When Trevor Harris first opened the doors of Derby's historic Royal Standard, he wondered what he had taken on.

Rubble was strewn everywhere and the signs of decay in the derelict pub were clear for all to see.

But Trevor knew exactly what he needed to do to transform the pub – after all, he had previously restored the Brunswick Inn, in Railway Terrace, during the 1980s, turning it into an award-winning ale house.

And he was determined to take on the Royal Standard because he believes the pub trade has a strong future – as long as landlords listen to what their customers really want.

The 57-year-old said: "At my time in life I should be looking to put my feet up, not buy, refit and open a new pub.

"But the Royal Standard had been shut for nearly two years and every time I drove past it, it seemed to cry out to me."

In June, the pub was re-launched as The Brewery Tap – Derby's Royal Standard and Trevor is now sharing the workload of running it with his son, Paul.

Trevor said: "Securing the Royal Standard was mainly down to the hard work that Paul put in.

"Now we are up and running, the customers have, thankfully, been flooding in.

"We are offering them something different and I believe that is why we've started so well."

One quirky and unique touch on offer at the pub is The Rack – a chance to taste local ales and cheeses. Customers can select five one-third pints of real ale, which are accompanied by a bowl of locally-sourced cheese.

It is proving extremely popular.

Trevor said: "You need to constantly come up with ideas such as this to succeed.

"I think that in the future pubs will end up being smaller, with specialist people deciding to brew their own beers on-site.

"I walk into the larger chain pubs and they are just identikits of each other, even down to the furniture. It is so depressing.

"The key thing is that it is people that make pubs.

"It's nice to present someone with a good beer and make them smile.

"If you keep your customers happy then they come back and bring people with them. Things like that are the key to success, which a lot of people lose track of.

"The whole trade is a very hard slog and you need to be willing to put the work in."

In 2004, Trevor launched Derby Brewing Company to create his own beer. It started out as a hobby but he has now had to take on another brewer because demand for his unique ales has gone through the roof.

He said this proved there was a strong market for the right products, adding that despite the current crisis in the pub trade he had lost none of his enthusiasm for the industry in which he has worked for more than 30 years.

He said: "I walk into the brewery and the atmosphere is always fabulous.

"I had the Brunswick for more than 10 years and I still walk in there now as a customer and I love it in there still.

"There are a lot of good people out there putting the effort in and not getting the rewards.

"What the future holds I don't know, but I do believe that sadly there will be fewer pubs.

"You have to look at different options and speak to your customers to see what they want, and if what you are doing is not working then you have to change it.

"You have to provide people with something that is a little different, but there is no easy solution."

Another publican who believes strongly in giving customers what they want is Richard Pope, who took over the Bulls Head in Repton 18 months ago.

"I continually strive to improve while offering my customers something that none of my competitors can," he said.

Regulars have seen the alehouse radically transformed with a £600,000 refit. It is now a place where diners flock from miles around to sample a menu that is the envy of the region.

Richard, 42, employs eight chefs. His head chef spent years honing his skills at the Savoy in London and worked alongside Gary Rhodes.

He said: "A lot of money has been invested and by putting an individual touch here, people remember that.

"I have a wine list that starts at £10 and ends at £500 for a bottle. I sell the best coffee and the best cognac in the area, with a measure costing £60.

"I have probably done 50 individual little things here that no-one else is doing and if customers leave remembering two of them, then they will pass it on to their friends.

"These things are what makes us stick out from the crowd."

The 200-year-old pub, in High Street, Repton, reopened its doors in 2007 after being closed for two years.

According to Richard, trade is very good and he is "way over projected figures" in his business plan.

He said: "On October 5, I am in the final four of the Excellence Award for Best Pub in the East Midlands.

"To reach that accolade in less than two years is nothing short of fantastic.

"Making yourself stand out from the crowd and offering customers the best products and service is what I set out to do, and I am managing to achieve that."

Richard said he was measuring the improvement in his restaurant through another individual touch, comment cards in the form of casino chips.

He said: "At the end of each meal, our customers are given two casino chips, one for food and one for service.

"They are asked to place each in one of five boxes at the exit, starting at poor and finishing at excellent. At the end of each night when the pub closes we tip out the boxes to see the results. It's pleasing to see that positive comments for both have risen by more than 20% since we started."

Another Derbyshire pub which has stayed successful despite the trade crisis is the Sycamore Inn, in Parwich.

It scooped two gongs at this year's Great British Pub Awards, for East and West Midlands Pub of the Year and Community Pub of the Year.

Janet Gosling, who has run the pub for eight years, said the business had stayed central to the village community.

In March, she and her partner, Stephen Conway, opened a shop in the pub, selling vegetables, newspapers and household goods.

The Sycamore also offers entertainment, including quiz nights, darts and pool.

Miss Gosling, 31, said: "When the old village shop closed people came to us to see whether we could open one in the building. I've lived in Parwich all my life and I worked at the pub part-time before I took over so I'd like to think I know what the people want."

The Sycamore Inn is the only pub in the village, apart from the British Legion, and Miss Gosling said this gave the business even greater importance.

She said: "I know that some pubs around the country are having problems but one way to help the situation can be to stay close to your community."