Many people search for a “sports bar near me” when trying to find a nice, relaxing place to socialize. Sporting events and large televisions are a couple of the main things that attract people to any sports bar. In order to bring people into your business, you need something that your competitors don’t have. The goal is to attract new customers and keep them coming back.
Attract with Games
Adding plenty of games to your sports bar is a great way to broaden the appeal of your audience. Most sports bars only rely on sporting events that are televised to attract their customers. However, once you begin thinking outside of the box and expanding your offerings, you will gain a lot more customers. Include more than just television sets for game watching. Entertain your customers with video games such as poker games, slot machines, darts, pool tables, and air hockey. The more games you offer, the more people you’ll attract.
In-House Sport Leagues
Try signing up with the American Poolplayer’s Association and begin hosting pool leagues in your business. You may even want to try sponsoring a local sports team and offer food and drink specials to the fans. If you are looking for additional avenues for exposure to help bring in more customers, the APA provides just that. These customers can be brought in for tournaments who typically don’t visit your bar.
Free Finger Foods
You may also want to try offering free finger foods with any drink purchase at least once or twice a week. Cheese sticks, chicken wings, and jalapeno poppers are great food options in any sports bar. When you begin to host specials such as free food, you’ll begin attracting even more customers. The profit that you make from the drinks can help make up for the cost of the food.
Fan Clubs
To attract more customers to your sports bar, you may also want to consider setting up fan clubs for individual sports teams. You can also try offering promotional giveaways to those who sign up for your fan club. You can give away promotional items such as T-shirts, and hats for your favorite sports team, depending on the food and drink specials, and the season.
Marketing Ideas
Finally, marketing is always a great way to bring people into your sports bar. No need to have marketing experience to understand some basic ideas to help you become a successful bar owner. You can do this in various ways, such as:
- Get reviews
- Host theme night
- Get involved in the community
- Leverage social media
- Create a website
- Use email marketing
Whatever your area of specialty is, or your style of bar, you may want to employ only certain marketing techniques that hold true to your vision, thus attracting new customers in the process.