providing special products and services for the target customer market, and try to meet the needs and requirements of the target customers. In addition, bars should figure out how their competitors serve customers. In a competitive environment, the bar's products and services should have obvious differences and advantages compared with competitors, otherwise it will not be able to attract customers. Bars that simply imitate and copy other people's business models are rarely successful. What can be done to make the bar maintain its differentiation and superiority? This is a question that bar operators have to consider. One of the methods is to pay close attention to changes in the surrounding environment and keenly observe the situation of other bars and the thoughts of their customers. Because if other bars imitate you at this time and do better, your bar will lose its competitive advantage. In addition, bar operators must accurately respond to changes in customer tastes and actively adjust their products. With an innovative working attitude and a working method that quickly responds to customer opinions, your bar will surely be victorious. Bar operators determine what products to produce and what services to provide based on the profitability of products and services, and the profitability of products and services is related to the nature and scale of the potential market.

3. Analyze the market environment

(1) Site selection

　　Before making a final plan, bar operators should start to understand the location of the target market, the size of the target market, and the target market’s opinions on the services provided by the existing bar. When choosing a location, attention should be paid to choosing a location close to the target market. At the same time, attention should be paid to the number of potential customers in the selected location and whether there is competition. If the bar operator starts from scratch, the first thing to consider is the location of the bar. You can choose a medium-sized town, and then look for a special place in the town. The specific selection method should be determined by the customer market of the bar. If the target customer market is diners, you should choose a residential area, a work area, or an area with both; if the target customer market is entertainment customers, it is best to choose a fashionable and prosperous location; for passing customers, The bar should be located on a route frequently passed by passing customers; for frequent customers, it should be located near a place where frequent customers live.

(2) Understanding customer needs

　　Once the bar operator has an overall framework for location selection, he should start to understand whether there is a sufficient market for potential customers in the selected location. In some cities, urban construction bureaus can provide bar operators with demographic statistics (resident status, salary level, education level, consumption habits, etc.), nearby areas, urban planning, and the number of traffic routes for bar operators free of charge. Business associations can also provide information on business development, tourism and exhibition markets, and real estate development. Banks that provide loans to restaurant and bar operators will also have a lot of knowledge about the community where the bar is located, and they can help the bar operator choose the right place to open. In addition, bar operators should often communicate with real estate agents, members of restaurant managers’ clubs, and local restaurant facility suppliers, because these people are likely to understand which places are opening, which places are about to close, and why. If the bar operator does not want to spend too much money to do this work, he can also choose to consult the information office or statistical company of the food service industry. The statistical company will calculate and analyze the census figures of a designated area, and provide demographic information of interest to bar operators in this area, such as: population density, age, gender, occupation, family size, income, ethnic composition, going out Dining expenses etc. If the bar can afford more expenses, you can choose to hire a consultant to conduct a systematic study of the competitors in the designated area and here, and then you can know whether there is a customer market originally conceived by the bar.

　　 There are some very fashionable places in certain areas of the city, where bars and restaurants usually gather. The competition in these places may be fierce, but the dense crowds, shining lights and the flow of people create a lively and joyous atmosphere, which is easy to attract customers. People also like to go to places they have visited before, because they are familiar with the roads and feel familiar to them. After arriving at the bar dense area, if customers cannot enter the frequently visited bar, they will transfer to other bars, so that competition is beneficial to everyone. If the bar is well run, there will be new businesses imitating it. In this way, the highly competitive market will be saturated. If a bar wants to locate a location in such a market, two precautions can be taken: one is to investigate the opening and closing of bars in this area in recent years (especially pay attention to the closing of the business), and see what kind of situation. Bars still have development potential, and there is no need for any bar to operate. In addition, you must carefully study the market competition and determine that you are unique in this area and will make a special contribution to this place. Don't imitate anyone, keep your own difference and superiority.

　　 There are certain risks in choosing a bar to open in a new independent location. However, if there is a huge potential market demand in these areas through research, the profit return is also very generous. When a bar runs well in a new location, competitors will soon file in. Therefore, never expect yourself to be the only place to provide a certain product. Think long-term and provide some special products with market prospects. . In addition, the reproduction cannot be expanded blindly just based on the relatively strong market demand at the beginning. Don't choose the location of the bar in a dilapidated and declining area, because the stable and vital neighbors are more beneficial to the operation and development of the bar.

(3) Analyze the market competition environment

　　 To select the correct location and investigate the market potential, the bar also needs to analyze the market competition to see the extent to which customer needs in the selected area are met. Investigate all the bars that serve the target market here, study their products, estimate the sales volume, and compare these bars with your own ideas, examine the existing competition and market potential, and see if there is room for development in this area. After the bar is located in a special area, the bar operator should also look at the area from the eyes of the customer to see how the visibility is? Is the traffic convenient? Is there enough parking space? What about the human nature of access Kind and so on. Pay close attention to issues such as one-way roads, planned buildings, and traffic jams. In addition, we must be alert to changes in the environment and communicate more with nearby retailers. If the bar wants to take over the existing facilities, it must also consider the important factor of the tenant’s departure.

(4) Analyze the feasibility of the financial plan

　　Finally, conduct a feasibility analysis of the financial plan for the selected regions and target markets of the company, and estimate all capital requirements, including land and building costs, furniture and facilities costs, opening costs, and operating loss reserves at the beginning of opening. In addition, a detailed business plan (including wine catalog, staff, working hours, etc.) and business budget must be made. When calculating sales, you should be conservative, and you should leave a larger amount of fluctuation when estimating expenses. If the expected profit rate is based on the result that people cannot make ends meet, the project plan in the region and target market is not feasible.