Maximize Your Sports Bar’s Alcohol Sales this Football Season
Exclusive data shows what alcoholic beverages diners prefer nationwide, giving bistro and bar operators intel that’s good for this football season and beyond.
Why Bars and Restaurants Should Have Arcade and VR Games
By Nick DiMatteo, Fortyfivegames Just about everyone has a favorite drink of choice, be it a coffee beverage, a soda, or a mixed drink. Sometimes the drink misses the mark when there is a human element involved in its making, but sometimes it hits the spot perfectly. For me, it was an Arnold Palmer I ordered at a beach side restaurant in Key West. It’s a simple drink (half iced tea, half lemonade), but that first sip was amazing. The tea was perfectly brewed with a just right amount of sweetness balanced by the tangy sour of the lemonade and with the perfect amount of ice that hit the right temperature. I was blown away and wanted to keep drinking it, but I was a little hesitant. Sometimes, that first taste doesn’t follow through the whole drink, but that is [...]
How to Connect to Sports Fans
By Julia Nikolaus, Contributor As our culture becomes ever more remote -- remote work, remote family gatherings, remote friendships -- sports have become a point of invaluable connection. Whether it’s rooting for the same team or playing in a community league together, watching and participating in sports fosters friendships, connection, and camaraderie. And it’s important for sports-themed restaurants and bars to tap into that valuable connection sports offers and establish your business as a point of connection, community, and cultural bonding. Diversify Your Offerings If you’ve only ever had your local football team’s games playing on TV in your bar, it’s time to click out of the local listings and find the bigger picture. Many sports bars make their name specifically on “niche” viewings, like The Sports Bra in Portland, OR, which only shows women’s competitive televised sports. While you [...]
How to Create ‘Stickier’ Customers in 4 Easy Steps
You want “sticky” customers. No, not customers who have doused themselves in honey or glue, but those who continue to return, whether that’s for wing night, game night or just to enjoy a meal with friends or family. Retaining your bar’s guests is generally cheaper than acquiring new ones, so it’s important to have a robust retention strategy. If you’re thinking about creating a new strategy or modifying your sports bar’s current retention strategy, look no further than this blog post. We’ll walk you through four steps to get you closer to the perfect plan of action. Enroll Patrons in Loyalty Programs Loyalty programs are a great way to keep people coming to your sports bar. What’s great about loyalty programs is that you don’t need to have a complicated, digital solution! If you want to get started right away, [...]
4 Ways to Engage Your Guests Longer
Table turnover is a tricky business. You don’t want to rush anyone out the door before they’ve made their last purchase, but you shouldn’t let them stay so long that you lose waiting parties to another venue. However, there are times you want to keep diners around just a little bit longer. With the right combination of entertainment and on-screen messaging, you can do just that — without sacrificing revenue. Let’s take a look at four ways your sports bar can keep guests and fans in their seats longer. Offer Compelling Entertainment We’re probably preaching to the choir here (after all, you’re reading this on the SportsTV Guide’s blog), but good entertainment is a great way to get diners to stick around longer — especially if you’re broadcasting a big game. Even if diners don’t stay the full length of [...]
4 Ways to Grow Your Customer Base
When it comes to marketing, complacency means stagnation, and stagnation means no new customers. No sports bar wants to see their customer base dry up. That means that even after you have a core group of regulars, you have to continue marketing to bring in new customers. So, how do you do that? For starters, keep doing what you did to get those regulars. What worked once will work again. But if you want some fresh ideas, keep reading. Generate More Reviews For many sports bars, reviews function as critical drivers of customer acquisition. A high percentage of positive reviews attracts more business for you — but getting those reviews can be incredibly difficult. The best moment to ask for a review is when the experience is still fresh — and you can use your TVs to make your request. [...]
4 Ways to Drive More Revenue at Your Sports Bar
Everyone knows that profit margins are slim in the restaurant industry. As a result, owners are constantly looking for ways to reduce overhead and drive more revenue. At first, this can seem tricky. Sure, you could raise prices, but you risk outpricing your customers. Maybe you want to cut back on employee hours, but with today’s labor market that’s just asking for trouble — you don’t want to be short-staffed on a busy night. So how do you strike a balance between revenue and cost? By leveraging what you already have: your in-venue television screens. If you’re only using your in-venue TVs to run cable news and sports events, you’re missing out on a lot of revenue. In this blog, we’ll take you through four messages any sports bar or restaurant can put on their screens that increase customer engagement [...]
Instagram Sports Bar Marketing Trends in 2021
Andre Oentoro, Contributor If you're running a sports bar, having loyal customers from local fandom can be challenging. With so many bars and restaurants offering a similar menu with great ambience, it's indeed tough work to invite more customers to visit yours. However, as a sports bar manager, getting members of fandom to experience your place is nothing but an exciting job. Since sports events are held almost every season, the sports bar business is undoubtedly profitable. You just need to be a little bit more creative in designing your sports bar marketing to attract sports fandom. After all, the one that offers interesting experiences (and menus) will hook more people into visiting your bar. Use popular social media platforms like Instagram to promote your sports bar. With billions of users on Instagram, you can reach out to a broader [...]
Exploring Intricacies of Opening a Sports Bar
By Hannah Butler, Contributor Most often, those people who appreciate the excellent atmosphere when watching sports strive to open a sports bar. This is a rather interesting business niche, which can become very profitable. It is worth noting in advance that sports bars have many differences from ordinary bars and gastronomic places. We will consider the features of opening this particular case and its internal subtleties. Looking ahead, let's say that marketing in this area is of increased importance. The niche is pretty competitive. Should You Franchise a Sports Bar or Go Solo? The franchise is a popular business method nowadays. In simple terms, a franchise is a transfer of rights to use branding, logos, signs, menus, drinks, and food. Under a franchise, its owner leases his brand to another businessman or entity who uses it on the basis of [...]
Ideas & Benefits for Sports Bar Digital Displays
By Reina Jones, Contributor Big restaurants and clubs have already stepped into the concept of digital signage and have started displaying attractive signage content on their digital boards. Not far behind, sports bars and small cafes have increasingly started using their digital displays for capturing the attention of their visitors and providing them with a lively experience. Due to the neck-to-neck competition, the owners of the sports bar are always trying their hands on the new digital signage content ideas that can entice their visitors and entertain them for a longer time. Top Digital Signage Content Ideas for Sports Bar Here are some of the engaging digital signage content ideas for sports bar. 1. Live Sports Tournaments As the name suggests, the sports bar is the place where food and drinks are served along with the information of sporting [...]
7 Sports Bars Marketing Tips to Keep in Your Lineup
By Michael Goorman, Contributor Good food, drinks, and entertainment no doubt make for a busy sports bar. These three things should be your absolute priority – quality sells itself. But if you want a fully packed bar on more days than just game day, then you’ll have to get a little creative with your sports bar’s marketing. Just like any other business, publicity is vital. Let people know how much fun they could have in your pub. A solid marketing campaign should appeal to as many audiences as possible, announce upcoming events, and create a “buzz” around your establishment. And using multiple techniques, media, and offers is a great way to cast a wide net and bring in the optimal amount of guests. Here are seven marketing tips every sports bars should consider: Sponsor a Local Sports Team Show some [...]
8 Ideas for Interior Design of Sports Bars
By Michael Goorman, Contributor The sports bar is the ideal spot for folks to meet with friends, have a beer, and, of course, catch the game. The ability to use sports as a selling point has been a huge reason why the most popular establishments are local, family-owned sports bars. But there’s more than just showing the big games that make a sports bar a successful venue. Sure, you can’t go without good food and drinks and HD widescreen TVs. But your ambiance matters, too, and your sports bar’s interior design and overall atmosphere are equally important. Let’s run down some neat ideas that every sports bar should consider. Upgrade to Ergonomic Padded Chairs Comfort is a huge factor when talking about sports bars. And guess what? One of the first complaints owners hear about their pubs is how uncomfortable [...]