MARKETING: Finding the Right Teams & Fan Clubs for Your Sports Bar
Welcome back to our second installment in FanWide’s Guide to Starting and Growing a Fan Club in your Sports Bar. Now that you have picked the best sports league to target for the upcoming season, the next step is finding the right sports team for your sports bar.
Sure, you are saying “I already have one in mind that I really want.” Perhaps it’s your local team but don’t sell your restaurant short. Just in case, we want to give you a checklist to make sure that it really is the right fit for your bar.
DID YOU KNOWS…
Budweiser Will Sponsor National Women’s Soccer League
Coming off the heels of a dominant US World Cup Win, Budweiser announced they signed a multi-year sponsorship deal with the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). Bud’s VP of Marketing touted the company’s support of the women’s national’s team but added “we realize there is so much more Budweiser can do.” Bud will receive naming rights to the playoffs, championship, and MVP trophy. NWSL will also receive training from Budweiser execs on the business side of sports. As we mentioned before, women sports are popular and companies that get in on the ground floor will reap the rewards.
Hello Kitty Café
Today is the grand opening for a Hello Kitty Café in Las Vegas. The café is a shipping container café, and features Hello Kitty-themed beverages, desserts, and merchandise. It can be found at The Park, an outdoor dining space between NY-NY Hotel & Casino and Park MGM.
Disposable Income
While Russian average disposable household incomes took a big hit and showed a decrease of over 7 percent, UK households suffered a minor decrease in disposable income, which shrank by 0.2 percent in 2017. UK disposable incomes floundered because wages could not keep up with rising prices, according to This is Money. More people were putting money away for retirement in the UK, also decreasing disposable incomes.
TALK TO ME
Why it matters to you: Use CRM to communicate directly to guests about what they are interested in hearing.
When it comes to marketing, we have always maintained that direct email efforts are among the most effective actions a restaurant marketer can take -- and that was before modern customer relations management software (CRM) entered the scene. The key to understanding CRM is much like giving direct customer service; you attempt to understand the guest’s individual needs and address them. So think of email marketing as an opportunity to give personal marketing to people that will resonate and motivate them to return to your restaurant.
This requires very little technical knowledge to get started, but can be as involved as you would prefer. In one case study, a multi restaurant operator determined they would leverage the new hot trend to rosé wines. This operator had integrated their email marketing system so they could see the purchase patterns of their guests from the restaurant that was running the promotion, but also from their other restaurants. Consequently, they were able to email both their list for the restaurant that was offering the rose event, but also anyone that had purchased the hipster beverage at any of their other restaurants.
While this may seem out of reach for you, it’s not. Start by simply asking your guests, via an email poll, what things they want from you. From there you can send specific offers to people for the things they desire to enjoy. The more you inquire, the more you will learn about your guests and their individual interests. And this is something you just can’t do on social media. So, continue to put effort into your email marketing and you can be even more relevant to your guests and their reasons for visiting your restaurant.
[Source: Modern Restaurant Management]
PIZZA BOOM
Why it matters to you: What can you learn from an explosion at an abandoned pizza restaurant?
If you didn’t read about it, there was an enormous explosion at a Florida mall last week. The blast shattered windows throughout the complex, sent concrete flying more than 50 meters in the air, and damaged cars in the parking lot. The miracle is that only 20 people were injured and no one was killed. Investigators have initially determined that the explosion emanated from a now defunct pizza restaurant in the mall. They are still working towards a definitive explanation, but have pointed to a gas leak as fuel that fed the blast. We can’t think of a better reminder about the importance of maintaining your restaurants safety systems than this story.
Many years ago, commercial restaurants were required to install gas blocking valves to ensure that a gas leak is less likely to occur. However, that doesn’t mean a faulty piece of cooking equipment couldn’t be the culprit in your restaurant. Consequently, the next time you have your hood cleaned (and yes, you should be doing that as well), have a qualified plumber check all of your gas connections and pipework. For an hour of labor you can avoid being a natural disaster in your community. Proactive and pre-emptive maintenance will ALWAYS cost less than cleaning up a mess or managing a disaster.
[Source: Vice]
