The Litten Tree, a bar in Hereford saw its night’s taking go from £800 to over £2500 with The Exchange.

This fun and interactive tool has been recognised by hospitality businesses globally for engaging customers, encouraging them to extend their visit, return week after week, and increase their spend per head.

Paul Neades, General Manager, Litten Tree Hereford, part of the Stonegate Pub Company tells of his experience.

Attracting cliental

“We started The Exchange on a Thursday here in Hereford when we were lucky to take £800 a night. In the past we had reduced drinks to £1.75 all night on selected products, but found this same old offer was tired and everyone else on the High Street was doing the same thing”.

Adding theatre with The Exchange

Paul continued: “I had heard of The Exchange being used in other bars and asked JDP to install the software on to my office PC and link to my video screens. My PC controls the prices, allowing you to set minimum prices for products and times for products to crash e.g. a few products per hour. This gives the customer a wow as the screens all change colour and our DJ sets of a siren, I’ve heard other bars use air horns and flashing lights for a market crash. This gives the theatre and the customers all come flooding to the bar. (You will know when the crash will be as you have set it up before starting the event.)”

Getting pricing right

“I have configured the prices so that in an average session we sell all the products at a higher selling price than if we had done a Bar175 as some items rise above the normal price, but the customers tend to swap and drink whatever is on offer. I always get my staff to ring the drinks into the till first then pour them as the price can go up while they are serving. I now take around £2500 to £3000 on the same night I was doing £800 and for the low cost it’s a hell of a lot more fun than any other promotions we have done,” said Paul.

Adding more interaction with social media

“I also now ask the customers on Facebook what they would like to see on The Exchange each week. Recently Twitter integration has been added, so it tweets customers in advance of a market crash to give them a perceived advantage to grab those bargains. We have also added pictures from Facebook to the graphics package so the customers can see themselves on the TV’s throughout the event,” Paul concluded.

JDP work with Paul as well as their other clients to provide continual support and assistance in terms of best practise and marketing advice. “The software is continually being developed with new features constantly being added. This is client driven, and as a result a more recent feature has been the link into Twitter for automated and regular marketing messages in the form of insider tips. We also cover tips and the like in the initial training session,” added Chris Dunkley, Managing Director at JDP Worldwide.

Want to find out more about The Exchange? Read our supplier insights interview.