If you’ve looked around your community you’ve probably noticed that successful local businesses seem to always have something going on. Every holiday they have a party or get together. When the big game is on TV they invite everybody in for some fun, food and celebration.
There is a reason that local businesses – restaurants, bars, ice cream shops and more – do this. People are looking for things to do when there are events. And sometimes people are bored and they need an event to participate in.
The local businesses that focus on events seem to win the business of people looking for entertainment and community with others.
Here are 10 events you can do with your local business to get more revenue. And the real hope here is that these spark some of your ideas because I know you’re better at this than me and only you know the ins and outs of the people in your community.
1. Trivia Night
This is one that one of our favorite bars in the area is doing each week. They have a trivia night where all kinds of people come in to participate in trivia. The bar is the host and people come in with their teams or without teams to participate.
You have some flexibility with this. You could have themed trivia nights. You could have a “celebrity” trivia night where you get local celebrities like sports figure our radio hosts and have some fun with it where people come in and watch the trivia.
I think it’s a good way to get new people through the door and a way to get people coming back on a regular schedule. In both instances you’re growing your revenue.
2. Bands & Music
This one is classic. I went back and forth on including this one because I wanted these ideas to be somewhat fresh from what you might see on other blogs, but I think it’s important enough to include.
When my wife (Sarah of Sarah Lynn Design) and I first started dating we would go to see a local cover band all the time. We would go to their shows all over the area in the bars and festivals they would play.
These bands get followings. They build brands in your community and if you can get them into your place you bring that entire audience along with them and that means more revenue. And you can do it with more than a bar.
Ask them what they need for a stage. Often you can rent the equipment and get things rolling.
3. Game Tournaments
I wasn’t sure how to label this one, but I think I kind of covered what I wanted to get across in the title. But just in case I’m trying to say that you can host things like volleyball tournaments or really any kind of sport or game. It could be beanbag toss. I know it used to be horseshoes and things like that, but it could be basketball or flag football or whiffle ball (now there is a fun summer afternoon.
People love to compete in these things. We wish we could do it at the level of the pros, but these games are things we can have fun with and it brings tons of people together to your business where they need food, drinks and more.
4. Food & Drink Festivals
People love to try new food and drinks. You could host it at your local place. You might be selling food and drinks and people will fill up on the stuff featured in the event, but people will know about your business and will come back. And even when people are trying new things they’re still going to want the good old stuff like a Coke and a bag of chips or a burger or whatever you’re selling.
Get the local independent food and drink businesses together and have a festival. Host it at your place and grow it each year. People will come back looking for new delicious things. Beer and wine festivals are as big as ever and so are local food events.
5. Local Tour Destination
Sarah and I just went on a local tour event here in Wisconsin. You drove around the county making different stops along the way. Not every place, but a few places had us buying things like food, drinks and other items. We would have never discovered any of those places unless they had been part of the tour.
If there isn’t a tour in your area you can start one. Get a few of the businesses in your town to participate and talk to the local radio station to get some publicity. Add a charity on board and raise some money for a good cause. Get a theme around it like the local fall tour. Everyone on the way could have something fall-themed for guests on the tour.
6. Gameday Get Togethers
Who doesn’t love getting together for the big game? People do it all the time in their homes, but sometimes it’s hard to pass up great deals at the local bar, restaurant or even the movie theater. You could host the big game event just about anywhere.
As long as you get a group of people pulling for the same team together in one place they’re going to have a good time. And you can be the host and the place everyone talks about when they talk about the big game.
7. Welcome Home Celebrations
I think of the football team when I think of this one. They go off to state and they come back to town. Win or lose it’s good to have a party for them to show them how much the community appreciates it. You can have food and drinks and maybe even a band and a dance.
Give people a place to get together to show appreciation for someone that has been away and that they’re proud of. I’m sure you can think of a few other reasons to welcome somebody home that’s been away for a long time.
8. Holiday Celebrations
This one is pretty easy. There are a number of ways to celebrate just about every holiday. People are usually looking for something to do and looking for a reason to go out and be amongst friends. The holidays throughout the year are a good excuse and you can oblige by putting on an event. Sarah and I just went to a local Oktoberfest event at a small brewery. It was lots of fun and the place was packed.
9. Work & Business Celebrations
When I worked in the corporate world we would have annual little celebrations. In fact, we would have them a few times a year for various reasons. Mostly it was just to blow off some steam and get to know your co-workers a bit outside of the work setting.
We would go to a bar and play volleyball and bean bags. Or we would rent a boat and cruise around on the lake for an afternoon. There were a number of things we could do and there was always a place that would cater to our events.
You can be that place. Contact a few businesses in your area and ask them what they do when they want to get together with their teams. See if you can fill a void for them. Most of the time these folks are busy and they’ll be thrilled that the business came to them with an idea.
10. Block Parties
Shut down your street and host a block party with the different businesses in your area. Okay, you don’t have to shut down the street, but you could take the businesses outside and get people to come out on a nice weekend.
People love having a single place to go, but it’s kind of cool when the entire block gets involved. People do it all the time at their houses. I know it works just as well with businesses.
Final Thought
Again, I hope that these spark a few more ideas. Build your own ideas off these and go nuts with hosting events. They really do bring in the people to your business and that means more revenue. And you don’t really have to offer discounts or things like that. You’re giving people another reason to come and you’re doing it without cutting into your margins.
Image: Adam Thomas
