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.

]]> http://www.thebarblogger.com/nyc-bar-changes-name-for-super-bowl/feed/ 0 http://www.thebarblogger.com/stop-running-a-dead-foursquare-deal/ http://www.thebarblogger.com/stop-running-a-dead-foursquare-deal/#comments Tue, 22 Nov 2011 20:38:12 +0000 ianmara http://www.thebarblogger.com/?p=2613

“Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

It is a quote applicable to many things, one of which is making the best use of social media within your restaurant’s marking efforts.

We occasionally come across clients who seem surprised they’ve been having difficulty getting traction with a promotion on one of their social media platforms. That is particularly true with Foursquare. Owners will be confused as to why a promotion they’ve connected to a check-in isn’t generating the kind of interest they’d hoped for.

Here’s the cold, hard truth: just because you are on Foursquare and have an offer out there doesn’t necessarily mean you’re effectively harnessing the service. Leaving the same “dead deal” on the table isn’t going to get you anywhere.

The phrase “Build it and they will come” will not get you anywhere with online promotion.

The most important factor when considering a Foursquare is self-awareness.

Who are you? What do you do well? Why do customers frequent your establishment? If you are primarily a watering hole, offering a big discount off a large food tab probably won’t get you anywhere. If you’re a spot for hot wings, a soup/salad special is probably not going to move the meter.

You are intimately familiar with what patrons love best about you. So try and give the Foursquare user a taste of what keeps those regulars coming back.

If you put a deal out there and see unlocked items that aren’t being redeemed, or deals that are viewed but not unlocked, think about making tweaks to the offer or playing around with a different idea. It’s possible that users in your area aren’t interested in that particular special. Sometimes the issue is that an offer isn’t lucrative enough to attract attention. Make sure to ask yourself “What’s in it for me?” since that is exactly the criteria customers will use to decide whether to check-in or unlock.

Also, make sure to take advantage of the built-in (and free) tracking ability of Foursquare. Foursquare has a “Merchant Dashboard” which gives you information that includes the number of check-in during a given period, your most frequent visitors and a gender breakdown of your customers.

You’re doing yourself a disservice if you don’t monitor how the promotion is resonating.

A business must work hard to make a special work, as customers who claim deals are likely to report their experience to friends. The beauty of the digital age is that we are almost always provided the ability to pivot very quickly.

There are definitely common traits shared by the best Facebook fan pages. They look good, are filled with useful information and provide an opportunity for the business to interact with its customers. In no particular order, here are a few fan pages we think those of you in the industry should take a close look at:

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P.F. Changs

Why we like it: Eye-catching tab graphics, effective use of tabs, consistent fan interaction.

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Hooters

Why we like it: Use of videos, strong call to action with specials, fan interaction.

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Hubbard Grille

Why we like it: Tab usage, pictures.

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Morton’s

Why we like it: Customer feedback tab, image quality.

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Brasserie Sixty6 (Dublin, Ireland)

Why we like it: Strong call to action, integration with other social media outlets, videos.

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Benihana

Why we like it: Social component of promotions (submit picture for chance to win gift certificate), entertaining use of tabs, interaction with fans.

Conclusion: Spending some time with the better pages on Facebook is a good way to remind yourself what you should be doing with your business on the site. Even if you don’t have budget for elite graphics and dedicated personnel to operate the page, there are similar characteristics shared by the businesses that “get it” on Facebook.

With summer in the rear view mirror, it’s time to turn your promotional attention to the fall season. There are no times of the year without season-specific opportunities and autumn is no different.

Here are a few ideas to consider as you schedule your bar’s calendar of events for the upcoming weeks and months:

Halloween Haunted House The “biggie” of the fall season, Halloween’s costume and decoration components seem almost  perfectly suited for bar culture. Decorating your entire building helps set create a festive environment.

Suggestions: If allowed by local law, try and sell discounted multi-drink tickets. This will help lock people in for the evening. Make sure to go all-out — UV lighting, spider webs, low lighting, special cocktails. Decorate the exterior at least a week in advance to remind passers-by that something is happening at your bar.

American Beer Day (Oct. 27) Do we even have to tell you why this is a good one? Though ABD isn’t exactly the most widely-known of holidays, it’s an easy one for those of you with liquor licenses to take advantage of.

Suggestions: Use this opportunities to highlight lesser-known beers or options made by micro breweries. Make sure and allow guests to sample what you have on tap so they’re comfortable with ordering something new. Play up the patriotism component of the holiday’s name — grill some meat, fly flags and set off a few fireworks.

Daylight Savings (Nov. 6) “Falling back” each year means less daylight and more sleep. For your bar it also means an extra hour of service that night and a great chance for promotion.

Suggestions: Come up with a signature drink, perhaps tying it somehow to 60 minutes or an hour. You could have specials or activities of some kind during that extra hour.

Thanksgiving (Nov. 24) Though the Thanksgiving holiday is closely tied to family gatherings, the four-day weekend means visitors from out of town have several chances to head out for a night of celebration. If you’re open Thanksgiving Day itself you may get some business from those without visiting family, but the evenings surrounding the holiday should be ripe for big business.

Suggestions: See if local businesses are interested in thanking (see what we did there?) their employees and might want to host a party at your bar. Stock up on cider and pumpkin pie. This is a good chance to give back to the community by donating turkeys to the needy. Bars outside of the U.S. can use this is as a way to reach out to American expats in the community.

Due to the great response to our last webinar on Facebook Strategies, (see below) which was attended by almost 400 bar and restaurant owners, we have put together a similar webinar focused on Twitter strategies that bars and restaurants can easily use to attract more customers and build loyalty among their current customer base:

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Join Barry Chandler, founder of Interactive Hospitality and TheBarBlogger.com for an online training experience designed to help bar & restaurant owners attract more customers by leveraging proven strategies on Twitter.

Date: Monday October 3rd 2pm EST, 7pm London/Dublin time

Space is limited.

Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/818241121

Over the course of an hour or so, he will demonstrate in depth:

1. An overview of Twitter and what it means to bars & restaurants
2. Understanding the Twitter language, terms and commands
3. How to know if Twitter is being used in your town or by your customers
4. How to add twitter into your current marketing strategies
5. How to grow your Twitter following
6. How to leverage Twitter to see what your competitor’s customers are saying about them
7. What content to post, when to post it and how often to post it
8. How to attract new customers in the door using simple twitter strategies
9. How to use Twitter to improve your customer service
10. How to use Twitter to resolve complaints through Twitter
11. How to leverage Twitter to allow you proved amazing customer experiences: the WOW factor
12. How to track & Analyze your success with Twitter
13. What tools to use to manage Twitter most efficiently in your bar/restaurant

    Much much more…

Barry will also answer all of your questions during this live online event. You’ll be able to see Barry’s computer screen as he demonstrates different examples and covers each point in depth.

All you need is a computer with speakers to watch and listen or if you just want to hear the audio, you’ll be able to call-in and listen too.

Space is limited.

Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/818241121

Feedback from previous webinars:

Join Barry Chandler, founder of Interactive Hospitality and TheBarBlogger.com for an online training experience designed to help bar & restaurant owners attract more customers by leveraging proven strategies on Facebook.

When: Tue, Sep 6, 2011 at 2:00 PM EST
Where: Online
Over the course of an hour or so, Barry will explain in depth:

1. How to layout your Facebook Page for maximum engagement and interaction
2. What Facebook Tabs to add to your page and why
3. How to collect your Facebook Fan’s email addresses as well as their “Like”
4. How to get customers back onto the bar and restaurant as a result of your Facebook efforts.
5. How to track which of your customers have visited because of Facebook
6. What content to post, when to post it and how often to post it.
7. How to “leverage” other Facebook Pages in your area and attract their fans too.
8. How to benefit from customers “checking-in” on Facebook at your venue.

Much much more…

Barry will also answer all of your questions during this live online event. You’ll be able to see Barry’s computer screen as he demonstrates different examples and covers each point in depth.

All attendees will receive a copy of Barry’s report: “33 Content Ideas & Tips for engaging your Fans on Facebook”.

All you need is a computer with speakers to watch and listen or if you just want to hear the audio, you’ll be able to call-in and listen too.

Click here to register now

From time to time in this space we will highlight work we are doing with clients as we utilize social media to generate more business. We hope it provides a sense for what can be achieved when tools such as Facebook, Twitter sand Foursquare are in the right hands.

Restaurant and grille Adobe Gilas is a small chain with two locations in Ohio; one in Dayton and another in one of suburban Columbus’ biggest shopping draws, Easton Town Center. It has a Mexican-infused menu and places heavy emphasis on happy hour, cocktails and a party atmosphere.

For years both of the Ohio locations have been rather well established offline. Recently they approached us hoping to grow that brand online by making use of social media. In less than a year Adobe Gilas has become a serious digital participant, very quickly doing some of the right things to engage customers in what was for them a new medium.

Here a few examples of what Adobe Gilas has been doing in recent months to expand its presence on the web.

Social Networking Party As the name suggests, Adobe Gilas put together an event with an eye to its online community.  The evening was one specific night out, strategically planned to take place simultaneously at all of the locations.

The principle was a simple one: Like every business, Adobe Gilas has customers who walk through the door unaware of its social media efforts. This was a night to both honor the online community and “educate” the offline customer base about what they were missing.

Each location projected a Twitter feed on the wall, allowing customers to write messages containing Adobe Gilas and view them with their friends. There were giveaways and drawings for those who that night checked-in on Foursquare or became Facebook friends for the first time.

A particularly popular component was having servers wear t-shirts emblazoned with a QR (quick response) code to become a Facebook friend. Hold your smart phone up to the shirt and – presto! – you’re a fan of Adobe Gilas. Connecting personal interaction with staff and the inherent fun of technology proved to be a big hit.

Another place where Adobe Gilas shined was in marketing the event. They took pictures of their employees holding signs promoting the event and posted them on their Facebook page. This brought a visual component into play, targeting the eye in a process than can occasionally get dry with exclusive use of text.

Fan questions Here at Interactive Hospitality we talk quite a bit about the conversational component of social media – i.e. you’re speaking with the customer instead of talking at them. To that end Adobe Gilas has been making a point to post questions to their Facebook fans. One that have answers.

Something as simple as “If you could drink only one beverage for the rest of your life, what would be?” begs for response from a bored 9to5er.

It’s a way to get customers spending a few additional seconds of their lives thinking about your brand, even if you aren’t talking about yourself. They will begin to feel that interacting with the restaurant is a part of their daily routine.

Adobe Gilas is winning here because they have gotten off the bench and gotten their hands dirty (so to speak). They’ve taken steps to connect with more clients through social media, then once they are in the fold they make sure not to forget about them.

Interactive Hospitality accepts 10 new clients each month. Not every business is a fit, but if you’re passionate about your business and your customers, you could join the growing list of customers taking their business to the next level. You can apply for a spot here.

The Big Bar & Grill is located in Columbus on the campus of The Ohio State University. It is a popular watering hole nestled in prime real estate near the university’s athletic facilities, off-campus student communities and surprisingly affordable tattoo parlors.

In the past year we’ve worked with the The Big Bar to make sure its management takes advantage of the fact its primary customer base – the under-30 crowd – lives and breathes smart phones and social media. With that it mind, here are a few of the strategies we’ve helped them undertake:

A SIBLING RIVALRY

To capitalize on this year’s Super Bowl we devised a faux rivalry with The Big Bar’s sister restaurant (same ownership), The Little Bar. The Big Bar supported the Packers, with the The Little Bar taking the Steelers.

The plan was for The Little Bar to take digs at The Big Bar, chiding it for backing the Packers in an area with a healthy population of Steelers fans. Like so:

Along with the obvious opportunity for cross-promotion, this helped facilitate discussion from customers. Facebook fans of both locations who were rooting for and against the teams involved found themselves motivated to put in their two cents.

TICKET GIVEAWAY

We created a custom welcome tab that each month offered a pair of free Cleveland Cavaliers tickets to one of The Big Bar’s Facebook fans. The contest took place over three months early this year:

The bar selected a different winner each month, then made sure to document the ticket presentation and post the picture on its page for the rest of its fans to see. This allowed The Big Bar to engage customers before, during and after the promotion.

VIP PARTY

With college out of session, the summer season is traditionally a slower one for The Big Bar. To generate more business we created a ‘VIP Party’ promotion that took place each week during June and July:

The idea was that fans entered details into a custom Facebook form. Each week a winner was picked and The Big Bar contacted the winner to help them pick a night for the party. The prize was a free tab for them (up to $100) and 50 percent off for their friends.

The goal was to bring large groups in the door on a regular basis. The winners were allowed to include up to 50 friends in their party, meaning the bar was able to attract acquaintances of regulars who in some cases were brand new customers.

The danger with social media is boring your customers to tears by simply telling them your happy hour specials each today. The Big Bar is taking the next step, expanding and customizing in order to provide a more exciting experience. It is the most effective way to leverage social marketing into getting live bodies through the door.

Interactive Hospitality accepts 10 new clients each month. Not every business is a fit, but if you’re passionate about your business and your customers, you could join the growing list of customers taking their business to the next level. You can apply for a spot here.

Short of a game-winning sports moment on the big screen or bar brawl, few things get groups of people in a watering hole more engaged than a trivia competition. Most of us have a healthy competitive streak and the combination of little alcohol and a lot of desire to impress/beat your friends can make for a memorable night out. Not to mention that a quiz night can the best way to turn your slowest night into a regularly packed house.

But the question remains: How exactly do we go about creating a trivia environment best suited to bring in your particular customer base? Here are a few tips that should get you started in the right direction.

Getting an audience Your assistant manager is going to feel silly in her matching “Quiz Master” hat/shirt if you aren’t able to build and maintain a base of participants. Since just about everybody loves trivia (even some who don’t know it yet) the key is to start with your regular client base instead of the other way around.

Use feedback from those regulars to gauge the best night and use what you know about them to figure out content for the quiz. Assess your budget with respect to hiring a host, charging admission, etc. At this point start advertising in your bar. This should help get you a small, initial core.

Be ready Don’t go into you first quiz night without a clear plan. It will impact the quality of the experience and you will kill your chances for growth.

Do you have your host figured out? If you aren’t going to hire a professional you’ll need to make sure this person (you, an employee, a popular barfly) will be able to run the show. Collect your pool of questions (50-75, minimum), develop a general game format and print out score sheets. The web is full of sites that will help you with ideas for structure and content.

Building the audience The way to grow a quiz night is through use of the patrons themselves. You’ll want to create a sense of loyalty within the initial group that will lead to word-of-mouth invitations.

So make sure to really cater to the quiz crowd. Give participants a dedicated piece of your facility where they can hear the host’s instructions, the questions themselves and any funny comments from the players themselves. You don’t want a non-trivia jokers yellow out answers on the way to the bathroom. This night is about the players, so do what you can to make sure their experience isn’t tarnished with distractions from other patrons or your staff.

Stick with it It’s certainly possible the first few weeks will leave you underwhelmed in terms of participation numbers. It is not unusual for first trivia night to have no more than a few teams.

But remember that almost every thriving trivia night started that way. It is not uncommon to hear of bars beginning with 4-5 players the first night and ending up hitting their fire code capacity within a few months. Commit to a quality experience and the people will come.

Along with pumping up a normally slow night, quiz nights are a great way to bring together existing customers who don’t normally interact. People don’t come back to your bar for the drinks, they come back for the community.

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Looking for ideas, tips & tricks for managing your bar? Visit ManageYourBar.com for our toolkit of resources or click on any of the links below:

Everybody loves to read something nice. That goes double when the something nice is about your business. “Had a great time Friday night!” “The new sound system rocks!” “Your toilet paper is the softest!” It’s all good.

But what happens when a customer (gasp!) has a complaint? Be it food quality or customer service, the always-right patron will occasionally have a beef with some aspect of their experience.

In the world of social media that dissatisfaction will most often manifest itself as a comment on your business’ Facebook page. Somebody will verbalize his or her complaint in language ranging from constructive criticism to downright nastiness. Your first reaction will be to use your admin powers to delete the comment, preventing current and future customers from reading what you probably feel amounts to bad press.

But we want you to make sure you resist that temptation at all costs. Negative Facebook comments are the make-lemonade-from-lemons of the social media world and by deleting a critique you are literally passing on an opportunity to bring in more business and strengthen your ties with existing customers. Seriously.

Look at it this way: Social media is all about communication and two-way conversation – it’s not a dictatorship. So by publicly criticizing your establishment this disgruntled customer has presented you an opportunity.

The important thing at this point isn’t the customer’s so-called bad experience, it’s how you deal with it in a very public forum.

If customers see a negative comment, then notice it has disappeared, they could potentially lose faith in your brand. It would be logical for your Facebook fans to think you aren’t interested in feedback of all types, just the kind that is positive.

The smartest thing you can do is ask the commenter how you can make things right. The level of apology is up to you (one word, two syllables: Supersize!), but making sure that you demonstrate a legitimate concern here is the critical element.

Your Facebook fans are watching, ready to gauge the size of your brand’s heart. It is not a stretch that your herculean patience with this squeaky wheel will bring you additional business.

If you handle it correctly, that skunked beer or cold side of fries might end up being your best friend.

Interactive Hospitality accepts 10 new clients each month. Not every business is a fit, but if you’re passionate about your business and your customers, you could join the growing list of customers taking their business to the next level. You can apply for a spot here.