Want to dramatically boost your brewery’s to-go beer sales? Our pal Andrew Coplon, founder of beer-brained undercover shopping service Secret Hopper, knows how you can do it. What’s the key to making it happen? “Ask your customers if they’d like to buy some beer to-go,” he says.

Through Secret Hopper research that looked at over 5,000 non-paid brewery visits, Coplon discovered that brewery guests purchase to-go beer only 9 percent of the time when they aren’t offered it. When staff does pop the “Beer to-go?” question, guests purchase take-home beer 49 percent of the time.

“This big difference,” he notes, “could be making your tasting room quite a bit of additional revenue.”

Using an average to-go purchase of $15, he notes, a brewery that asks the beer-to-go question can earn about $600 in additional sales for every 100 customer it sees.

“That simple question,” Coplon says, “can trigger a guest’s thought process and inspire them to make an added purchase. It’s your brewery staff’s engagement that encourages guests to make that happen.”

In addition to more to-go beer sales, the question leads to higher tips for beer servers (due to larger check amounts) and customers that are 33 percent more likely to say they’ll return to the brewery within the next week. Secret Shopper research also shows that virtually all to-go purchasers say they will recommend or return to the brewery.

“To-go purchases,” Coplon says, “are a great way for your brewery to boost its sales and create brand advocates outside your tasting room.”

Read the full article here.

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