Win an Ellickson Draft Table for your Bar
We’ve reported a lot on this site about how technology is changing the landscape for bars and restaurants everywhere. Most of this reporting has been along the lines of how social media can be used to drive business. What we haven’t covered as much are the technological changes that are taking place right in the bar.
One such change is the arrival of the Ellickson Draft Table. I first came across this table in bars and Ireland when Diageo purchased a significant number of tables for bars across the country. They’ve since made their way across the pond and are finding their way into bars across the US.
What’s most exciting in my opinion is how easily these tables can drive revenue around an existing product – beer, by introducing an elevated customer experience. I’ve long been preaching about the fact that nobody comes to your bar just because you sell beer, they come because of the experience.
We recently started working with Ellickson USA to assist with their marketing efforts and have been astounded at just how much attention these tables have generated among bar owners.
To celebrate the fact that they are now approaching having 200 tables installed across the USA, I have managed to persuade them to give one lucky reader of TheBarBlogger.com a free draft table for their bar for four months!
Some locations have reported sales of $15,000/month per table which would be a nice chunk of additional revenue for any bar owner to take in! They have also guaranteed that the winner will have this table in place by March 15th, just in time for St. Patrick’s Day.
All you have to do to be in with a chance is click the Enter button below. Good luck!
Bar changes name for Super Bowl
Here’s a nice little marketing/PR story in advance of Sunday’s big game:
Those of you who follow American football are aware that the New York Giants are playing the New England Patriots in this year’s Super Bowl. Even if you aren’t much of a sports fan you probably have heard of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
(Hint: He’s the guy you’ve seen standing next to Gisele wearing the Uggs.)
Not surprisingly, Upper East Side watering hole Brady’s (named after the owner) is also keenly aware of the best player on the team opposing its beloved Giants this weekend. And they’ve noticed his last name. In a rather ingenious marketing ploy, Brady’s decided to do something about the unfortunate coincidence.
Normally, the front of Brady’s looks like this:
But for the weekend of the Super Bowl, the bar is renaming itself in honor of Eli Manning, the Giants quarterback who will be opposing Tom Brady. For the next three days the bar will be known as Manning’s.
To complete the change, the bar gave itself a facelift on Friday:
It’s a neat piece of community engagement that seemed to resonate with the locals almost immediately. Quotes from this DNAinfo piece included:
“It’s amped up. I like it!”
“I think it’s hysterical. It’s great. It’s very smart and clever.”
Another nice boost is that Mayor Bloomberg was scheduled to make an appearance Friday to help with the unveiling.
But most important is that Brady’s made a point to connect with its neighborhood and make itself a topic of conversation leading up to a potentially lucrative weekend. With media outlets looking for reporting angles prior to the game, it was a move almost sure to grab the free publicity that goes along with TV/newspaper/internet attention.
A twitter miss from McDonald’s
By now you’ve probably heard about the, um, difficulty the world’s biggest fast food brand had during a recent stab at targeting a new Twitter hashtag. We’re big proponents of bars and restaurants making use of hashtags whenever possible, but the recent McDonald’s fiasco illustrates that social media is done well only when it’s done right.
In case you missed the story, here’s a quick rundown. Last week McDonald’s unveiled a promoted hashtag it hoped would get Twitter users telling positive experiences at the restaurant. They called it #McDStories.
But instead of sharing warm and fuzzy memories of time spent enjoying Big Macs and McRibs, Twitter users began flooding the stream with negative tweets.
Webinar: 10 Ways to Attract & Influence New Customers in 2012 Using Social Media
Date: Tuesday January 31st at 2pm EST, 7pm UK/Ireland
Duration: 1 hour approx.
Registration Link: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/414312784
Location: Online
Cost: Free
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If there’s one thing we all want in our businesses, it’s more customers. Bars, Restaurants, Cafes, Hotels and Catering Companies will all clamor for more customers in 2012 and will spend vast sums of money in their efforts to fill those seats.
I understand, yet 1000s of businesses will close their doors this year unable to keep up with increased competition, higher rents, lower customer numbers, less disposable incomes, more choice than ever for customers and less return on advertising dollars than ever before.
In fact, only 14% of consumers now trust traditional forms of advertising such as TV, Radio, Newspapers and Magazines when it comes to making a dining decision or trying a new establishment.
So what influences customers and what makes them take action? Customers still dine out, still try new restaurants and bars and still spend their disposable income outside of the home.
Research shows us that 78% of us now make our purchasing decisions based on peer recommendations. That is the opinions and feedback of friends, coworkers and relatives. And where do we get this information from them? Where do they share this information? Increasingly its on Social Media.
So with this in mind, it makes sense to focus our efforts on attracting more customers through these channels. More customers who leave reviews, become our fans, take pictures, tweet about an experience, invite their friends to do the same, constantly influencing their circle of contacts while helping us reduce our advertising costs.
In this webinar, we are going to detail 10 ways you can use social media tools like Facebook, Twitter & Review Sites in 2012 to attract and influence new customers.
Barry Chandler, founder of Interactive Hospitality and best knows The Bar Blogger will showcase how bars and restaurants are successfully using social tools to grow an online following and a customer base that turns up at the door with their cash in their hands.
He will look at what platforms you should be set up on based on where your customers are, what content they want to see, what makes customers take action, how local businesses can help you, and how doing so can change how your business attracts and keeps customers that continue to influence their friends long after they first dine with you.
There has never been a more important time to understand what this staggering growth in social media means to our bars and restaurants. Never has there been a more important time to understand how to leverage this potential and start filling seats today.
Only those registered live for this event will be able to ask questions directly to Barry as well as be the first to learn about his new coaching program that will be opened up to 10 businesses for less than the price of a cup of coffee every day.
You won’t want to miss this live event. If you take away one idea that gives you the edge over your competitors or helps you attract even a single new customer it will be an hour well spent.
Don’t take my word for it, have a look at what some of our past webinar attendees had to say:
“This was a great webinar as it shed light on several ways to execute on social media. It helps a small pub like ours find ways to target specific markets, people, etc. Thank you and keep up the great work.” -Caven Boggess
“I work for a food distributor and work directly with customers who are always asking questions in regards to social media…this is by far the BEST information I’ve received. It has been very great in directly relating to bars and restaurants. Thank you! I will be following you in the future!” -Becky Fleming
“I am so happy that I clicked on your ad to listen to this webinar. It has been so helpful. Very nice webinar. Will keep in touch for sure. I will now customize my FB page, unlink my twitter with my FB and always create more engaging posts and some new promotion ideas. Thank you.” -Carolyn Sullivan
“It answers a lot of questions about why I’m not getting sales from Facebook.” -Brenda Flinn
“In the planning stages so this was VERY helpful and informative. Thank you!!!” -Susanna McCarthy
“You gave us some great ideas. Thanks Barry.” -Bryan Hofmann
“Great seminar Barry! I really enjoyed it because of all the tips that you had for promotions, exactly how to carry out the promotions, and the fun tools that you use to get the job done!” -Lori Rubenstein
“Thanks Barry. The way you use facebook is fantastic. I particularly found the examples useful.” -Ian Allan
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Date: Tuesday January 31st at 2pm EST, 7pm UK/Ireland
Duration: 1 hour approx.
Registration Link: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/414312784
Location: Online
Cost: Free
Atlanta restaurant demonstrates the wrong way to use social media
The appropriately-named Boners BBQ recently conducted a clinic on the worst possible way to handle social media as part of a bar or restaurant’s advertising/marketing efforts.
When owner Andrew Capron discovered customer Stephanie Stuck had left a less-than-positive review of his establishment on Yelp – Stuck called the food “tepid,” the flavors “odd to bland” and the atmosphere “a bit lackluster” – he responded by going on his restaurant’s Facebook page and unleashing an obscenity-riddled tirade.
Capron posted a picture of Stuck he found on her Facebook page and advised other restaurant owners that if they find her in their establishment they should “tell her to go outside and play hide and go f$#% yourself.” He also called her a name that rhymes with stitch.
Not surprisingly to those of us who know a little something about social media, the response blew up in the face of both Capron and his BBQ joint.
Initially Capron faced a backlash of fans who did not agree with the tactic of calling out Suck so publicly. Boners took the post down by the end of the day. But that didn’t stop word of Capron’s behavior from making its way across multiple social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter.
Capron ended up issuing a Facebook apology that included the offer of a free meal. But that didn’t stop the story from going viral, drawing negative publicity from outlets ranging from ABCNews.com to Huffington Post to the New York Daily News.
Stuck told her story to all manner of media and in almost every instance the restaurant came across looking like a mean-spirited bully. Emotional and ill-advised as it was, Capron’s response to negative feedback further illustrates a point about social media we’ve been making in this space for some time.
Had Boners jumped on Yelp and/or Facebook and sounded genuinely concerned one of its customers wasn’t completely satisfied, public sentiment would have swayed towards the restaurant. Even those who might have been swayed by Stuck’s assessment would have been impressed that Boners cared so much about every person who walked through its doors – even the ones who make their displeasure public.
Not only did Boners fail the cardinal rule by not taking advantage of an opportunity, but it doubled down by creating a situation that didn’t need to exist: Bad review on Yelp (deserved or not) = bad. National news story where your establishment comes off looking evil = worse.
Social Media Review: City Tavern – Ft. Myers, Florida
This is the first in a new video series where we take a close look at the social media efforts of a bar or restaurant. First up is City Tavern in Ft. Myers. Enjoy!
If you have questions for Barry you can contact him at barry@thebarblogger.com. More information can be found at Interactive Hospitality’s website.
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About Barry Chandler
Barry Chandler works with bars and restaurants to bring more customers in the door through effective use of social media, online tools and customer engagement.
Since 2004, more than 2500 bars, restaurants and hotels have used his tools and services to improve their bottom line.
TheBarBlogger.com contains daily tips and strategies to grow a profitable hospitality business.
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Attract more customers with Social Media
