5 Easy Hacks for Getting More Customers at Your Sports Bar
If you’re experiencing a high surge of customers during playoffs but a lot of downtime in between, you’ll most likely benefit from optimizing your sports bar’s marketing strategies. Luckily, you don’t need to be a seasoned professional to successfully rake in an audience.
From optimizing your local SEO to offering exclusive discounts, here’s how you can turn your sports bar into a crowd favorite.
How to Get More Customers at Your Sports Bar
Running a sports bar is a lot like playing a championship game. If you want to keep seats filled and the crowd cheering, you need to invest in a smart strategy and stay consistent.
Below are some quick yet effective tips:
- Optimize your Google Business Profile
The first step to increasing your sports bar’s foot traffic is optimizing your Google Business Profile. This simple yet effective step helps to increase your local search visibility so customers can easily find your bar after a quick Google search.
If you don’t have one already, you can easily set up your Google Business Profile by filling in accurate information like your address, contact numbers, and links to your official social media pages.
Additionally, it also helps to post accurate and professional-looking photos to further entice customers to interact with your profile.
- Level up your social media marketing
In case you’re not tech-savvy or experienced with social media marketing, don’t worry. All you really need for an effective social media marketing gameplan is at least one active page that you can consistently manage.
Whether you prefer posting on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok, the key is to post visually striking graphics that you can easily design using some free bar flyer templates online.
- Start a loyalty program
Aside from increasing the overall foot traffic in your sports bar, it’s also a good idea to implement strategies that can result in repeat customers. This can be especially important during non-peak seasons when your sports bar may be filling fewer seats than usual.
Loyalty programs can also be highly customizable depending on what you can offer. For sports bars in particular, loyalty program incentives can include:
- Free food or drinks
- Birthday discounts
- VIP or special seat access
- Exclusive offers
Regardless of what you choose, what’s more important is that your customers feel rewarded for their loyalty and consistency.
- Highlight signature menu items
While it may not be the sole reason customers are patronizing your sports bar, offering signature or special menu items is a great way to bring in more foot traffic.
Whether you’re offering a one-of-a-kind buffalo wing set or yummy mozzarella sticks, customers will be bound to return for your delicious meals alone.
Not only that, but ensuring that your menu items are visually compelling also encourages customers to share them on social media. As a result, you can get free advertising on top of positive customer reviews.
- Offer early bird specials for events
If one of your goals is to fill seats earlier to have your sports bar appear busier, offering early bird discounts is the way to go. Some examples of offers include:
- Discount on drinks
- Exclusive meal offers
- Free appetizer
Aside from setting up posters and giving away flyers on the day itself, you can also announce your early bird offers on social media and even your Google Business Profile. You can also save your early bird specials for big or highly anticipated events.
To help you manage attendees and create professional-looking graphics, an event marketing tool can be especially handy to help you save time without sacrificing quality.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is social media marketing important for sports bars?
Just like any other business, sports bars can definitely benefit from a consistent and optimized social media marketing strategy. Luckily, you don’t need to spend a hefty budget or be an expert to make it effective. With the help of free social media marketing tools like PosterMyWall, you can create quick and easy campaigns that are guaranteed to bring in more customers.
How can I easily promote upcoming events at my sports bar?
Whether it’s an upcoming tournament or playoff season, a quick and easy way to promote events at your sports bar is by designing some event posters. Fortunately, various online design tools now offer ready-made templates that you can easily customize to match your sports bar’s graphic design needs.
How can I encourage customers to leave positive reviews?
To boost your sports bar’s ratings online, you can try offering customers small incentives in exchange for an honest review. It can be something as simple as a free drink or a small discount that they can avail on their next visit.
Turn Your Sports Bar Into a Crowd Favorite
At the end of the day, running a successful sports bar is all about creating an experience that will keep customers coming back for more. By leveraging smart promotional strategies that can entice customers, you can soon turn your sports bar into a crowd favorite.