I have a small bar in a small town, it's not doing to well. What can I do to get more people to come in?

Question

I have a small bar in a small town, it's not doing to well. What can I do to get more people to come in?

Answer 1

First of all, you need to find out why business is slow. Is a competing bar getting a lot of your potential customers? Or do the people in your town just not go to the bar?



What I'm trying to say is that there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all bar. Everybody likes different things when they go to a bar. Make sure the atmosphere/ambience will attract the people in and around your town with the most disposable income.



If you have to focus on selling Budweiser to farmers, do that. If you'll be better off seling Guinness in an Irish pub, so be it.



Look at everything from your potential customers' perspective. Will a young lawyer not go because the gravel in the parking lot may chip the paint on his car. Does the businesswoman stay away because she feels intimidated? Are there people in nearby towns that would love your bar, but don't know it exists?



Some people go to bars for the specials/happy hours. Most regulars go for the atmosphere.



Oh, one more thing. This is more important than anything else so far. Let your hopes and dreams guide you, not your fears.



Live. Love. Laugh. Learn.

Answer 2

I live in a small town too and I hate to say it but you have to cater to the young punks or the legal system. What I mean by that are the lawyers and court reporters and those types. You obviously can't do both and one is a much earlier crowd but you might try having a killer happy hour and then have some kind of entertainment to keep them. Dart and pool leagues are beginning soon see if you can interest anyone in those that is a for sure crowd a few nights a week. There are 3 bars in each of the 3 surrounding towns and each on e of them have the same type of clientele one is a biker bar, one is where the younger crowd hangs and the other is the law crowd. Now there are other bars in those towns that have business but not as good. Get some form of gambling in there. Maybe have an appetizer a few nights a week. I think you can get away with a few different things without worrying about the health dept. Good luck and have fun

Answer 3

A couple of small bars that I have been in have done this:



Noon: Free taco making bar, and at other times free hot dogs. Good music on the jukebox.



This bar opened at dawn and closed at 2:00 a.m. Served a great bloody mary and had TV's for Sunday football.



I think it in total seated 20, and was always packed.



Other small bar:

This had the free internet wireless - so many people with laptop computers these days, small towns and large towns. Think about putting that service in. Starbucks are always packed with coffee and computers. If you have traveling salespeople, they need this type of service, and college kids, etc.



Then there's always the one food item that will bring people in - a few years ago a place that we always went to had castle-like burgers, you bought the little burgers by the sack and this place had lines to the curb every day - the other was inopposite - a cheeseburger that would feed six people on a huge bun - that place was always busy with the off-work crowd.



Good luck.

Answer 4

How about a Nickle beer night. You charge $5 admission at the door, you put something cheap on tap (Natural Light, etc). You don't really even have to collect the nickles - let the bartenders have them. Your $ is made on the on the door charge. It works particularly well in college towns.



Or perhaps you host a wet tee-shirt contest (or some other type of contest - the key is want beautiful looking people). The winner gets a free keg for them and their friends to drink next week at the bar (again use Natural Light, etc). You rig the contest so the hottest chick wins. People love to see hotties win and guess what, everyone knows that the hot chick will be back next week with here hot friends.



You got to advertise (radio/fliers) these promotions and build them up as huge events - you want people to consider your bar as the place to be. Don't miss this spectacular event brought to you by .

Answer 5

Well, location does have a LOT to do with the success of a business.



Put up banners in front of the bar, first drink free

Or Free drinks friday night



Sure you wouldn't be raking in the cash initially but you're gaining popularity, enticing people to check it out. Hell its free, right?



Next thing you know they like the atmosphere. They like the bartender, they like the music (live bands are a plus), and they decide to start coming more often.



Also try to get your "Friday night special" or whatever you decide to do in the local paper. It might not be successful simply because people don't know about it.





Hope that helps. Good luck!

Answer 6

Have a happy hour, where some drinks are cheaper then usual, Have ladies nite where ladies drink for 1/2 price, Offer snacks, like chips, popcorn etc for free, in baskets on the bar. Start a dart ball league, many guys like to play darts ( alot of gals too ) On special nites offer two-fer, beers, buy one get one free, for a few hours. Thats all I can think of at the moment, Good luck !

Answer 7

Open a small tapa bar in the corner. So many people would enjoy a choice of tapa morning noon and night, but don't over price and keep to genuine Spanish cuisine and make available Spanish wine.

Answer 8

Advertise on a local newspaper or bulletin.



Start happy hour for discount drinks like 2 for 1 or whatever. Free snacks like chips or peanuts are good incentives.



You can also observe your traffic and adjust your operating hours. Friday and Saturday nights are the prime time.



Also, treat everyone of them nice/polite in order to make them your long term customers.



Do not get into hard-core like XXX kind of thing cos this will trigger your neighborhood.

Answer 9

Do happy hours on the weekdays. reward lolity by givin every5 drink free for vip costomers. have karoke nites everybody loves a laugh and a gud sing song. also get a local band to sing in ur pup support them and advertice all the promotions u do, it wud work i came from a small town gud luck!!!!!

Answer 10

Get live bands to play there. And then advertise in the local papers that the music band will be there. It may take a few months, but then people will begin to know of your place as being a good place to go to hear live music and drink.

Answer 11

Try recruiting bartenders from another town - kinda like coyote ugly - then they can help you come up with some new ideas. Or try asking your customers in a survey - with a prize for the best idea.

Answer 12

Women 1/2 price drinks always. Happy hour. Dart tournaments and pool tournaments. Games that are popular in your neck of the woods. Trivia tournaments. Trivia team events....etc.

Answer 13

Try a Happy Hour, say like between 4pm & 6pm( Two for one drinks , draft beer and house wine

Answer 14

Have promotions.....Have bands play...Add video game machines...Hire pretty waitresess....Advertise...Offer things that other bars do not....Add a Murial outside your bar...Try catering to young guys who have the most disposable income....and make it nice for the ladies as well....

Answer 15

Have a karaoke night. People seem to love doing that and will flock to your bar.

Answer 16

Free drinks and change the car oil while they're drinking.



Please award the Best Answer points to me right now because you cannot argue the logic of this response and you stand in awe of the tremendous empathy and intelligence of this responder. Do not wait to give the points because I am not patient and I do not want to wait long for your tithe.

Answer 17

Entertainment like solo singers, offer discounts, offer different theme nights.

Answer 18

maybe put a 1.00 for a beer well just try to do less prices and maybe you will get some more people to come in there

Answer 19

food worth traveling for, advertise in neighboring towns, and satellite t.v. for out of town sports

Answer 20

Give coupons for pitcher specials or what not so that they bring in friends. You need a catch like, ladies night or something like that.

Answer 21

open mike night it means all musicians in your community can come and preform its kind of like American idol its someone nobody has heard before and its fun and someone who only dreamed of being famous can be for that one night and preform it brings great crowds.also comedians..

Answer 22

subliminal advertising. word of mouth. tell a buddy. signs. commercials. radio advertising. have sex with people you don't know (man or woman) in exchange to sell beer. it's all good...

Answer 23

Topless dancers and go-go boys.

Answer 24

Have a girls ...strip time hour..... you know like ...happy hour...



"O" Wise One...says it will work

Answer 25

Have a discount

Answer 26

darts/pool/bridge/ tournaments

Answer 27

HAPPY HOURS AND PROMOTIONS.

Answer 28

titties and beer