6 Easy-To-Do Tips for Driving Event Sales at Your Venue
If you are an event manager, an event salesperson, or a venue owner in the hospitality industry, you probably have some sales practices for driving event sales. Depending on the time of year, the scope of your offerings, or any other factors, event sales may not always be where you want them to be for your private events program.
But when it comes to driving event sales, there are plenty of things you and your team can implement to boost them. Here are the top six things you need to do to increase event sales.
1. Highlight What Makes Your Venue Stand Out
What’s unique about your venue? Maybe it’s a nontraditional space, or it has a rooftop, or it’s got built-in attractions, like a winery’s tasting room. Whatever it is that makes your venue stand out, make sure to highlight that in both your discussions with prospective clients and in your business’s overall branding. Include photos of past events (with permission from your client) on your website and listings site, EventUp so prospects can visualize their next wedding or corporate event at your venue. This will help potential event customers easily differentiate you from the competition and help with driving event sales.
2. Target Your Audience
Depending on the size, type, and availability of your venue, determine who you want your audience to be in order to properly target them for events. If you’re a big-name restaurant group, you can broaden your reach beyond your regular in-town customer base. More than likely, event prospects have heard your name and know about your space. If you’re a one-off venue with a smaller event space or more limited event-throwing hours, that should factor into your marketing plan.
3. Encourage Word-of-mouth Buzz
Word of mouth is a huge way to take your private events program to the next level — happy customers can be repeat customers, and they’re likely to spread the word about their successful event experience at your venue. You can encourage this by offering a discount or extra amenities for return customers or those who recommend someone who successfully book an event within a certain amount of time. Look for other word-of-mouth marketing techniques to help.
4. Make Venue Details Easy to Find
While you don’t necessarily need an exhaustive breakdown of the dimensions and offerings of your event space, it’s helpful to ensure information regarding your events program is front and center when people are searching or scrolling through your restaurant or venue’s website. Consider creating a page dedicated to private dining or events where you can showcase more information and photos. You can also host our lead form on this page that allows customers to instantly send an event inquiry 24/7 that you’ll be alerted of instantaneously via our software platform.
5. Use Social Media and Email Marketing for Promotion
Using social media is a great way to promote your event venue without breaking your budget. Platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook allow you to post photos, details, and any promotions you offer. It also allows event clients to tag your venue, create a searchable hashtag, and post their photos showing off your space. You can even reach new prospective clients who wouldn’t know about your venue otherwise. It’s crucial, however, to be consistent in your posting so that those accessing your accounts see up-to-date photos and the most credible information.
Most venues and restaurants typically fall into the trap of sending monthly emails that include a few news updates. Make your emails stand out through a streamlined design, a short copy, and a call to action. Get to the point in your email — prospects don’t want to read through paragraphs of text to see what you’re trying to market. An added reason that people aren’t opening your emails could be that they seem impersonal. Personalize it and try to relate to your consumer; your response rate will surely increase.
6. Make Event Booking Easy
Making event booking easy is a crucial strategy for enhancing sales. When the booking process is streamlined and user-friendly, potential customers will likely complete their purchases. A simplified process reduces the frustration and time spent solidifying the event, increasing customer satisfaction and the likelihood of repeat business. This is especially important in a digital age where consumers expect quick and efficient service. An easy booking experience can encourage positive word-of-mouth and online reviews, which are invaluable for attracting new customers. Be sure to remove any obstacles in your booking process to boost your sales significantly.
Manage Your New Bookings With the Best Hospitality Industry Software
Once you start using these sales tips and grow your bookings, Tripleseat can help you manage and streamline your private dining events.
If you’re not a Tripleseat customer and you’re interested in learning more about Tripleseat’s features, schedule a demo at your convenience to take a closer look.
