It’s a new year of possibilities, and a great time to identify which areas in your nightclub could use some improvements. We asked several venues we work with what they’re looking to improve on in 2015, and many great answers tumbled through. But one common and surprising theme was to improve marketing efforts.
Marketing is one of the last thought-of areas in today’s nightlife landscape. While our consumers are digitally savvy and looking to be talked with through their everyday channels of communication, nightclubs are still incredibly primitive, relying on flyers and mass messaging. It comes as no surprise that this area is one that needs improvement, but it does surprise me that so many owners identified it as an area of weakness.
The best thing you can do for your marketing efforts is learn how to use marketing segmentation to your advantage. Segmentation allows you to capture the right audience at the right time with the right message – essentially leading to a higher conversion rate. So, without further ado, here are 3 ways you can improve your marketing efforts to increase your revenue through segmentation.
1. Use a CRM system
Few venues have the necessary insight on their customers to understand what niche their business falls into and what customers they need to attract to be successful. That’s where a customer relationship management (CRM) system comes into play. The best run venues work with a robust CRM system that’s tied to every area of their venue, including their point of sale system, to track customer habits. This is what we call interconnectivity, and it’s what allows a venue to uncover key information about themselves and their customers, such as:
• Your guests’ names
• How many times they’ve been to your venue
• How much money they’ve spent
• What days of the week they come into your venue
• What their most popular drink purchases are
• How many people they typically bring with them
That’s valuable information, and that’s what’s going to propel you forward in your marketing efforts.
2. Identify your audience
Before you can send any type of marketing message, you first need to identify your audience. You may have different audiences for different promotions or events, or you may have one audience you want to attract. Either way, it’s important to know which type of people you are targeting, and what type of message is going to drive them through your door. It’s not enough to have a basic understanding of only demographics. You need to discover their idea of a good party, the music they like to hear, and even the alcohol they like to drink. This is what develops your buyer persona, and is what allows you to create targeted messages that drive consumer spending.
3. Filter your audience into segments
This is where we connect the first and second steps. Because the CRM system tracks important customer activity, you’re able to segment individuals based on categories. Perhaps you want to target females who come in on Fridays, spend at least $100, bring more than 3 people with them, and typically drink vodka (because you have a vodka promotion going on). That’s easy with a segmented CRM system; it’s just a few clicks and you have your audience. Then you craft a targeted message that’s 100% relevant to their habits and send it out to them. You can even create different segments for different audiences for the same night to achieve a good ratio of people. That’s powerful marketing, and that’s what continues to drive guests into your venue.
Gone are the days where it’s acceptable to mass blast a marketing message. It’s no longer a matter of trying to capture the general nightlife population; it’s a matter of catering to your specific audience and niche, and reaching them in a personalized way that drives them to make an emotional buying decision at your venue. This is what allows you to offer the impeccable service your customers need, and is where the secret of customer loyalty lies. Segmentation and personalization is the new wave of nightlife marketing, and what gets your customers to become loyal, long-term guests.
Whitney Larson is the president and director of marketing for Vēmos. Contact her at whitney.larson@vemos.io.
