Promoting your club, to explain it simply, is a
necessary thing. You can't
expect to survive in the already flooded night club
market without making
yourself stand out. And, yes, we know that the
temptation to simply let word
of mouth keep your business alive is tempting. After
all, you have a great
(or so you think) club and people will tell their
friends about it. Business
will boom. There is a fundamental flaw with that
logic, however. How can
word of mouth start when no one is showing up to the
club in the first
place? You can't generate responses when there is no
one to start them. It
just doesn't work. That is why you have to promote
yourself.
And we do not mean those cheesy ladies night specials
or dollar drinks.
Those, while they may bring in some crowds, will serve
only two real
purposes: they will lose you money and they will make
you look like everyone
else. The point of promotion is to make you stand
apart from the rest and,
since there are so many night clubs, that can be a
challenge. But it is one
you do. Your promotions can't reflect the trends and
tastes of those around
you. And, yes, we know that some of them might work.
The problem is, however, that too many people using
them will diminish their
abilities. Why go to a club that is promoting the same
offers as the one
crowds are already attending? It makes little sense.
These promotions also do not mean to try and lower
prices or make absurd cuts. For example, a creative
promotion is not cutting the price of your drinks down
just because the competition is. What that will do is
create a price war, with all of you marking things
down until you reach the point of losing money. This
is not creative; this is foolish.
Hiring professional
club promoters is also an option. However,
before doing so it is highly recommended that you talk
to other club owners about their experiences. I
have heard of popular promoters that are
ineffective and I have heard of others that are send
to be fantastic. Reach out to your peers to find
a quality promoter and ask for referrals.
Now you don't necessarily need a pro, but your promotions have to be unique. You have to think
of what kind of club you are trying to create, what
kind of audience you want to reach. Then, instead of
just falling back on what everyone else is doing,
create methods that are different. Whether this is
through your advertising (don't just head to radio
spots, please) or through the events you schedule, you
have to be creative. And, since each club is
different, each should develop a marketing strategy
tailored to it. Don't just try to copy someone else's
success. Take a close look at your
efforts. Notice what is working and what is
not. If it's not working, make a change
until it does work.
