Top five ways to increase the value of your venue
Op-Ed: Quick and easy things that increase a business’ value by Stephen J. Hunt
I have worked in pubs since I was 18 and have done pretty much every job there is to do, from cooking to cleaning to working in the bottle shop. I know how they work and what makes them tick.
This knowledge enables me to buy under-performing pubs and turn them into high-value businesses. I started with one, I now have seven, the portfolio is now valued at over $100 million and we did it all in under seven years.
People often ask how I achieved so much so quickly.
I have a documented process that helps me and my team assess an opportunity and conduct our due diligence, but there’s lots of quick and easy things any operator can do to increase the value of their bricks and mortar business.
You don’t need to pay marketing or branding agencies big bucks to help you turn things around. You know your business better than anyone and you can dramatically increase the value of your business by paying attention to a few things.
Here are five strategies that worked for us:
Ask your customers what they think
There are often lots of visual clues that reveal little things aren’t being attended to. It could be the couch in the foyer is faded, the front door doesn’t shut properly, or the framed Certificate of Appreciation from the local kindergarten is dusty and dated from 2008. Customers are savvy. They pick up on these little things and they make instant decisions about whether they’ll do business with you from even the smallest of cues.
We work in our business every day so it’s hard to see it from the outside, which means we lose perspective. The solution? Invite your customers to be candid with you about what they think about your signate, website, customer service and staff. Their honest appraisal of how your business is showing up to the world will give you the guidance needed to make some basic but important changes.
Conduct a refurbishment
Every real estate investor knows that the fastest way to increase the value of a property is to do a refurbishment. You don’t need to spend a lot of money on it but you do need to do it reasonably consistently to ensure old (and new) customers know that you’re keeping up. Here’s two quick things you can do to instantly improve the value of your retail operation – painting and improving the lighting.
Painting
A new coat of paint solves a range of problems – it covers up the cracks, makes the premise lighter and brighter and makes it feel (and smell) like new. It also conveys a sense of optimism and gives people a clear indication that change is on its way.
Lighting
A local café near me doesn’t turn on the lights during the day which makes the shop look closed, and when you do discover the shop is open, the lack of lighting makes it looks seedy and uninviting. I know they’re trying to save money on electricity but it’s counterproductive as it deters customers from coming in. Keep the lights on or use funky light fittings that make the place look welcoming.
Improve the directional signage
I was in a men’s wear shop recently and wanted to try on a new shirt. It took me five minutes and much wandering around to find the fitting rooms. It was annoying as it wasted my time and reduced my motivation to buy. If the company had made the sign for the fitting rooms clearer, all this annoyance could have been eliminated.
In our venues, we think hard about how our signage can help our customers get to where they want to go quickly. Directional signage like ‘Order Food Here’, or ‘Toilets’ or even something as simple as ‘Open/Closed’ can make a big difference to the user experience. Is your signage up to date? Is it clear, concise and precise? If not, how could it be better?
If you really want to improve the value of your business without spending a lot of money, put a few of these strategies into action and you’ll not only reinvigorate the face of your business, you may also find it reinvigorates you as well.
By Stephen J Hunt, Hunt Hospitality
Stephen J. Hunt, Entrepreneur & author of “Find. Build. Sell” is the founder of Hunt Hospitality and a leading publican with a portfolio of properties valued at over $100 million dollars. He was the 2021 winner of the Outstanding Business Leader Award, employs over 300 people, and lives with his wife and five children in the Hunter Valley.
