Bar Mobility!

So, I’ve decided to use Ozzie’s bar as my individual project. Not only do I work there on a semi-regular basis, but ever since the new management took over 4 years or so ago, it’s been an establishment in search of an identity. While being known as a karaoke bar, Ozzie’s is simply too large to be that alone. In order to fill the space with paying patrons, Ozzie’s needs to start establishing a social media presence that gets people in the door, encourages return trips and promotes interaction between visits.

Ozzie’s already has a lot of friends (800+) on Facebook already and the number continues to grow. So, how can the bar foster those relationships and engage those customers? One strategy could be allowing customers to help select beers, either on tap or in bottles/cans. With 800+ friends on Facebook, that’s not a bad sampling of people and soliciting their input could encourage them to not only feel that they have an interest in what the business is serving, but also helps Ozzie’s select beer that is requested. Start out small (the one or two most selected on a monthly or bi-monthly basis) and see if that beer sells well. Push notifications to friends about the winners and offer a deal to come in and try it.

Ozzie’s could also use applications like Foursquare to encourage people to patronize the bar more often by offering some sort of carrot to those using Foursquare (or an equivalent app) to check in. Perhaps mayorship at Ozzie’s would carry some sort of special privileges, like a free drink or even a reserved seat at the bar. Or use that as a way to pick 3 or so people (who visited the most in a month) to sample the new beer prospects (or liquor) on a week day night, thus bringing more patrons in on days that are usually really slow.