Category Archives: Sales

Author Whitney Larson Posted on

3 Ways to Increase Your Revenue per Guest

Your customers are the most important part of your business. Without your customers, you don’t have a business. But simply having customers in your door isn’t enough to take your venue to the next level. You need to understand your guests in order to have the highest profit potential each and every night. That’s why it’s important for you to understand your pricing strategy and how it relates to your customer’s purchasing habits.

Here are three areas to focus on to optimize your revenue per guest.

1. Know your inventory

This is the most obvious of the three — pricing your inventory. Take a step back and identify all the areas of your venue you can possible charge. Drinks and food for sure, but what about cover charge, tickets, drink packages, and tables? In all of these areas, it’s critical to understand what customers will pay in return for your atmosphere, party, drinks, and food. To do this successfully, focus on these three items:

  • Market research. What are the industry trends? What are your competitors’ pricing structures? Is that working for them? Why or why not? Learn from this information to help you determine your own pricing structure so you’re not pricing yourself out of the market.
  • Target market. What is your target market’s potential entertainment spend? This means you have to know your audience, and I mean truly know your audience including their demographic, geographic, and psychographic information. This helps you understand what your target audience is looking for and what they’re willing to pay for a venue like yours. If you price yourself too high, you’ll scare your customers away; but too low, and they might see you as cheap. Read this article to learn more about how to understand your audience at a deeper level.
  • Profitability. Always remember the formula r-e=p. That’s revenue – expenses = profitability. Understand your margins relative to pricing. If you’re cutting too far into your margins, look to see if you can stand to increase your prices. Are there other activities you can do to increase your profit potential, such as accepting credit cards at the door to appeal to more guests, using a system to streamline operations and cut down on vendor costs, switching to a different distributor, or even investing an entirely new entertainment concept? Explore your options; sometimes you have to spend money to make even more.

2. Treat guests like individuals

This area isn’t as obvious, and is a huge opportunity for every venue. Nearly every nightclub and bar has an estimate of how many guests walked through their door on a given night. What they don’t know is who walked through their door. They get people in, serve them, and let them walk away without knowing anything about them.

But if you use a digital system to handle every aspect of your door, you’re able to collect data on every type of customer that walks in your venue. And when you connect this to your point of sale system, you’re able to unearth even more valuable information. This means you have a database of all your guests, including their name, contact info, how many times they’ve been to your venue, whether they’re a VIP/guest list/event/general admission customer, how much money they’ve spent, and what their most popular drink purchases are.

Now think about that. With this information at your disposal at the palm of your hand, you get to treat every guest like an individual. Everyone loves to be recognized. Everyone. And people naturally spend more when they feel appreciated and recognized. Here are a couple examples to do this well:

  • A customer is a regular guest list customer. They come to your venue and you see in their profile they’ve visited your venue every week for the past month. Upsell that customer to a VIP table and provide a complimentary bottle of champagne as a thank you. This simple gesture is perceived by the guest as a premium, highly personalized level of service. It shows him how much he is valued, and entices him to stay longer, spend more, bring more of his friends, and come back more often. This is how you organically build loyalty.
  • You’re hosting an event. You’ve hosted events in the past and used your digital system to build your database. You segment your customer list into a group of people who attended a similar event in the past that spent more than $200 at your bar. Send that group an exclusive invitation to your event before you release it to the rest of the public. They’ll feel like insiders and will naturally establish a deeper connection with your venue. You can also give your biggest spender a complimentary ticket to the event because you’ll know you’ll make even more in bar sales with him.

Treating guests like the individuals they are and catering your experience to their needs isn’t hard. All it takes is a system that captures all your information in one place, your staff to use that system so it automatically pulls necessary information on the guests walking through your door, and your ability to execute on providing that exclusive experience. It’s the little things that make the biggest difference to your guests.

3. Use a pricing strategy for events

This last area to focus on is automated and allows you to make incremental revenue without doing any additional work. For the win. While this is primarily focused on events, you can use this same strategy for an average night by treating every night like an event.

Let’s say you have tickets to sell to your upcoming event. Use an automated pricing strategy to earn more revenue as demand increases. For example, you can have early bird tickets available a month before the event at $50, which changes to advanced tickets two weeks before the event for $60, which changes to general admission the week before the event at $70, which changes to door ticket for $80 the night of the event. You can also set your pricing strategy to increase by inventory instead of time, meaning the first 50 tickets are $50, the next 50 are $60, and so on. This incentivizes guests to buy early and also brings more revenue to you for those that don’t.

Interested in learning more about how Vēmos can help you earn more revenue? Contact us at 877-388-7872 or fill out the form below.

Author Whitney Larson Posted on

Kicking Off Summer with a Successful Memorial Day Party

Memorial Day is the unofficial launch of summer. It’s also only a month way. Many people look to Memorial Day weekend to hang out with friends and commemorate the start of summer in style at a party. Let’s make sure they choose to celebrate at your party. Follow the below tips to create a profitable holiday event.

For Ticketed Parties

1. Set up a pre-sale ticketing strategy

Pre-sale revenue is the best way to pay for your event before it even happens. The best way to pre-sell revenue is to create and manage an online event page, sell tickets to consumers right through the page, integrate the event with a mobile app for promoters to sell tickets directly from their device, and sync the events with a Facebook widget to sell tickets directly through your Facebook page and Facebook ads. Contact us if you need help with this. We have one system that handles it all from one central location that you can manage, all while tracking individual channel results.

2. Use a night-of yielding strategy to increase prices

Encourage people to pre-purchase their tickets by showing the price will increase on the night of the event, and then follow through with that. Have the ability to sell tickets at the door for an increased fee. You can even set tickets to increase price by the hour to encourage people to arrive early. This is your yielding strategy. As the night arrives and as more people are in the party, the demand gets higher and you can charge more for your tickets.

3. Get all your staff up and running on the right system for smooth operations

Door operations are a huge component for an enjoyable night. Get all of your staff up and running on the same system or same strategy. The best way is to use a system that handles both door operations along with ticketing and event management. That way, you can scan tickets in through the device, sell tickets from that same device, and be able to track arrivals and other important guest information along the way. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s black and white with your staff on how the night is going to run.

4. Optimize your lines for speed of night

Many events use one line for everyone, which increases wait time, puts extra stress on your staff, and ultimately slows down the speed of the night. Instead, create a different line for a different type of customer, such as a line for your pre-sale customers and a line for customers paying at the door. This is another way to encourage pre-sale, and allows your staff handling pre-sale checkin to only focus on that task and increase line speed. On the other hand, it allows your staff selling tickets at the door to only handle that task, aiding in the long waits for door sales. The more organized your lines are, the faster your speed of night will be, the happier your customers will be, and the faster they’re your door to spend money on drinks.

5. Analyze results for a bigger return next year

Getting access to your data gives you the opportunity to truly understand how your venue and events are performing. If you get on board with the Vēmos system, your life will be simnifically easier since it will all be in one spot – not to mention the data will be broken down by individual guests and staff members to truly identify areas of strength and weakness. Once you know how well you did, you’re able to better set yourself up for success for your next event. Optimization is key to long-term success.

For Non-Ticketed Parties

1. Use a system to capture guest list, general admission, and table reservations

You don’t have to sell tickets to have pre-sales. In fact, we’re seeing a lot of venues be successful by treating every day as an event. You can pre-sell guest list entries or table reservations. Use a system that integrates with your website and social pages to handle these pre-sale inquiries. A system like Vēmos does this and also allows you to easily handle check-ins for guest list parties, reservation parties, and general admission walk-ups all from one device. It also takes cover payments and automates your speed of night. Plus, when all of this is tied together, you’re able to collect information about each guest no matter how they came in through your door.

2. Promote your promotions

Identify the promotions you’re going to run to bring people into your event, without limiting yourself to discounting your drinks. Sure, fun drink specials are a great way to drive guests, but so are other fun promotions such as a patio party, hiring live music, hosting drinking games or being a part of a summer kick-off pub crawl. Once you’ve identified your promotions, it’s time to promote them. Turn to social media to target your followers. Run a Facebook ad to a very targeted demographic. Send email and text message campaigns to your loyal guests. Choose different options from different channels to make your message are 100% relevant to the person you’re reaching. Make sure to use trackable links for each individual effort so you know exactly what worked and what didn’t.

3. Analyze results for a bigger return next year

Getting access to your data gives you the opportunity to truly understand how your venue and events are performing. If you get on board with the Vēmos system, your life will be simnifically easier since it will all be in one spot – not to mention the data will be broken down by individual guests and staff members to truly identify areas of strength and weakness. Once you know how well you did, you’re able to better set yourself up for success for the future. Optimization is key to long-term success.


Contact Vēmos to learn more about how we can help you with your Memorial Day event. Call us at 877-388-7872 or fill out the form below.


Whitney Larson is the president and director of marketing at Vēmos. Contact her at whitney.larson@vemos.io.

Author Whitney Larson Posted on

When to Start Marketing Your Event

Events are an integral part of our entertainment culture, especially during the summer months. This also means that competition for your audience’s attention is even higher. That’s why it’s important to solidify the details of your event and start marketing it with enough lead time to get people buying early.

Here’s a step-by-step guide of when to start planning and marketing your event.

6+ months out

At the six-month mark, you should have all the high-level strategic information of our event figured out. This includes:

  • Picking an event date, time, and location
  • Choosing an event theme
  • Hiring your talent
  • Booking necessary third-party vendors, including sound and lighting equipment and decor
  • Identifying your target audience to attend your event
  • Defining your goals and objectives for the event
  • Get your ticketing system in place — the ticketing system you use translates to the amount of money your event makes.

These details are what will set the stage for who you’re marketing to and what they can expect at your event.

4 months out

With the high-level information defined, it’s time to craft your event assets and define your marketing strategy, including:

  • Segment your audience into specific groups
  • Drafting key messages for your target audience personas
  • Identifying marketing outlets, including social media and third-party sponsors
  • Create affiliate links for each of your marketing channels to track results
  • Designing imagery and ad campaigns, including flyers and social media ads
  • Scheduling staff involvement and expectations, such as number of tickets they need to sell and night-of shift expectations
  • Work with your ticketing company to make sure money goes directly into your bank so you can pay for your event before it happens

Clarity and consistency is of upmost importance when getting all your ducks in a row. Make sure you have a designated event leader who can make decisions, delegate tasks, and keep everything aligned. This is what will make everyone operate fully in their role and avoid any confusion between different parties.

3 months out

It’s time to start building general awareness. Lead times vary depending on the type of event you’re hosting. A general rule of thumb is the higher-priced tickets you’re selling, the longer lead time you’ll need. A higher-end event with $100+ tickets should budget at least 3 months of lead time with active marketing, while a $10 concert may get away with 1-2 months lead time. Regardless, make sure you have the following items in place to build your awareness:

  • Publish your event on your website event page or create a landing page
  • Establish your ticketing pricing levels — three tiers to consider are early bird, general, and walk-ups with prices increasing with each tier
  • Create a Facebook event on your Facebook page and invite people to attend
  • Include your event in an email to your target audience, or send an email specifically announcing your event if you’re in that 3 month lead time with active ticket sales


1-2 months out

Actively market your event and tickets to generate pre-sale revenue. Typical ticket tier in this phase is early bird ticket rates.

  • Turn promoters into mobile box offices to sell tickets on the street
  • Use social media advertising to reach your audience and garner pre-sales
  • Get staff involved with sharing your event on their social channels, using their personal affiliate link

2-3 weeks out

Early bird tickets should be selling, and you may even be onto your next ticketing tier. Continue to hit the pavement hard with your marketing efforts through your promoters, media affiliates, third-party sponsors, staff, and social media channels.

1 week out

At this point, early bird tickets should be sold out. Consider labeling early bird tickets as sold out (even if they didn’t entirely sell out) to create a sense of urgency for pre-sale buyers.

  • Actively promote last chance to get pre-sale tickets before prices go up at the door
  • Get all your staff up and running on the same system
  • Determine your line strategy for the night of your event
  • Confirm details with vendors


Night of event

It’s the night of your event, and you should already be well-informed of how many tickets have been sold and feel at ease with the revenue you’ve already earned. Now it’s time to make sure operations are seamless for an enjoyable night.

  • Optimize your lines for speed of night
  • Sell tickets at the door at the walk-up price
  • Focus on getting your guests through your door so they can get inside to enjoy their night and spend money on drinks


After event

Now that you’re event is over, it’s time to analyze results for a bigger return next time. Getting access to your data gives you the opportunity to truly understand how your venue and events are performing. This is why we recommend using a unified system like Vēmos, where all functions are operated through one central system. That way, all of your data will be in one spot – not to mention the data will be broken down by individual guests and referrers to truly understand areas of strength and weakness. You’re able to easily identify which marketing channels are bringing in your traffic, which promoters are bringing in the best guests, and how your revenue and event performed as a whole. This information allows you to set yourself up for even more success for your next event.


Interested in learning more about Vēmos’ event and ticketing platform? Contact Whitney Larson at whitney.larson@vemos.io or fill out the form below.

Author Whitney Larson Posted on

How to Improve Your Results with Data

The surge of summer parties is nearly here, which means it’s time to make sure you’re fully set up for success from an operational and revenue standpoint. We at Vēmos believe in helping venues manage, understand, and grow their business through technology and data. Here’s what we mean by that.

The key to measuring the success of your event or venue is by knowing your data. In order to know your data, you need to first collect it. But don’t worry, it’s not as complex as it sounds, and through our system, you’re able to not only collect data, but also streamline your operations as a result.

Here’s how to use a system to collect data, streamline operations and improve results.

1. Use a platform that collects data on all areas of your venue

The best systems allow you to operate under one dashboard and allow you to manage every type of entry, including pre-sale tickets, general admission, walk-up tickets, guest list, and VIP reservations. This is what we call a fully integrated solution, and not only does it allow you to manage your operations in one simple dashboard, but it also collects data from all these areas. That means you get a holistic picture of how your venue is performing in one spot. Another bonus: that data is presented in automated easy-to-read charts and graphs so you no longer have to comb through and make sense of all your data points.

2. Get everyone on the system

Make sure your team and all your marketing channels — including your website and social pages — has access to your platform so that information is flowing through the one system. Also make sure each staff member has his/her own personal login so you can track where your guests are coming from and which of your staff are bringing in the most and best guests.

3. Review your data

Once everything is flowing through one system, you’re able to review your data across all areas of your venue in your analytics dashboard. This will help you identify:

  • How much money you made over a given time period
  • When people tend to make their purchases during the night or even leading up to the night (for pre-sales)
  • Who your guests are, how often they show up, what they typically purchase, and what drives them to attend
  • Which marketing channels brought in your guests
  • Which promoters are bringing in the most guests (and the highest-spenders)


4. Optimize your efforts to increase profit

The above information allows you to get a true sense of how you’re performing, which in turn allows you to understand what is and isn’t working so you can make the necessary changes. That’s the true power of data. When you have absolute clarity around your event or venue’s performance, you can do even more to increase your success, including marketing to your exact target audience or generating more pre-sale revenue. Without data, you’re simply just guessing.


Interested in learning more about the Vēmos platform and its analytics? Contact Whitney Larson at whitney.larson@vemos.io or fill out the form below.

Author Whitney Larson Posted on

How to Generate Pre-Sale Revenue and Increase Business

We talk a lot about pre-sale revenue. After all, it’s one of the best ways to guarantee business into your venue, predict your revenue and profit for a night, and even cover your expenses before your night begins. What’s more is with pre-sale inventory, you’re able to collect more information about your guests since most of the purchases are done online through e-commerce. Consumers are now conditioned to provide information in exchange for an online purchase, and all of that information and data can be used to increase your marketing efforts and improve your overall business results.

Pre-sale revenue truly is a win for your business and it’s one of the easiest processes to set up. Just follow these steps.

How to Set Up Your Pre-Sale Revenue Process

1. Identify the inventory you have to sell ahead of time. It can be table reservations, cover charges, tickets, drink packages, or whatever else you may have.

2. Determine how much of each item you’re able to sell, and associate a price to each item. Each item might even have multiple prices based on the timing. For example, you might have tickets to an event. You can have early bird tickets available a month before the event at $50, which changes to advanced tickets two weeks before the event for $60, which changes to general admission the week before the event at $70, which changes to door ticket for $80 the night of the event. This incentivizes guests to buy early and also brings more revenue to you for those that don’t.

3. Make your inventory available. You may need to partner with a ticketing company like Vēmos to process pre-sale transactions. Make sure to either have a landing page dedicated to your pre-sale inventory (like an event page), or have it integrated into your own website.

4. Market your pre-sale items. Have your promoters drive customers to buy either online or directly through them through a mobile app. Use social media to engage with your customers or advertise to new ones. Send an email campaign or text messages to your best customers to get them to buy early.

5. Strategize your lines the night of to show further benefits of buying early. Make sure your pre-sale line moves faster than your walk-up line to thank your pre-sale guests for buying ahead of time and to show other guests the value of doing so.

6. Measure your results and make goals for next time. Know what marketing efforts worked and which didn’t. Know which items sold and which didn’t. Repeat and enhance the initiatives that worked and table the ones that didn’t to continue to grow your efforts and increase your revenue.

Whitney Larson is the director of marketing at Vēmos. Contact her at whitney.larson@vemos.io or fill out the form below.

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