If you’ve read our last blog How Live Sports Content Drives Customer Retention: Key Stats Every Bar Owner Should Know, you have a better understanding of how live sports content can benefit your business. If you’ve yet to read it, go now before continuing on! You will learn how to enhance your establishment’s live sports offerings and engage your target audience.
Now that you’re up to speed, we’ll help you put this newfound knowledge into an actionable plan!
Step 1: Select Content That Best Suits Your Establishment
The key to an effective strategy is understanding when your establishment needs a boost. Identify slow periods and look for gaps in your weekly business flow.
For example, if weekday afternoons are slow, an ESPN+ for Business subscription could help engage your lunchtime or early evening crowd and extend dwell times with live sports. Or, if weekends are a challenge because of local competition, our UFC loyalty program could be the perfect fit to customers in your venue.
Understanding your audience and when they are most likely to engage will help you make smarter programming decisions that drive revenue.
Step 2: You Have the Content—Now What?
Having the right sports content is only a part of the equation. Promotion is key.
Think of it this way, if you were invited to a party, but never received an invitation, how would you know about it? You wouldn’t! The same logic applies to showing live sports content at your bar or restaurant. If you’re hosting a major fight night or a big game, your customers need to know about it in advance.
Use our four marketing best practices to help you amplify your promotional skills:
- Start promoting events at least three weeks in advance on social media and in-venue.
- Use our ready-to-go social media assets, available on our website, to make promotion effortless.
- Place event posters in high-traffic areas of your venue to grab attention.
- Leverage your email list and customer database to send event reminders.
Boost Your Online Presence with OnTap Sports
Beyond traditional promotion, make sure your venue stands out when customers search for places to watch the game. Updating your OnTap Sports profile ensures that sports fans looking for the best spot to catch live games can easily find you. Keep your profile current with event listings, food and drink specials, and any VIP perks you offer—it could be the deciding factor in bringing new customers through your doors!
The more visibility your event gets, the more customers you’ll have walking through the door.
Step 3: Create an Experience
Getting customers through the door is important. But keeping them engaged and encouraging them to spend more while they’re there is what will set you up for success.
Beyond ensuring you have plenty of TVs and that every seat offers a prime view, you’ll want to elevate the experience by:
- Training Your Staff: Make sure bartenders and servers are aware of the event, any specials, and how to upsell during the broadcast.
- Offering Food & Drink Specials: Themed promotions and drink specials can drive additional sales.
- Hosting Interactive Giveaways: Engage customers with raffles or social media contests related to the game or fight.
Step 4: Build Long-Term Customer Loyalty
A single successful event is great, but turning those one-time visitors into repeat customers is the goal.
- Encourage Customers to Follow You on Social Media: This will be your quickest route to them! Keep your social media pages updated on upcoming events and promotions so your customers (and potential new customers) know where to go!
- Collect Customer Information: Use sign-up sheets, QR codes, or digital loyalty programs to capture emails and phone numbers for future marketing efforts.
- Create a Consistent Sports Calendar: Establish a reputation as the place for live sports by hosting regular viewing events for UFC, college sports, boxing, and more.
- Offer VIP or Membership Perks: Consider exclusive seating, such as an MVC section (Most Valuable Customer), event early access, or discount perks for loyal customers who attend multiple events.
Step 5: Analyze and Adjust
Finally, no strategy is complete without reviewing performance and making adjustments.
- Track Sales & Attendance: Identify which events were most successful and why.
- Gather Customer Feedback: Ask customers what they liked and what could be improved.
- Refine Your Strategy: Continuously use data and insights to tweak your marketing, promotions, and sports content selection to maximize profitability.
The Bottom Line
A well-executed live sports content strategy is more than just turning on the TV. It’s about selecting the right events, promoting them effectively, creating an engaging atmosphere, and building long-term loyalty. By following these steps, you’ll turn sports fans into regulars, increase your revenue, and make your business the ultimate destination for live sports content!
Ready to start planning your establishment’s future? Start by exploring our upcoming events page to find the live sports content that’s the perfect fit for your bar or restaurant.
Need help selecting the right sports content for your establishment? Contact Joe Hand Promotions today at 1-800-557-4263 and one of our sales representatives will help you build a winning strategy!