Published on 23/10/2020 by Any Business.Com.Au

Bar and Night Club Marketing Strategies

Get Your Bar the Attention It Deserves with a Killer Marketing Strategy

Once you've finished sourcing the craft beers, writing your cocktail menu, hiring new staff, applying for permits and licenses, and refreshing the décor, it's time to open your bar doors!But without a good marketing strategy it's unlikely new customers will come rushing in once your bar is open.A good marketing plan will help you identify your customers and your business goals and values. And that will help you find what strategies will work best to get customers through the door again and again.If you have no idea where to start with your marketing don't panic. We've compiled this comprehensive guide for marketing your bar to get it pumping!

Get your strategy in order

Before you jump into trying lots of different tactics and marketing activities, it's essential you have a marketing strategy in place. Your strategy will form the basis of the direction you take your marketing in, and will help you target your key customer groups, as well as give you a better understanding of where your business sits on the market and with its competitors.If you have no idea what goes into the strategy, you don't need to start from scratch. The in-depth downloadable template from the Business.gov.au website will guide you through everything you need to include in your strategy.Knowledge is one of the most important parts of your strategy, so you'll need to allocate time to researching your competitors, the demographics of the people in your area, the type of customers you'd like to attract and how to attract them. One of the best ways to do this is to get out and about in the night life in your area. Visit bars and clubs with a similar feel to your vision. Check out their promotional materials, from their signage to menus and posters. Note their customers and how they interact with the bar staff and each other.It's also a good idea to check out the online profiles of your competitors, including their websites and social media pages. Look for indicators of high interaction such as likes, comments and shares and see what kind of content is creating discussion.You can also try creating and distributing surveys in the local area and gauge the responses you receive. Once you know your target market and your competitors well, you will be able to make more informed decisions about the marketing tactics you can use to attract customers.

Create an online presence

Give your bar an online voice by investing in a website and creating social media profiles to complement it. A good website is essential, so it's worth the investment in buying a domain and hiring a developer to put it all together.Your website doesn't need to be complex; a simple eye-catching layout should provide all the details about your location, opening times, menus, events and contact details to give potential customers all the information they need. If you plan on hosting private functions in your bar, include a page with a summary of your function options and pricing.Set up a Facebook page, Twitter and Instagram account for your business. Having a social media presence will allow your customers to talk about your business, "check in" on Facebook, or tag and mention you across all platforms, letting their friends and contacts know they visited.A social media presence will also allow you to publicise upcoming events, connect with other people in the community, and share photos of your customers enjoying your bar!Check out these platform specific guides to social media for business:FacebookTwitterInstagramGoogle +LinkedIn

Become a part of the community

One of the best ways to generate 'buzz' about your bar is to get involved with the local community and support local artists, musicians or sports clubs.Research into the type of 'creatives' in your area and try curating an art exhibition or inviting local up-and-coming musicians to play live in your bar. Chances are they'll bring large groups of their friends and families. Plus promoting gigs through your social media profiles and more traditional channels will help you build a reputation as a supporter of the local arts scene.If you're going for more of a sports bar vibe, get in touch with local AFL, cricket, rugby, soccer and netball clubs and offer to help with hosting events or providing sponsorships. Giving the local clubs special deals on food and drink is a great way to get entire teams of people into your bar for post-game or end-of-season celebrations!

Promote to local businesses

If you want to become a preferred location for after-work drinks, talk to local businesses. Offer special happy hour promotions to every office and small business within walking distance of your bar – this is a great way to get people through the door and fill the bar up.Even if you choose not to specifically target local businesses, a well-advertised happy hour will get people to come in and try your bar. Use signage outside your bar and social media posts to tell people about your happy hour.

Talk to local media

If you're hosting unique events or you have a great background story about your bar, don't be afraid to contact the media and pitch it to them. A simple phone call to your local paper can start the ball rolling, but make sure you have a short 200 to 300 word write up about your event or story ready to go if you need to email information.Don't be discouraged if you're pushed back the first few times, stay persistent and work on creating a unique profile in the community and eventually your story will be picked up! Relevant online publications such as The Urban List, Broadsheet or Pedestrian.TV are also great places to pitch your story to!Remember, your first few attempts at marketing may not be successful, and nothing will just happen overnight, so be patient, work hard and continue to research, review and revise your strategy to find out what works for your business and your customer.

Ready to Buy?

If you're confident you can move on to the next step in your career, start search for bar businesses for sale in your area today.To learn more about owning a bar, check out the following articles:Australian Bar Licences and Permits You Will NeedTop Australian Bar and Licensed Venue Industry Bodies You Should Know AboutBuild Your Team: Hiring and Managing Bar Staff

AnyBusiness.com.au

Mary is the founder of AnyBusiness.com.au. She has a degree in Business from Monash University and been helping showcase businesses for sale for over 10 years. In the course of running her own business and working daily with business owners and brokers she has developed a keen sense of the Australian market for businesses for sale and shares her knowledge on this blog and others such as female.com.au

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