As we start to feel the medium to long-term impacts of the pandemic, and the cost-of-living crisis slowly but surely increases, a lot of households are already starting to tighten their purse strings, with 60% of Australian consumers suggesting they will cut back on dining out, and 53% cutting back on drinking at bars.
Couple these with the threat of Covid cases on the rise over Christmas and the continuing staff shortages, it’s a tough market right now. And it’s only going to get tougher in 2023
So…where does that leave your venue in an increasingly competitive market, all vying for a drastically lower percentage of consumer spend?
Even in the wake of rising food prices and cost-of-living pressures, consumers will lead with their wallet, your venue just needs to be visibly in the mix when they are making their decisions. There are plenty of ways for your venue to incentivise loyalty and increase your brand presence to capture their attention.
Whether its complimentary drinks, social media specials, personalised offers, prize to play, or loyalty points, tier upgrades, and even just making it easy and attractive to find the information they need on your website, there is a mountain of opportunity for venues to be strategic to keep busy and keep customers and members coming back for more.
While it might have been a lean 2022 for some, those that leverage digital marketing strategies, technology, social media, and their own “big data” to boost their new customer and member loyalty to exceed guest expectations, can expect a busier and far more profitable 2023.
Now is the time to start thinking about 2023. It’s time to lift your venue’s technology, loyalty, and marketing game, because of the remaining consumers with dining and drinking budget, over 90% of them are actively searching for something to do. Whether they are searching online, getting a text message, or an incentive through email, you need to help them decide that your venue is where they should spend their hard-earned money!
You can rest assured that if you’re not there… your competitors will be!
Don’t hope for the best in this market, get your venue marketing audit now and stay ahead of your competitors before the downward curve appears on your bottom line.
Talk to our Digital Marketing Advisor, Lauren, via email lauren@dws.net.au or mobile 0490 332 462 about an audit on your venue’s data, marketing, and technology assets today
