More recently, Birmingham’s bars and restaurants have started to offer deals for their customers. These range from membership offers all the way to bottomless brunch, midweek, and set-menu offers, so if you want to dine on a deal, it’s more than worth researching them.
Membership Offers
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Download the Independent Birmingham App at: https://t.co/3zXgSBOutJ to save up to £5, £10, £20, £30, even up to hundreds of pounds off (at certain venues) at 170+ of the very best independents across Birmingham and Solihull – all for just £2.99 a month or £29.90 a year 🙌 https://t.co/qVWwiOW3QN</p>— Independent Birmingham (@IndependentBham) <a href=”https://x.com/IndependentBham/status/1831669267315495012?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>September 5, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.x.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
The Independent Birmingham membership is something worth considering. For £2.99 a month, members get discounts to more than 170 independents across Birmingham and Solihull, with up to 50% off, 2-for-1 offers, and freebies, depending on the venue. At Chapter in Edgbaston, for example, members get 10% off the bill.
Bottomless Brunches
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>The Brunch Club bring an Ibiza bottomless brunch to Birmingham – featuring cocktails, Ibiza anthems, performers, fancy dress and more. 🍹🍔 More: https://t.co/CObCaXdBLV https://t.co/qzfOe3iGhE</p>— Birmingham What’s On (@WhatsOnBrum) <a href=”https://x.com/WhatsOnBrum/status/1441130251392671747?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>September 23, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.x.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
Manahatta on Temple Street probably has the best brunch deal when it comes to price and quality, at £39.95 for two hours. Alternatives include Pitcher & Piano at Brindleyplace £38.50 for two hours, Lost & Found £37.50 for two hours, Box at Brindleyplace £36.95 for 90 minutes, and The Alchemist on Colmore Row £45 for 90 minutes.
Midweek and Set-Menu Deals
Slug and Lettuce Birmingham runs Midweek Eats & Meets, one or two courses plus a drink, Monday to Friday from 4 pm to 9 pm, alongside a £20 bottle of prosecco on Fridays and 2-for-1 cocktails. These exist to fill the weekdays up, as the weekends fill themselves up naturally.
What They Can Learn From Online
Birmingham can take a lot of inspiration from how online businesses structure their deals, especially in the food and drink sector. Online businesses have a much more difficult customer acquisition process, so they’ve developed excellent deals to help lower the barrier for customers to engage with them.
Spotify, for example, gives the first month of Premium free and charges £12.99 a month thereafter. The customer tries the product at no cost, and the business only earns once they’ve decided to stay. Restaurants or bars could do something similar with a membership program, where customers can try it before committing to it.
A casino UK site does something completely different. For a £10 deposit and playthrough, new users could get awarded 150 free spins. This is like a “thank you” deal from the platform, where the customers get something extra for choosing them. Those in the food and drink sector can do something like this with extra dishes or drinks after the initial purchase.
These offers do one of two things. They lower the barrier to trying a product/service or provide something extra to entice customers to try them. That’s how those in the Birmingham food and drink sector should structure their deals, and online is a great resource to get inspiration from.
Where Birmingham’s Deals Fall Short
A lot of the deals offered in Birmingham’s food and drink sector reward the first visit, but not the revisit. A brunch is a one-off and a set menu is a one-off. As a result, if there’s one thing businesses in this sector can focus on, it’s giving people a reason to return, and how they’ll do that will depend on their products and services.