Society is easily influenced. People are naturally conditioned to act and appear in ways they deem acceptable from media, whether mass media or social. You have this media-like power, and you can get your customers to do what you want — from dress code to reservations — without them realizing it.
Think about it: everyday, people are influenced by advertising on what to wear, eat, and even where to go. It all comes down to messaging and striking the right emotional cord. Your branding and advertising must tell the story of what’s to come, giving your guests a peak into what they can expect. The key is to define your brand and your message, and then consistently deliver it to customers across all platforms. Here’s how to do exactly that.
1. Know Your Audience
First things first: identify your audience. It’ll be hard to train your customers without first knowing who they are and how they operate. Go beyond the simple demographic information, and discover what their idea of a good party is, the music they like to hear, the alcohol they like to drink, and the experience they expect. This information dictates the tone of your messages and helps to determine which emotions will be best for you to target.
2. Create Your Brand
Many venues don’t consider their brand, but it’s one of the most important parts of setting up your business. People connect with venues that have a focused style, and that style is your brand image. It’s what aligns customer expectation with customer experience. Define your vision, create the essence you want your customers to experience, and design everything – from your logo to your interior – around these items.
3. Establish Your Message
Your messaging needs to be in line with your brand as well as your audience, and should carry a sense of personality and spirit. All of your messaging must tell the same story and should be presented in a way that drives your customers to your desired action. Use action verbs and be confident in your messages. You don’t want your customers to simply consider what you’re saying; you want them to have no choice but to agree with you. Images oftentimes speak louder than words, so use images in tandem with your content. Show images of people interacting in your venue dressed the way you want on your website, social posts, and ads. This tells your guests how they should dress to join the party. Then, at the venue, enforce this dress code to ensure their experience is what you proposed.
4. Be Consistent
Consistency is what drives success. Your written messages, images, delivered experience, and brand all need to be aligned in order for this to work. Moreover, the platforms on which you present this information must also be consistent, from social media to how your staff describes the venue to their friends. This is how you condition and ultimately train your guests. Use the same message no matter where you’re communicating, and always deliver on that promise.
Whitney Larson is the president and director of marketing at Vēmos. Contact her at whitney.larson@vemos.io or fill out the form below.
