Category Archives: Marketing

Author Whitney Larson Posted on

Guestlists: The Most Powerful Pre-Entry Tool

There’s no denying the importance of guestlists. In today’s landscape, they’re a fully ingrained component of a nightclub’s daily operations. Not only do they help control the number of guests, but they also help ensure the right ratio and type of guests are coming through your door.


So if guestlists are such a critical aspect, why do we as an industry treat them as a basic task? Until recently, we hadn’t gotten to a point where guestlists can be used as critical data to propel stronger business decisions. And while technology has advanced to the point where a number of guestlist software applications have arisen, very few tie individual guest information back in a meaningful way. What’s worse is many clubs still operate with pen and paper, collecting little to no information while reducing the speed of the night.

Below are the benefits of integrating a more powerful guestlist system in your nightclub:

Collecting guest information

Most guestlists do the mere task of checking people in. Some provide information on guests; few handle cover charges through a point of sale system right on the spot. Using a guestlist system that does all of this not only increases efficiency, but also provides in-dept insight of your guests, such as demographics, frequency of visits, average group size, and total amount charged at the door.

Understanding guest habits

Going a step further from the previous point, a guestlist system that’s integrated with other technology in the club is able to collect an individual guest’s habits. What types of beverages do they order? How much do they spend once inside the club? Do they only come on big event nights; Friday nights; every weekend night? These answers help to narrow in on who your guests truly are and allow you to better market to them.

Upselling guests

With all the provided data, you’re able to make better, more educated decisions about individual guests. This means you’re able to more easily upsell your customers to come on nights they wouldn’t originally have intended, or to sell them on bottle service instead of simply attending. This is the type of activity that grows your club’s revenues while increasing customer experience – a win-win for all.

Author Whitney Larson Posted on

Tying Promoters Into Your Business Results

There’s no doubt promoters are a critical component to making the night a success. They’re charged with bringing the right people in on a consistent basis, building relationships with customers to keep them coming back, and marketing your major events. But how do you know if they’re excelling at these tasks?


Without tracking measures in place, it’s nearly impossible to truly understand how well your promoters are working for you. Sure, you can see the type of audience within your club on a given night and you can look at your point of sale (POS) system to get stats on sales. But there’s not a clear way to tie an individual customer’s attendance to a promoter’s work.

This is where integrated technology can play a huge role in determining not only the success of your club, but also the success of the moving parts within it. Today’s technology can track the referrer of an individual customer, VIP reservation, or guestlist party, making it easier to identify who’s bringing in the most traffic. Once these customers are in the club, the technology can continue to track spending habits such as product type and amount.

This type of referrer system only works if promoters are able to access the integrated technology. There’s technology out there that does this without breaching club security. Promoters are simply able to add a customer to the guestlist or VIP list for a given night from any device, and the system knows to automatically attach that promoter to that guest. It’s a seamless process the promoter, the club, and the analytics system.

Information about specific customers is clutch in understanding what is and isn’t working at your club. Information that ties back to each one of your promoters is even more valuable. This gives you more insight on which promoters are bringing in the most customers, the best customers, and even the most money. All of this allocates you to make better, more logical business decisions.


Whitney Johnson is the global director of marketing for BookBottles. Contact her at whitney.johnson@bookbottles.com.

Author Whitney Larson Posted on

The Value Of Text-message Marketing For Nightclubs

There’s no doubt that mobile has taken over consumers’ lives. According to marketing industry experts:

  • 91% of adults have their mobile phone within arm’s reach 24/7
  • Brands using text to reach customers connect with 95% of all smartphone and non-smartphone users
  • 90% of text messages are read within 3 minutes of being delivered
  • 16% of smartphone users made a purchase because of a marketing message received on their phone



These statistics are important for you and your nightclub to understand. Mobile is where your customers are and using text-message marketing is the easiest way to reach them directly. And with the right customer relationship management (CRM) system, you can send more targeted, personal, and relevant messages to individual customers. Here’s how:

  1. Find a CRM system that tracks important customer activity, such as when they come to your club, how much they spend, what they drink, and how many people they bring with them.
  2. Use a text-messaging system – ideally one that’s connected to your CRM system – that uses filters to segment your customers into specific targeted audiences.
  3. Craft relevant messages for each audience, including specials, new menu items, secret drink menus, special music events, or any other promotion that will get users to keep coming back. Hint: use past user habits to craft specific and personal messages.
  4. Make sure you follow text-message marketing regulations, such as sending messages only to those that have opted-in or have personally provided their contact information, including a respond-to number, and having a clear way for users to unsubscribe.

The more specific you are when segmenting your audience, the stronger your text-message marketing will be. The below infographic by Mogreet shows the benefits:


Define your audience, segment accordingly, and send relevant messages through their most-used communication method. You’ll get a better response rate and more loyal customers.


​Whitney Johnson is the global director of marketing for BookBottles. Contact her at whitney.johnson@bookbottles.com.

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