Is Your Bar Different? Why Not?
So here’s the thing…Every bar has beer, every bar has a cute bartender and every bar is going to attract at least a few customers purely because of the first two points.
But things are changing lately. Economic challenges mean that customers think twice before going out at night. Its harder to make a buck and the first thing that gets cut in tough times is the marketing budget.
The clever bar owners make sure that their customers do their marketing for them..How? Points of difference. That’s how.
Better service, cuter bartenders and CONVERSATION POINTS! I put that last point in capitals for a reason.
Have a look around your bar and ask yourself if there is anything interesting, offbeat or quirky that will get your customers talking when they meet friends tomorrow? Or even better, that they meet Tweet or blog about.
I’ve lost count of the number of people I’ve shown these pictures to:
These are the restrooms in Betty’s Bar, Columbus, Ohio, one of the quirkiest, coolest, offbeat bars I have ever been to! And believe me when I say that the rest of the bar is as cool!
Betty’s Bar is the bar that I’ve heard talked about most while I’ve lived in Columbus and the decor has a lot to do with it. Luckily they also have great food and service to back it up. Take note Bar Owners! Let your customers do your marketing for you!
I'm Barry Chandler and I'm The Bar Blogger. I've been involved in the bar and hospitality industry for 16 years. From Bartender to Bar Manager and from Food & Beverage Controller to Small Business Owner, I have worked with more than 500 bars in the last five years to help them streamline their costs and run a more profitable business and more than 800 bars and clubs use my Management Toolkit which can be accessed at ManageYourBar.com.
Great point! When we do concept and brand development for bars, restaurants, and retailers, we call these “touch points,” and they are critical to a brand in the “experience cycle.” Bars & restaurants provide food & drinks; that’s a given. But, as most of this audience knows, they really provide an experience. That experience is generated substantially by the qualities of: the food/drink (product), the service, and the environment, and the experience should not stop once a patron walks out of the front door.
Patrons take those touch points (whether physical or experiential) with them as they leave. They then become part of the “post-experience” and are often what people discuss, blog, or tweet about. All of which, reinforce the brand. It’s more difficult to control the experience outside of your walls, so the touch points need to be clear and resonate. That way, your patrons, who are now consequent-marketers, don’t deliver a diluted message.
So when someone is coming through the doors, whether for the first time or tenth, they have an expectation that was shaped by a previous experience, and when they are in that state, it is a tremendous opportunity and advantage for successful brand reinforcement. I’ve never been to Betty’s Bar, but, now, I have a framed a conclusion of what the experience will most likely be (and I look forward to it).
Great points Jason. Thanks for taking the time to share them with us here.
Best regards,
Barry