As many fellow beer loving friends of mine will attest, I’ve been known to imbibe on occasion with a craft beer. Some will say I’m a dedicated fan to the local craft brew industry. How so? Every time I visit a local restaurant, pub, or tavern, my first glance is to the tap handles to see which fresh beers they have available. Seasonal, import, domestic, nitrogen carbonated, or craft, the best way to determine what to drink is to peruse the selection yourself upon arrival.

Why go through the effort to pass through the bar prior to grabbing a table? Because nine times out of ten, the server doesn’t recall the current selection, or, rattles it off with such speed you need a rewind button to remember what the options are. To make matters worse, many places don’t bother to have a beer list available to customers on the tables. (Is there an app for that?)

Does this all matter? You bet it does. Like many customers, when I arrive with cash in hand, I’m most likely going to be considering ordering a beer and I don’t want to have to play a guessing game with the server to pick one.

With that said, how does your place promote current seasonal beers, locally brewed ones and new tap products? Are you informing customers of their options or relying on peoples memories and past preferences to dictate what they’ll drink today?

The power of suggestion is an awesome tool. Are you using it?

Duane Drzadinski is a marketing professional, father and social media enthusiast. Connect with him and continue the conversation on Twitter and LinkedIn.