Focus on Nightlife

Image counts in the nightlife industry. How your guests look greatly affects that image.

It is common in the industry for venues to enforce a dress code to maintain standards. However, sometimes ‘dress code’ is merely an euphemism for ‘Are you the kind of person we want?’. Too fat? Too old? Too black? Not black enough? “Sorry, you don’t meet with our dress code…”.

In the old days, nightlife operators could get away with that. The people they were turning away weren’t the target clientèle anyway, and how much fuss could they really make?

Things aren’t always so simple these days. Clubbers interact amongst themselves far more today then they could in the past. More importantly, they typically interact these days in systematic ways. MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and the ever-growing collection of other social networking tools, allow annoyed guests to organize, protest, generate publicity, and ultimately to significantly impact your business in ways that simply wasn’t possible just a few years ago.

Of course, that can work for your business or against it. Take care of your customers and they’ll spread the word and traffic at your venue goes up. Piss them off and, well…

A recent article on BBC news about a Jersey club highlights the potential problem:

She told Newsbeat: “As I approached the crowd a lady came running up to me and shouted, ‘You better be a size eight to 10 otherwise you’re not getting in.”

Two of her friends were refused entry.

Police say they sent extra patrols to the area because an upset crowd had gathered outside the club. No-one was arrested.

It is up to the licensee of a club or pub in Jersey to decide who enters.

Local people unhappy with what happened have set up a group on the social networking site Facebook urging people to boycott the nightclub in future.

It has more than 800 members.

These days, word spreads…

Many nightclubs have become the chameleons of the nightlife scene. From one night to the next, entire venues can go from a strobing, house-party feel to a laid back, lounge-type aesthetic. Venues that work this way can generate big line-ups and drive huge revenues but they may also run into problems. While the vibe of the club is constantly changing, so are the faces. It’s harder than ever to get to know your customers when many of them may only visit twice a month for an eighties-themed night or come in just to see their friend DJ on the odd night. Customer loyalty goes down because people are coming for the theme and could care less about the venue.

On the flip side is the tried and true establishment - think Cheers (without the laugh track) - where customers can go when they’re looking for a comfortable, no-frills evening. Many people out there love to be in a place where they know the owner and guests by name, the menu stays relatively constant and you don’t have to worry about getting hit in the eye by a confetti cannon being run by an entertainment company’s newest employee. Here, getting to know your customers is easy and you can usually count on their continuing patronage. The big difference is sheer numbers but having a loyal customer-base can be a justifiable trade-off to always hosting rotating, theme-driven events.

So how does a nightclub wanting to keep their image strike a good balance? There are a few different solutions. One idea is to try out some events that don’t infringe on your current clientele’s tastes but broaden your club’s appeal to a larger crowd. Also, it never hurts to hire promoters who can tailor their efforts to make sure you’re not stepping on toes. While you don’t need to rely solely on themed-nights, there are many types of “spin” you can use to give yourself an excuse to promote.

When is the last time you had a reservation canceled or your guests simply didn’t show? Are you keeping track of what a lost reservation costs your venue? Club owners that do will be the first to tell you how important it is treat each and every reservation as valuable. While some bookings might have a higher price-tag than others, any lost reservation will impact your bottom line. That’s why prepared owners and party planners will always stress the necessity of getting customers to honor their commitments and make sure the venue is covered when they don’t.

The act of taking a reservation shouldn’t be taken lightly. Does your club have a system in place for booking procedures? Here are a few pieces of information, on top of a name, date and phone number, that your employees should get down:

Expected time of customer and guests. If you have guests coming and going at different times, this is a good way to personalize their experience at your club. If a certain attendee is expected to arrive at 11pm, it would be a nice touch to have a specified beverage or appetizer ready to go.

Email address. Being able to keep in touch with your guests via email is crucial these days with the rise of mobile communications. With a simple email address you can subtly confirm, remind, and followup on a reservation with relative ease. This is also a perfect opportunity to pre-sell and up-sell on a reservation to maximize your revenue on a given night.

Cell phone or texting info. Why not get down your customers cell phone number if they haven’t already provided it? If they’re running late on a reservation, you have a second way of getting them to honor their reservation. Being able to send an SMS text message to a customer is another good way to keep in touch.

Special requests. Go out of your way to convince your guest that you’re keeping them in mind. The best way to personalize a customer experience is to take down service notes on any special requirements they might have. Not only will this lead to future reservations, it will assure them that you’re on top of their reservation.

Beyond these things, you should notify your guests about any fees associated with a reservation. If you haven’t already, you should look into implementing a minimum spend policy, a cancellation fee, a no-show fee, or a rental/package price if your venue offers it. Getting a customer’s credit card information on file can drastically reduce your reservation cancellations and no-shows as well. It’s just another way to weed out the serial cancelers and cover yourself in case of a canceled reservation.

Systematically reaching your target market, and mobilizing that market, is critical for any industry operator. Mobile phone-driven tools, like that just announced by US mobile phone provider Helio, are going to have a growing role over how venues / promoters drive traffic through the doors.

According to Caroline McCarthy:

Helio’s new service, which is ad-supported, lets people in major U.S. cities search on the mobile Web site–linked from the home page of the carrier’s browser–for bars, clubs, and restaurants. Most of the data will be pulled from Buzzd partners like Flavorpill, TimeOut, and the IAC-owned Citysearch. Added on, however, will be “event feeds” with specific pricing and night-specific details as well as short user reviews in real time.

Helio’s service isn’t quite there yet — it still doesn’t fully link into the ’social networking’ of nightlife guests, but it is a tantalizing glimpse at where we are going. Helio may not be the company to succeed with this type of service, but some operator will sooner or later (likely sooner…).

A key characteristic will be the distribution of user / guest reviews. Imagine the impact on buzz on any given night from only a small number of ‘influencers’ shouting out their opinions of your club that night? Already, informal text messaging among friends is playing a huge role in night-to-night turnout at venues. Take that one degree further and systemize the ability for opinions / reviews to be widely circulated in real time…

This can be a nightmare for venues… or a huge opportunity. Those that figure out how to identify, track, and harness the influencers in their local market will have a huge advantage. After that, it becomes a matter of winning the ’small battles’ — encouraging your guests to evangelize your venue and start that viral spiral going in the right direction.

Nightlife industry professionals all agree on the importance of impeccable service in nightclubs. Where VIP guests are involved, there can be hardly any margin for error as one bad experience can cost a nightclub a very expensive client. Because nit picky service errors can occur from time to time, it’s crucial to minimize them to keep your customers satisfied, while avoiding any negative publicity. One of the best ways to improve service is through proper communications. Has your nightclub implemented an effective communication system? Let’s find out.

Even the smallest reservation modifications can affect each member of your staff. Because on-the-fly changes occur so often due to customer requests, it’s difficult to keep every member of your team in the loop. For example, a VIP client might call an hour before a reservation to add an F&B requirement and change their planned time of arrival. On a slow night, this might not be too difficult to manage but it gets tricky when you’re running at full capacity. Depending on who’s answering the phone, this small change will have to go through a number of people. This is when effective communication becomes very important.

Most changes have this direct effect on your entire staff. The example above requires the person who is answering the phone to properly notify the kitchen, the door staff, the VIP host, and possibly the owner if he or she requires a report on nightly revenues. Many nightclub owners who crave numbers want to see these changes at the end of a busy night. Selling one extra bottle can mean a big difference in the night’s revenues. If this line of communication breaks down, you can bet that problems are on the way.

Assuming that your staff are generally comfortable with their role in your business and motivated to create a great experience for all your customers, there are a few different tools you can use to boost communication in your club. Technology is shaping the way we communicate in the workplace. Automatic text-messaging solutions can keep a nightclub productive. Imagine sending out instant notifications to each member of your staff that is directly effected by a reservation change. New computer software packages are making sure that employees are always in touch while on duty as well.

The sooner you implement a strategic communication system in your club, the sooner you’ll notice an increase in revenues… and guests, of course.