TTFish,
Thanks for your question! This is going to be fun for me. I feel
imminently qualified to answer this question. I’ve been a marketing
manager, marketing consultant developing strategic marketing plans,
and more recently have taught marketing management at the college
level.
Of course the question is highly subjective, so any ideas I may offer
must come from my personal biases and experiences. In addition, I
obviously know nothing about your business or its particular
competitive situation. Our ultimate goal is to provide you with
hopefully some creative ways to get people into your establishment.
And of course creativity is the mother of subjectivity. So what I may
like, you may not like at all. That is always a risk in this type of
endeavor. With that said…
Background and Analysis
The goal of this paper is to provide a review of possible marketing
opportunities for a “trendy” bar and coffee establishment. This shop
provides mixed alcoholic drinks, beers, and imported coffees. It is
divided into two lounges, each catering to a different target market.
The “five o’clock lounge” attracts the white collar executive. The
“public lounge” is frequented by the blue collar worker. The product
mix for each lounge is different. (This is a brief overview. I’m
trying to save words if this is for your personal consumption. If not,
you may want me to add more info here since this part is critical to
what follows.)
Assumptions
The marketing overview given below is based on the following
assumptions and observations:
* It is difficult to focus on two target audiences – professionals and
blue collar – with the same promotional campaign. Two campaigns are
presented, but priorities and budgets must be assigned to each based
on the profitability of each segment.
* Although budgets are not considered to be unlimited, the assumption
is made that sufficient cash is available to take advantage of
promotional opportunities that present themselves.
* According to the Dictionary of Marketing Terms
(http://www.buseco.monash.edu.au/depts/Mkt/mtp_online/dictionary/ttt.html),
Trade Sales Promotions are defined as “an incentive offered to
resellers to encourage them to buy more of a particular product and to
sell it more aggressively.” I’m assuming that you are using the term
with this definition in mind.
* For purposes of this paper, we shall refer to the two lounges as
“The 5 o’clock Lounge”, and “The Public Bar”.
* We believe strongly in highly targeted promotions. Each specific
target market being pursued should be pursued in a unique manner.
Obviously white collar workers respond differently to “good ol’ boy”
promotions than will blue collar workers. But targeting should go far
beyond these simple terms. For example, if blue collar workers are
primarily construction workers, they may respond better to bikini
contests. Auto assembly workers may respond better to free food at
happy hour. While these are just examples, the point is that the
specific campaign should be targeted to the specific audience.
* We feel that advertising is one of the most effective ways to
promote retail establishments such as yours. One of your goals should
be to make people who don’t know about you, aware of who and where you
are. The most effective – and often the least expensive – way of doing
this is through media advertising.
* The second most effective way to increase sales is to get existing
customers to return more often, and to build their loyalty as the
place to go after work. The promotions in this paper are specifically
designed to accomplish these two latter goals.
* Each state has a different set of laws governing establishments
serving alcohol. Many states do not allow free alcohol in any form.
Other states do not allow “happy hours”. Some states severely restrict
your ability to advertise. We are using our best judgment in the
development of these promotions.
Marketing Overview
The following marketing overview is based on limited information about
the specific details of your establishment. Each of these promotions
should be customized to your particular resources, audiences, goals,
and objectives.
This marketing overview is divided into trade promotions, consumer
promotions, and media advertising. Consumer promotions is further
divided into white and blue collar audiences. Media advertising is
handled separately since the same principles will apply for both white
and blue collar promotions. This saves redundancy.
A. Trade Promotions
Trade promotions, as defined above, typically involve suppliers such
as liquor distributors offering incentives and promotions designed to
encourage the retailer to promote its products. These promotions will
be highly dependent on the specific promotions currently offered by
the suppliers, and the suppliers’ aggressiveness in the marketplace.
However, based on the market, the various suppliers may be receptive
to listening to your proposals and participating in them jointly. Your
success in this endeavor will partly depend on the volume you
currently have with your suppliers. Obviously, the more your current
sales are, the more clout you’ll be able to bring to bear. In
addition, the size of your market will impact your success. Location
in a major metropolitan area will help.
It should be understood that developing trade promotions with your
suppliers will still require a great deal of effort and time on your
part. Trade promotion in this context is primarily a way to increase
revenues and associate a well-known entity to legitimize the
promotion. It should also be understood that your supplier will – and
should – expect significant exposure in return for his investment.
These may include equal or greater billing in media advertising,
logo’d banners and giveaways, and even an information table. Specific
demands will vary from market to market.
Some possibilities in this area include:
1. Ask your supplier of gin and vodka to jointly offer with you a
martini special in the executive lounge during the month of February.
During that month, the lounge will feature 10 varieties of martini,
such as apple, classic, etc. One of these specials should be a house
branded “5 o’clock lounge martini”. In return for this promotion, you
will be expected to purchase twice your average monthly purchase in
advance, and run media advertising as indicated below. Your supplier
should commit to a 10% reduction in your liquor price, paying for the
cost of promotional table tents and posters (featuring their brands’
logos; ex: “Brought to you by Smirnoff”). Your supplier should be able
to offer you assistance with one or two special recipes using his
brands of gin, vodka, and liqueur.
2. In connection with the promotion detailed under A1 above, ask the
liquor supplier to coop the payment of a city-wide advertising
campaign as described below.
3. Ask a different supplier of beer to jointly offer with you a “Miss
Public Bar” promotion. Good target distributors would be Budweiser or
one of the hard lemonade distributors. There are a number of different
formats you could jointly agree on. More information is give below
under blue collar promotions. Again, the supplier should give you a
discount, and help pay for the various promotion components.
4. (Since you mention B2B market) Contact the personnel manager or
president of larger employers within a few mile radius of your
establishment. Offer to supply free office parties with finger foods
to all employees after work. This will work better prior to or during
holidays such as Valentines Day. Larger companies will probably not
participate, but smaller ones may very well. If they do not, consider
distributing custom fliers under the windshields in the employee
parking lot. (You may need to get permission.) The flier should have
the name of the business where the cars are, and a specific promotion
as listed in this document. You have little to loose, and you may
become the establishment of choice for the company if you’re
successful and remain organized in your marketing efforts.
B. Consumer Promotions
1. White Collar
a. This should work well if you have a high volume of singles that
frequent the lounge. Put a telephone on each table with a numbered
flag. People from one table can call people at any other table by
simply dialing the table number. I’ve seen this in practice, and it’s
a great ice breaker and a good way to attract singles.
b. Ask each patron to drop his or her business card into a fishbowl on
the bar. Give away a collection of door prizes each Friday at 6. Some
prizes can come from your suppliers. You should give a grand prize
away once a month or so. For some larger prizes, you must be present
to win. For the smaller prizes, you need not be present. Advertise
this promotion on in-store posters, table tents, and direct mail.
c. Set up a website to promote the site. The website should obviously
show location and photos of patrons having fun. But you should also
have a calendar of your upcoming promotions, and a way for new
visitors to register for upcoming door prizes as described elsewhere.
Most importantly, display your web address throughout the lounge, on
all advertising and promotional items. Keep it up to date.
d. Offer a martini promotion during a fixed period of time.
Thereafter, continue offering martinis with a special menu. You may
want to offer a different drink depending on preference in your
specific area. Daiquiris or marguerites are other options.
2. Blue Collar
a. “Miss Public Bar” promotions - You could have a bikini contest
every Thursday night (or pick your slowest night) for 8 weeks. The
weekly winner receives a collection of prizes donated by your various
suppliers. The 8-week winner receives a grand prize you offer from the
increased proceeds. This format should attract a good audience if a
large part of your audience is single males.
Alternatively, you could “turn the tables” and feature a contest to
find the most intelligent woman. This would work well if a large
percentage of your clients are female. You would pre-select
contestants from applicants who submit their photo with the
application. Obviously good looks are a prime consideration. You could
then stage an 8-week trivia game show to determine the smartest woman.
Winners of one week would face a new challenger next week. Friends and
family would come, as well as regulars.
b. Purchase some free giveaway items for a promotional products
company. Pens, beer can openers, key fobs work well. Give them away to
good patrons often to build loyalty and to advertise.
c. If your state allows it, offer $8 nights. For a flat $8 cover,
patrons can have unlimited draft beers. The exact figure should depend
on prices in your area, and the average ticket for beer. You should
not see a decrease in average ticket, and the perceived value may draw
a big crowd.
3. Media advertising
No matter what specific promotion you select for your establishment,
we feel that media advertising is an essential way for retail
establishments to attract new business. There are few other choices
open to make new customers aware of you. Here is a list of each
preferred media, and when it should be used. The assumption is that
your supplier, as noted above, will pay for at least one half of the
cost. You may even negotiate a better deal.
a. Newspapers – Daily and weekly “entertainment” tabloids are
excellent venues for you to use to promote your special events. They
are cheap per exposure, and since most adult consumers are at least
potential customers, there is little waste. Use smaller ads – an
eighth of a page or less – but run the ad every week in the same
location. There a many variables so be sure to consult your media
sales reps and analyze their media kits before making a decision.
b. Radio/TV – This is expensive for your purposes and you should stay
away from these.
c. Direct Mail – Most bars and lounges get their clients from within a
relatively small area around the location – sometimes as little as a
mile or less. This plays into your hands. Purchase a direct mail list
for this zip code (don’t pay more than $60 per thousand names) and
send out a one-time post card advertising your establishment. Pick
your promotion carefully. It should have universal appeal.
With your permission, I’m not going to invest my entire time – or my
entire 3,000 words – in this question at this point. What I’d prefer
to do is to get feedback from you to see if I’m on the right track.
With no suggestions, I’ll continue work to complete the answer by the
19th. If you’d like to focus on one area – or if I’m totally off base
– I’ve still got time to go back and invest some more time in this.
This is fun!
Prof |
Clarification of Answer by
prof-ga
on
19 Jan 2003 10:11 PST
TTFish,
Thanks for your comments. I’m not sure I understand your clarification
request, so let me see if I understand. I think you’re asking for more
detail on your white collar and blue collar clients. I’m taking that
to mean perhaps more information about your two clienteles and
additional promotions.
White Collar Clients
Obviously, this is going to be a much more sophisticated crowd. They
want imported, fancy drinks, and want to explore more tastes and
“enjoy the good life”. If you can find ways to encourage this and make
your white collar clients feel special, then you can have a very
successful business. Here are some ideas and thoughts in no particular
order:
* Try new tastes and flavors – Offer a new custom drink each month at
a special price to encourage people to try new drinks. If most of your
drinks are hard (bourbons, scotch; usually ordered by men) then try
some hard liquor drinks not typically available elsewhere. Maybe a
Sazerac, for example. If you have a lot of female clients, you might
try some frozen tropical drinks. Of course make it cheap enough to
encourage people to try it. Don’t try to make a lot of money on these
drinks. Think of them as advertising that the customer pays for! The
goal is to get them to come back more often to try next month’s
special or to get this month’s special again. Obviously a
great-tasting recipe is very important. You may want to get some
suggestions from a good bartender.
* Have a good wine selection – Especially if you have a lot of female
clients, take a chance and get a good selection of high-quality wines
(and liqueurs). Most bars only carry the cheap stuff which is really
dumb when you’ve got a sophisticated clientele. This can be very
profitable too, since you can mark up good wines more, and people are
willing to pay for it. Unless you know wines, get someone to help you
select your wine list.
* Give great service – White collar clients like to be pampered. You
need to train your staff to give good service in every respect – fast,
accurate, clean, and friendly. This may require some outside customer
service training. This one thing can really set you apart from every
other bar in town. Really.
* Most importantly, you need to tell your servers and bartenders to
suggest whatever this month’s special is. Give them an extra pay
incentive for every one they sell. Have a contest to make it fun for
them. Having a fun-loving staff that works with you to increase sales
makes it fun for the customer, which in turn makes your sales
increase.
Blue Collar Clients
Blue collar clients are more interested in girls, having a wild party,
girls, cheap prices, and sex. Your marketing promotions need to focus
on giving the impression of cheap prices, and a great party. Remember
that this may change a bit depending on exactly what your blue collar
client is like.
Frankly, I can’t imagine attracting both of these groups to the same
establishment. Most bars have to pick a target market and go after it.
A rock station can’t play both classical music and urban rock. You
develop a reputation and those are the kind of people who come. So,
good luck in trying to get both. If things don’t seem to be working
out, I’d strongly suggest getting rid of your less successful segment
and focusing on the other. Of course, not knowing your business you
may have special circumstances and I may be all wrong. Here are some
thoughts:
* Have all kinds of special prices for volume. For example, sell a
bucket of beers for a special price. Assuming a beer usually sells for
$3, you might want to sell a bucket of 4 beers for $10; a tub of 8
beers for $19, and a big tub of 12 beers for $25. Get buckets and
tubs, fill them with ice and leave them at the table with a bottle
opener. It’s kind of fun, and it encourages people to come in groups
to take advantage of the best deal. Plus, it saves your servers time.
* Give free food at happy hour. Obviously this is a draw. Do it for a
few weeks and then check to see how much your sales increase. If it’s
a lot better, put some money back into making the buffet better and
better. Then it will draw even more people. Again, think of this as
cheap advertising. Word of mouth will brink in a lot of new people.
Hope this is what you were looking for. And good luck on your
project!!
Prof
|
,
0 Comments
)