Marketing for bars

Are your bar sales down due to COVID-19? Or is a new competitor in the area getting your customers? Marketing for bars might be the solution you need.

It’s a tough time for all businesses out there in most industries, with bars being one of the worst-hit.

This is because even though Americans love their weekend nights out at a bar, unfortunately, operations cannot run safely at full capacity even if standard safety measures are taken. 

However, as a marketer, I have been dealing with a lot of businesses facing the same issue and whatever is causing low sales for your bar can definitely be fixed with the following marketing ideas for bar and restaurants: 

#1. Let the reviews speak for themselves

Social media is a very powerful tool, not only for customers but also when marketing for bars. 

The best thing about these platforms are customer reviews and content. At the moment, online reviews and word of mouth are the most trust rich forms of communication. 

91% of millennials trust the word of strangers i.e. online reviews, which makes you lucky because that’s the customer base you’re targeting! 

However, posting written reviews in the review section is not the only way to review a business. 

Written content isn’t very engaging and readers get tired pretty fast. 

One of the best forms of reviews right now are posts with images and videos. 

Not only are visuals 650% more engaging than text (yes, you read that number right), but they also act as social proof. 

It’s easier to believe something when you see the moment captured. 

Somebody reviewed the drinks at the new bar and said they were great? You’ll have to see it to believe it! 

The point is, visuals also create authenticity about the review. 

This brings me to my next point – how you need to be taking advantage of customer reviews and content.

Sometimes, all it takes is a little push to create awareness about customer reviews. 

Share user reviews and re-post customer content

For this, either you need to hire a social media manager who handles digital marketing for bars or you need to remain active and up to date with your social media notifications.

Every time your business profile is tagged, use it as an opportunity to repost the content. This strategy will help with your social media marketing for bars and restaurants.

Resharing has a number of benefits apart from the obvious benefit of getting more views. 

By using hashtags, you can get the content trending on Instagram and other platforms. Plus, every share creates more traffic so focus on the maximum number of shares. Content creators are known to use this method to run social media marketing for bars.  

The great thing is that it costs you nothing and it’s one less post that you have to think about coming up with. 

With all this comes one thing to think about – the privacy concern of sharing user’s content. 

If a user’s account is public, then there should be no issue in sharing their content. 

However, if a user has tagged you but their account is private, it may make things a little unclear.

The best way to go about it is to send a DM to the user that shared your content. Thank them for praising your business and ask for their permission to share their content. 

However, the best case scenario is to get the attention of bloggers, especially those that have a target audience of potential customers for your bar, and get them to review your brand: 

The Bar-Guru is one of our favorite bloggers that reviews bars worldwide which could be of great interest and advantage for you, so attract the attention of pages like these. 

Create an aesthetic spot

Another way to curate customer content is by creating an aesthetic outlook, either inside or outside your bar:   

All that these bar owners did was design it aesthetically and it automatically attracted attention on social media. 

We live in a time where everyone owns a smartphone and no matter how old someone may be, we all have a tendency to post the best going on in our lives on social media. 

You could also pick a corner or spot to design rather than investing heavily into the entire outlook of your bar. 

Famous quotes and letters written in neon lights are currently trending and an absolutely great way to attract the attention of customers: 

Not only will your customers post pictures here, but their followers on social media will be intrigued and will definitely want to visit your bar. 

All of this should convince you how easy and cost effective marketing for bars really is, because it just takes the right ideas to boost sales. 

#2 Invest in your bartender

This is one of the most important aspects of marketing for bars. 

Your bartender is your main employee and the face of your organization, considering that’s what people will see when they walk in. 

You need somebody who is confident, active on social media and has a charming personality. 

Don’t necessarily go for looks because if your bartender cannot wow your customers, then it’s no use. 

You need to make sure you either hire or train someone to become a famous personality – similar to an influencer on social media with a good fan following. 

I just did a quick search on Instagram which revealed that #bartender and #bartenderlife are two of the most trending hashtags on Instagram: 

To make your bartender Insta famous, you need a good photographer and a bartender with a good dressing sense and grooming. 

Upload aesthetic photos as well as videos to showcase your bartender’s skills, for example, while making drinks. 

Posting drinks with dry ice is mesmerizing to watch and it’s a real wow factor. 

I remember I was out at a bar with my friends a year back and I ordered a fancy drink with dry ice. 

Before pouring the liquid on it, the bartender was pretty shocked that I hadn’t taken out my phone and asked me if I would like to make a snap before he poured it. 

Laughing, I agreed. 

This got me thinking and it brings me to my next point – the social skills of your bartender.

In casual words, your bartender needs to be a smooth talker who can easily make conversation with customers. 

The purpose of this conversation is two-fold: first, it creates a relationship with your customers and second, you can use it as an opportunity to upsell your products. 

Customer ordered water? Offer them lime water. Did they order a regular drink? Tell them about a new, more expensive drink that you just introduced. 

Your bartender also needs to have great memory skills. He/she needs to ensure that they remember the orders of regular customers, greet them when they walk in and provide them with special treatment. 

All of this adds to customer loyalty and your loyal customers bring in 80% of your total profit. 

Bottom-line is, if you have to pay more to get the best bartender in town, do it. That could be your Unique Selling Point. 

Marketing for bars in COVID-19 

This section categorizes businesses into two groups; firstly, those in states that have still imposed a lockdown on bars and secondly, those that have opened but are required to follow SOPs in order to ensure the safety of customers. 

Lockdown

In a lockdown, the best thing for you to do is to enhance your marketing for restaurants and bars by reminding customers of your presence through social media. 

A lot of states are allowing businesses to operate at 10% capacity i.e. for essential purposes only. 

Use this opportunity (or even at home) to come up with exciting new drinks. 

Experiment, find the right combination of flavors and post your drinks on social media. 

Use polls, questions and other interactive features to stay connected with your customers. 

Ask them to come up with a name for your new drink, whether it looks good, should you add it to the menu, etc. 

The bottom-line is, share everything with your followers. 

It’s the best way to keep your business imprinted in the minds of customers so that as soon as lockdowns are lifted, they know you have a lot of new things waiting for them to try. 

Secondly, you can use this time to update your website. 

If you own a small bar, then you probably don’t have a website, but if you do then this is the perfect time to comb through it. 

Find bad links, fix glitches, update your blog and maintain your website to make it top-notch. 

For this, you can use tools like CrazyEgg that offer heatmaps, mouse recording etc., to see whether your users are easily navigating through your website, conduct A/B split testing if your bounce rate is too high and fix other issues. 

All of this is essential for those of you who own or manage bars that host a lot of events, have a number of franchises across the state or country and bars that generally fall under the category of mid-sized and large-sized businesses.  

Open with SOPs

Not only is it a legal obligation to comply with Standard Operating Procedures in smart lockdowns or areas where businesses operations are being conducted at full capacity, but it also shows responsibility on the business’s part. 

Taking extra measures will lead to customers feeling safe when they visit your bar, so putting in extra effort is definitely worth the hassle. You can use SMS marketing for bars to send text messages to guest about their reservation and safety guidelines to follow when they come visiting.

Also, you’ve probably already seen the new design that restaurants, gyms and other industries are implementing worldwide: 

https://www.facebook.com/trtworld/videos/287841512583717/?v=287841512583717

With a separate enclosure for each table, this restaurant has made customers more comfortable while visiting. 

Families can finally dine out without fear of their safety as well as the added benefit of privacy. 

At a bar, you could implement the same design for tables and a separate compartment for each chair at the bar. 

Sounds a bit of a stretch, but that’s what life is going to look like for a while. 

Similarly, if you have a DJ and a nice dance floor, you can allow only a limited number of people at a time at a safe distance – preferably one group from each table. 

Sanitizing high contact areas after each use (such as your dance floor, chairs, tables etc.) will create a lot of trust in the eyes of your customers as it portrays responsibility on your part that you took upon willingly.

To tone down this intensity that may kill the mood, make sure you always have lively music playing in your bar. 

That is a make or break for your customers because if you don’t create a whole mood, many of them will walk out the door. 

With all this being said, it is very important to get customers to sign a waiver when they enter your bar. 

It may discourage some people from visiting, but it saves you from potential lawsuits costing your business millions which could sink your business right into the ground. 

A COVID-19 liability waiver is being handed out by a number of businesses worldwide. 

By signing, customers agree that if they contract the virus, they cannot blame the business for it. They also agree that the business is taking proper precautions to reduce the risk of contraction. 

It’s a smart way to protect your business but if you want to avoid losing a good chunk of your clientele, make sure you remind your customers that you are doing your best to ensure their safety. 

Share your social distancing efforts on social media to raise awareness about the steps you are taking so that customers know where you stand. 

These changes will take a bit of investment which can be a bit difficult for some businesses to come up with, considering how they’ve been closed the past few months, but it’s a choice you have to make for long term survival! 

Conclusion 

The points above are the major crux of marketing strategies for restaurants and bars. 

It’s absolutely cost effective and easy to implement as long as you come up with the right ideas that suit your business. 

Another important thing to remember is to execute your ideas timely. If you’re planning social distancing measures during a lockdown, share your journey with customers then instead of when your bar opens.

Be a fast mover and come up with a marketing strategy that beats what your competitors are offering to gain a competitive edge and bring customers to your bar.