People aren’t coming to your club for your $500 bottle of vodka or your $13 drink; they’re coming for your party. Without a great party, you don’t have an audience. And without an audience, you don’t generate revenue.
The following four steps is the best recipe to driving guests into your venue.
1. Know your audience
Your audience is the number one driver of your nightclub. They’re what your business model is centered around; the reason you’re in existence. The better people you have in your club, the better party you create. But to get the best people in your door, you first have to know which type of people you want to attract and thereby represent your club. 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, the alcohol they like to drink, and even the servers they prefer. Do your research and know that there’s no shame in denying those that don’t fit your criteria.
2. Check your fundamentals
The fundamentals of an establishment oftentimes get overlooked. This means your venue is set up in a way that makes sense, your bathrooms are clean, you have welcoming décor, your club feels safe and secure, and you have adequate staff in place – meaning you have the right people in the right place and have the right number of people working on any given night. Too often, we see all the hard work put into creating a party undermined by understaffing issues. Guests should have a drink in their hands at all times, not waiting for a half an hour to get one. While it may sound expensive to have adequate staff, it’s even more costly to understaff. Every second a guest is waiting for a drink is a dollar you’re not taking to the bank. And if they wait long enough, it may turn into thousands.
3. Create a marketing strategy
Once you’ve defined your audience and put your fundamentals in place, you can start to spread the word. It’s much easier to market and promote your venue when you know exactly whom you’re trying to reach. The best strategy is to always keep your customers informed while maintaining a clear and consistent message in all your efforts. Use a multi-channel strategy to get the word out, such as a combination of text-message marketing, printed collateral, email updates, and social media. Just using one channel will not do. Diversify your efforts, track returns, and adjust focus based on results.
4. Get the word out
A customer relationship management (CRM) system goes a long way in ensuring you’re reaching the right people at the right time. Because the CRM System tracks important customer activity, such as when they come to your club, how much they spend, what they drink, and how many people they bring with them, you’re able to send more targeted, personal and relevant messages to individual guests. This means you’re able to use filter to segment your customers into specific targeted audiences, which in turn means each audience gets messages that are 100% relevant to their habits. That’s powerful marketing, and that’s what continues to drive guests into your venue.
Whitney Johnson is the global director of marketing for BookBottles. Contact her at whitney.johnson@bookbottles.com.
