-> Successful nightclubs that are self-sustained may disregard this document
-> Pro operators, no need to read through this. You already know the drill...
* Failing or struggling nightclubs SHOULD read this document carefully!

No doubt, this would seem to be the 60-million dollar question amongst sizable portion of the industry. Indeed, there are now hundreds, if not thousands of promotions, contests, promoters, gimmicks, DJ's, backed with endless hype of how they'll pack your nightclub silly! Yet with all of these miracle solutions and millions of dollars later, the vast majority of nightclubs still struggle to eek out 1, to 2-good nights a week of profitable business, or have spent themselves into poor house trying to do so.

No punches are held back here. I'm totally keeping it real so if that offends you, better turn back now...

How can so many operators get it so wrong?

The short answer is, Sheep Mentality… Yes that's right, sheep. Despite the fact that rapid firing a barrage of miscellaneous promos, specials, and one-night wonders at a nightclub has failed to achieve the primary objectives of:

- Consistent traffic flow across several nights
- Loyal following of guests
- Achieving ½ to ¾ capacity before the midnight hour
- Consistent party product that does not change radically from week to week
- A promotions /marketing budget that stays well below 10% of gross sales

... Numerous operators continue to believe that if they spend enough money, or roll the dice often enough, they just may get lucky and hit the jackpot. Despite the marginal success in utilizing such a senseless business model, (if that's what you care to call it), like sheep, many will happily continue down this avenue without posing the one elementary question, which is: "Does this approach make an iota of sense"?

Since this whole era began in the early 90's, it's created and encouraged a culture of lazy operators that remain complacent and in an increasing number of cases, lack the basic understanding necessary to discern the difference between product and promotion.

For those that are in the dark here… Promotions are a "means to market a SOLID underlying product". They ARE NOT the product and contrary to the many utterly confused operators attempting to use them in this manner.

So if promos are not the product, then what is?!!!

Silly wabbits… The product is 'entertainment' or more specifically… The experience, flavor, and unique nuances that are "indigenous" to your brand of entertainment. You were supposed to think about this long and hard BEFORE opening the club, or did you think you'd make a party by merely opening the doors?

Seems many nightclubs are in an identity crises from day 1. By and large, the problem seems to originate from a time somewhere back in the early 90's. It all started with 3rd party promoters, which eventually led to 3rd party DJ's, security staff, bartenders, and even management in some cases.

More specifically , nightclub operators often seek out the easiest, possible way to pack the room and make millions, thus bought into the whole idea of "outsourcing" everything from the personnel, to the actual party product itself. Hey.. Why bother with market research, or studying the social consumer in a target marketplace? Why concern yourself with what might work and what won't? In fact.. Why bother even coming up with a concept or product offering that's indigenous to your club? Source it all out then sit back and relax! Not...

Just for fun, I'll play along. Let's see what I'm really getting by selling out my entire club

I open a club with no real core product offering… I have no discernable direction… I really have nothing to promote… But I hire promoters… To promote what exactly? What are the promoters promoting? If I have no marketable product or identity, then what's the real purpose? All good questions and I'm really glad I've asked them!

How about this for an answer: The promoter (he or she) is promoting themselves, not my club. It's all about their event, their music, and their people. They come… They go… And demand a sizable chunk of my revenue as well for the night. WOW… So far this seems like the deal of the century!

So what happens tomorrow night? The club will sit empty, unless.. You guessed it!!! You hire another promoter. But wait.. Isn't the objective of a promoter /promotion to:

- Promote /market the clubs product
- Increase traffic flow "To the club" on a consistent basis
- Gain market exposure to the clubs core product
- Develop a loyal following of guests "to the club"
- To eventually get the club to a point where it can stand on its own two feet?

No? Wow.. Well then I must have the concept of marketing and promotions utterly confused. Last time I checked, the objectives behind a nightclub marketing or promotional campaign were to promote "MY PRODUCT AND MY BRAND", not someone else's!!

So lemme get this straight: I invest 2.5-million into a nightclub so Pauli Promoter can do what? Use my 2.5-million dollar facility to promoter his brand.. His Party.. And himself? Oh yeah.. And it will also cost me to let him do so. Sure… That's only fair. Could be my entire door revenue, and or plus a sizable percentage of my liquor sales. Heh… This deal just keeps getting sweeter.

You know what? Screw being a nightclub operator or a consultant for that matter. I'm going to be a promoter! I mean really.. This has to be the easiest money I've ever seen, and if nightclub operators are going to spend it that freely, then I want on that THAT bandwagon!! Yeah!!

This would be a little like Wal-Mart allowing me onto their premises to conduct a major promotion. However, the promotion and product is all about me, my product, my services, and my loyal following -it has absolutely nothing to do with promoting Wal-Marts brand.

Even more bizarre, Wal-Mart pays me a percentage of sales from their own products. At the end of the day, I pack up my marbles, say thanks very much, and collect a big wad of cash. Like this would ever happen in Wal-Mart, or any other business in the real world for that matter. My goodness...

And nightclubs honestly wonder why they're not taking seriously by the business and investment community sometimes. Sigh…

Let's get real…

Put simply, if you want to promote your nightclub, then you need a product to promote. And if you're going to use 3rd party resources to promote your product, then they PROMOTE YOUR PRODUCT and nothing but your product! I can't believe that I actually have to point out the obvious, which is "the promotion is about you", not an event that bolsters a single individuals agenda.

Hey.. You're being hard on promoters!

No, I'm proceeding with good businesses sense and based on proven models that are the driving force behind some of the largest corporate entities on the face of this earth. Moreover, this is MY 2-million dollar business investment --not a playground for 3rd party sources. Corporate promoters and marketing agencies have done wonders for numerous type of products and services, however watch closely… Their soul objective is to "PROMOTE THE CLIENT."

Uhhh… What is core product? What do you mean by establishing a unique brand?

OMG... I feel almost silly having to provide answers to what otherwise fall under the category of general business 101, but based on the many emails I receive, as well as the increasingly popular Google search term used to find nightclubbiz.com, which is (How to promote my nightclub), this is obviously necessary:

- The simple explanation of core product: The product a business is built around. For instance, McDonald's core product is the Big Mac.

- Core product as it relates to a nightclub: The entertainment experience a nightclub is built around. For instance it could be, a party atmosphere, highly diverse demographic, a friendly environment, a hot social concept, etc.

Determining Social entertainment product /core product offering for a nightclub can be anything but easy, and perhaps more difficult than determining a tangible marketing product, such as a hamburger. I will grant you that!

Unlike a tangible food product, the very essence of nightclub product is invoking a certain mindset within a room. The mindset is broken down into specific emotions. Needless to mention that this takes us out of the tangible world, and into the 'intangible' one. The basic emotions you want to elicit from an audience are as follows:

- Fun
- Excitement
- Flirtation
- Romance
- Seduction
- Laughter
- Suspense

Consider these the crude, unbaked items that are the underlying ingredients of all social entertainment product. The order has no meaning, nor by themselves are they terribly significant. It's how you match them and determine how much or less of each component needs to be used in order to render a product that your "specific" consumer will buy into.

Figuring this part out can be considered the 'initial building blocks' to developing a core entertainment offering. Now this determination is not always easy and does take a little intellectual horsepower. If you decide this is just too much work and decide to take the classic 'lazy nightclub operators way out', then congratulations… Your fate has been sealed. Your club will be exactly like the next 5 on the block.

You can enjoy the same brand, or should I say 'community brand' of entertainment that your 5, 10, or 20 other nightclub neighbors enjoy. You'll enjoy the same music, DJ's, contests, promoters, and modest profits your neighbors do! Victory, glory, and groundbreaking will not be something you'll experience. If you're really lucky, mediocrity will about all you can hope to celebrate. Have fun.. :-)

What's this? You've figured out how to balance the above components, as they relate to your specific market?

Well bravo, or like the British would say, Jolly Good! In that case, you're ready to move onto phase two of the concept development process. It is here you really begin to define your vision and core objectives. For example, let's say you've identified a 25 to 37 aged semi professional demographic. Not because you merely listened to what the neighboring clubs told you, but because you completed your due diligence, social research, and general market study.

Ok, so now that you have a grip on your marketplace, its mindset, and a target demographic in mind, you can now get down to the fun stuff. Yes, that's décor, lighting, mood engineering, music format, management, and staffing. The question is how do you configure these variables in a way that best conveys your proposed message to you intended demographic?

This is where the real vision needs to come into play. You understand the demographic. Now you need to envision how you'll sync with their specific likes and overall mindset. Music and décor is something you may begin considering, as you're now at a point where these two components are fundamental in establishing the precedent you want set. Wow.. And to think you were going to do what? Merely recycle the DJ's and gimmicks that all your other neighbors are using? Smirk.. Not in this case you're not.

For starters, you need a custom DJ/MC. One that is /or can be customized to your 'specific' needs. You're building a custom product here -you don't want to use the Ford hubcaps that everyone else is using. Indeed… This again is where you'll need to bust your ass in finding the suitable talent, unlike your many lazy counterparts who will hand over the helm of their 3-million dollar nightclub to any 21-year old record spinner that walks in the door.

Side note: This one always kills me. When I hear crap music in a club, complete with a null ambience, I always track down the owner or general manager. I pose the question "What the hell is this" Owners replies: What? Me: Errr.. This crap content that's killing your room?

Owner or manager almost always replies with: Uhhh… I dunno.. I leave that up to the DJ to decide, sort of brushing me off. Probably thinks I'm a dumb customer asking a silly question. And no doubt, he's got way more important things to worry about, such as making sure everyone knows he's the owner.

My final reply: LOL… Loooool!! That's totally hilarious. A $300,000 to 4-million dollar nightclub investment and you haven't a single clue of what your DJ is doing, or why the rooms bottom is falling out. No.. I don't actually humiliate operators like that. I just wander off and try to keep from cracking up. I worked the booth for 14-years btw, and still do on frequent occasion :-)

In any event, procuring skilled entertainers is no trivial matter and you DO NOT want to be seen as a recycle bin for what all your neighbors are using! Don't be lazy!

What else to consider?

A ton of stuff and I'm not going down the long list here. At this point, I'd start considering my key staff. And no, that does not mean merely hiring a bunch of people based on:

- Big boobs
- Big muscles
- Friends of friends
- Someone that's worked at the club down the street
- Beautiful faces

Sigh.. Silly nightclubs sometimes. That's the traditional lazy mans ways of stringing together a staff. A staff that has a low probability of functioning as a unit, much less being able to deliver your product and vision. Outsourcing your staff to 3rd party entities has to be the absolute dumbest of ideas. You give up complete control and essentially place the fate of your investment into the hands of others that in many cases know less than that a 1st year employee -no thanks…

Similar to a restaurant, you would not hand over your kitchen to a catering company, or allow a 3rd party service to staff the floor, would you? You actually need to prepare, manage, and serve your own food. I suspect many entertainment operators enter into arrangements like this because their only real desire is prancing around the room with the owner badge on, while having no real desire to understand the business their in. Sorry, but it sure looks that way sometimes...

DJ's, security personnel, waitresses, and all floor staff must be handpicked, screened, and then properly trained to carry out your mission objectives. One again people.. This does not happen through the grace of God. Sound like too much work? Then don't bother going into this business…

Skipping ahead to the near finished product

Now you're ready to consider a marketing /promotional strategy. You know exactly what it is you are and exactly where it is you want to go. As a result, you're now in a position to open the table to options.

How much do I really need to promote?

That depends how well you've synced up /identified with your marketplace. As with all new startups, a leader campaign is necessary and will usually consist of radio and print media. Now, there are some clubs that never spend another dime on 'external promotions' after this 2-week run and you're no doubt going to want to know how that's remotely possible when most clubs are spending themselves silly.

The truth is, nightclubs and bars are perfectly capable of promoting themselves. Yes, prior to the early 90's flood of promotional services, nightclubs would invest much more brain power into their core product offering, as opposed to being lazy and seeking an easy way to fulfill this critical objective.

There's no secret here… Similar to other successful product offerings in the real world, word of mouth is the most powerful promotion in existence. It surpasses the best promo tricks to ever exist and exceeds any amount of money you're prepared to spend. Nowhere could this be truer than in a nightclub venue. And by the same token… No promoter, promotion, or any amount of money can rival word of mouth.

Unlike a conventional retail startup that can take months to see any real traffic throughput, nightclubs (if opened properly) experience a flood of traffic from opening night. That's A LOT of word of mouth that can propagate quickly throughout a local area.

As a result, highly successful nightclubs perpetuate their own traffic on a consistent bases without reliance on a whole lot of external and costly promotional services. There's no real magic here.. Just high volume math, coupled with a highly successful product offering.

Wow.. A real business structure!

This is what going into business is all about. It's building a real plan, which is backed by a real vision. Nightclubs are no exception to this rule, no matter how many are enticed by fast-track ways to become successful overnight. If you're really that lazy, then you may want to consider a franchise of some sort where most of the work has been completed for you, including the thinking. All you need to do is take possession of the keys. Generating the same revenues a high volume nightclub could may not be possible, however you can walk in today and be a successful owner tomorrow.

The nightclub is NOT easy money, or for those who believe they're found a shortcut to making it big. It's for those that are prepared to work hard and not easily drawn into promises of easy street and big dollars. Give this some though before you decide to pursue a venture of this nature.

But where's this leave the promoter /one-off event nightclubs?

Actually I don't see them as nightclubs at all -they are event halls that promoters use to hold one night, or special events. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this. Event halls can make money, but should not be confused with a nightclub, since the event hall is really an empty shell waiting for someone to bring an event to it. A nightclub by very definition is a club, which can sustain it's own 'consistent' and 'dedicated' following as the result of defined and marketable product offering.

Some may accuse me of arguing semantics, but I will stand strong on my opinion that an event hall and a nightclub (even if looking strikingly similar) are not at all related in terms of their fundamental purposes or objectives. In all honesty, I think there are far more event halls being mistakenly classified as nightclubs than most realize. Basically, if a nightclub needs fulltime promoters, it can't fly by itself. It would likely crash and burn in the absence of 3rd party reliance. This is because the nightclub has no marketable brand of its own. Therefore, it can be termed as event hall of sorts.

In closing, operators need to re-think their approach to social entertainment product. If you're not prepared to take it seriously, then don't whine like a big baby when your room is empty 6-nights a week. You want to place the fate of your investment into the hands of 18 to 23-year old 3rd party sources? Fine.. But don't complain when you've lost complete control of the operation and the business in plummeting into the red, just into the sixth month of operation.

THIS IS A BUSINESS, not a glorified babysitting job! You want to be an entertainment operator? Then you need to think and behave like one. Your job is manufacturing entertainment product -not scratching your balls, while searching the web for a $10 solution that promises high traffic, popularity, and searing profit margins overnight. What are ya, kidden me?

I am THINKING! But I'm drawing blanks…

No biggy… It's s known as 'nightclub operator mind block'. It's happened to all of us, even those of us that have been at it for a very long time. What matters is how to decide to proceed from here. Here's what not to do: Don't panic and go spending like a crazed fool, while falling victim to false hopes of instant fixes.

Think like big business or the political arena. When they encounter a hurdle that appears insurmountable in nature, what do they do? They surround themselves with VERY smart people. These people bring 'intellectual resources' to the table and form a 'think tank' of sorts. A concept that's somewhat foreign to most of the nightclub industry.

Remember… Nightclub product is not tangible in nature -it's experience driven. Therefore, the odds of a quick fix, such as a promo or gimmick digging you out of trouble is about 1 out of 10-million. Put another way, you're empty because 300, to several thousand minds find nothing remotely appealing about the experience you're offering. Solution: You guessed it.. You need to get inside those minds and this will likely require the collective thoughts /analysis of several smart people sitting at your table.

Where do promoters fit into the equation?

If it's my club, I prefer promoters who are onboard with my club. That means their efforts are 100% focused on marketing my product and brand. They're a part of my staff -not someone who brings their people into the club tonight, only to leave me empty by tomorrow again. It's no different than hiring a corporate PR or marketing firm. I'm paying them to promote my brand and "permanently" increase volume traffic throughput. I don't mind paying them well, but I'm not paying them to promote themselves, and in an indirect sense, my local competitors. Either they exist within my inner circle or they do not -there's no in between and that goes for DJ's as well.

The nightclub operators top 5 excuses for being empty:

Thought I should mention these, as they're rather comical and historically used to rationalize empty rooms. If you're going to succeed in this business, you need to avoid lame copouts, such as:

- No one goes out; except for one night a week
- I can't attract people unless I give my product away for .75 a drink
- The guy down the street has a newer nightclub
- The only market I can capture is low-spending 19 to 23-year olds
- No one ever goes out here until 12:00 midnight or later

These excuses also create a comfort zone for many operators, in that they can hide from the real reality, which is a complete lack of accomplishment. Hey that's up to you… If you need excuses for being empty, then by all means… Take your pick from the top 5.

This is no longer the 80's boys and girls… You now need to understand your consumer base inside out. Gone are the days of cheap thrills and clamor based hype tactics. Think big, provide a real experience, or go home!

Dave Hollingworth
http://nightclubbiz.com/