There have been some seismic shifts in trends in the pub trade over the last five decades – some pubs thrive and adapt to change to keep them at the top of their game whilst others think that once things are going well, sticking to the same formula will keep them there for ever. There is a place between current success and future success that is a dangerous place, where it is tempting to relax and think “I know how my business works”. It could be a slow, yet painful, decline to give way to complacency in this comfort zone.

Some things will never change – the impact of happy, friendly, well trained staff and getting the basics right (cleanliness and attention to detail) will always make you stand head and shoulders above the rest, so what’s the biggest change-alert right now? The way the world is communicating, the speed of this constant change and the impact this is having on the way we do business.

If you’re still only relying on the ‘traditional’ marketing media of ads in the paper and word of mouth, and your web site looks more like a ‘brochure’ than a professional site compelling viewers to visit you, then be careful – you could be about to fall into the trap of basing future success on what’s worked well in the past.

I’ve recently been working with some amazing licensees who are on to this and are adapting to the Social Media revolution at a breathtaking pace. It’s not that hard once you get down to it and besides, licensees were born to have an online presence; chatting with customers in cyberspace, sharing stories and jokes – it’s just an extension of the conversations you start in the bar…