We live in a world where marketing opportunities have become easier and more available to the common man, yet many see this devolved world of marketing  as an easy way to target as big an audience as possible in the hope that “something will work”. Such an effort was never more obvious than when one of my colleagues at Interactive Hospitality received an email from a local bar. I’ll let you read the conversation below and make up your own mind as to whether this is the right way to market your business. For obvious reasons (although I’m tempted not to, I have protected the identity of the bar): Email #1 received by colleague:

OK, it all seems fairly normal so far, nothing wrong here, if anything, it sounds like it’s my colleague’s lucky day, until she realizes, she’s never been to the bar, so she replies:

A reasonable response considering we all get too much spam, worry about our personal details and spend half the day deleting garbage from our inbox. In fact, she wouldn’t have done anything until ALL her friends received the same email this morning letting them know that they were winners too!

And so, the classic response:

Yep, you read it right: “Sometimes they will make up the information….”. Now, I have more than a couple of issues with this. First of all, from a business perspective, there are more efficient ways of attracting customers than going into a dark room blindfolded with a shotgun and hoping you’ll hit your target. Second of all, it’s illegal.

Third, maybe it’s time to inform your marketing staff of the legal, ethical and business guidelines associated with how you collect, store and use personal information before it comes back to bite you in the ass.

Fourth, thank you for the laugh this morning, because although this is a serious issue, antics like this make life easier for the bars that make an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work.

Rant over.

Many bars and restaurants are taking advantage of Foursquare, a location-based mobile platform. Foursquare allows users to “check in” and share their location with friends while earning virtual badges and discovering nearby deals and discounts.

Foursquare boasts over 5 million user since its 2009 launch. Tens of thousands of venues are currently implementing special offers through Foursquare.

There are endless opportunities for unique deals on Foursquare that will keep your customers coming back and bring in new faces as well.

Offering Foursquare-Only Specials

Bars can encourage customers to check in to take advantage of your current deal. Deals can include 10% off their bill or a free drink, just for checking in. Once you claim your venue, Foursquare will even send you a window cling to remind customers to check in.

Offering Special Deals for the Mayor

Why don’t you give the mayor something besides bragging rights? There are endless creative ways to reward your most loyal customer. At the same time, you can encourage other customers to come back often and dethrone the current mayor.

Bars can offer the mayor a special menu , an amazing discount, VIP seating, or even  a prime parking space.

Rewarding Loyalty

Foursquare offers the opportunity to reward and encourage customer loyalty. Bars have the opportunity to offer incentives for repeated check-ins. For example, bars can offer a free happy hour after 5 check-ins, 25% off a meal after 10 check-ins, and so on.

Hosting a Swarm Badge Party

Bars can promote an opportunity to earn the coveted Swarm Badge by encouraging users to check in at a designated time. This is how AJ Bombers increased their sales by 110% in one night.

Taking Advantage of Location-based Marketing

Foursquare users have the opportunity to submit tips about your venue. These tips become visible to anyone in the area. This means that if someone checks in at a competitor’s  venue across the street, your tips and deals will become visible. If your deals are really great, you might just convince them to check out your venue instead.

If you want to learn more about foursquare and its benefits for a business, visit http://foursquare.com/business.

I can help you set up and claim your Foursquare account. This includes creating specials, targeting new customers and implementing the strategies listed above. I can also help you get set up properly on Facebook, Twitter, and Facebook Places. Click the button below to schedule a free 20 minute phone call where I will personally recommend ways to improve your current online activities.

]]> http://www.thebarblogger.com/five-great-ways-bars-and-restaurants-are-using-foursquare/feed/ 0 http://www.thebarblogger.com/unapologetic-pretentious-controversial-yet-brilliant-advertising/ http://www.thebarblogger.com/unapologetic-pretentious-controversial-yet-brilliant-advertising/#comments Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:17:44 +0000 barblog http://www.thebarblogger.com/?p=408

These Vodka Ads speak for themselves. Nothing I can add here!

Click Below To See the Rest of These Great Ads

I’m a big fan of Seth Godin and a recent blog post by Seth where he talks about people’s “fear of apples” got me thinking about how to combine a couple of principles to help your business build trust and awareness at the same time. This quick video will explain what I mean:

Can’t see this video? Click here

I’ve been beating this drum for a while, but there’s a reason that I do. The money is in the list. What do I mean by this?

Well, your list of contacts, customers and prospects will be where you extract the most revenue for your business over time. The reason our Bar Management Websites grow and attract new members is that we regularly sign up interested visitors to our email list. Over time, they either like what we offer and become a paying customer or they simply remain in our list or unsubscribe.

Either way, it’s a cheap and time efficient way of pitching to your potential customers.

But consider this: Your marketing spend each week in the newspaper or radio or through flyers might be reaching the same people over and over again. In fact, if your marketing remains the same, then those receiving your message almost certainly remains the same too!

If your marketing has been successful, then a portion of those pitched to, will have become customers. What are you doing to attract these customers back? How are you differentiating your marketing?

Here’s what you should be doing:

• Give customers as many opportunities as possible to give you their email address or mobile phone number.
• Ask them to add you as friends on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, MySpace, Bebo.
• Run exclusive special offers/competitions for those on your list or to encourage those to join your list. (see the pic below)
• Segment this list into special interests.
• Every time you want to fill the bar, you start by contacting your list. Measure the results and you might find that as your list grows, your responses grow and you can reduce your traditional marketing spend.

Apologies for poor quality (taken with my iPhone…), but you get the idea, offer as many opportunities as possible to grow your list.

]]> http://www.thebarblogger.com/build-build-build-your-list/feed/ 0