Thread: Making the Slow Night a Success

So I've been approached by a very nice restaurant establishment, that currently does not have dance entertainment to try and make their slow night (tuesday) a little more hoppin'.

They more or less are giving me free reign to do what I want (they've asked me to prepare a proposal to bring to their marketing committee), but I'm trying to figure out what will make the night special, after all, belly dance entertainment is available all over the city already. What would make people want to come to this particular establishment for belly dance on a tuesday? How do I make is special enough to get people out on a Tuesday night?

Sell yourself. Make it sound like this establishment is SOOOOO LUCKY to have you, an established and well known, worldly, blah, blah, blah, dancer to entertain them. You know, you are so saught after that you are only available on one night, Tuesday.

Shrugs, just a thought.

You can tell them how big you mailing list is.

Hmmm....I'd actually be more inclined to talk about how you can help them achieve their marketing goals, WAY more than how great and in-demand you are. Tooting your own horn is definitely part of the sales pitch, but the key element in this case is that these guys have a specific marketing objective and they're seeking your help. Italicizing the point below because it's, like, super important:

In b2b sales proposals, the KEY is to echo your prospect's objectives consistently throughout your proposal.

If you don't tailor your proposal or your plan to the goals your prospect has in mind, they might wonder if you're really on the same page. Repeating their objectives (even using their verbiage) instills trust, confidence and a sense of transparency - that you care about helping them, not just about making money.

Do you have any documented or anecdotal examples of how you helped to draw traffic to any of your previous venues? Pictures that show you in front of huge, supportive crowds? I think a solid track record of your ability to draw a crowd might make a solid case, alone.

You're at a huge advantage, here, where the owners actually value your *gasp* business input, rather than just your price or your ability to look cute in a bedlah. I usually have to go all kung fu on somebody before I can get them to see that I can help their business. Of course, beware of any business establishment that asks you to do all their advertising for them, without paying you a marketing consultation fee

Just to expand on your point with a couple concrete examples.

I was hired at an Indian restaurant last summer, for the same purpose. (That is, to promote their new lounge for the summer time, and to draw traffic on Thursday nights).

We liked to do little mini theme parties, around the BD thing. One week, we did a Girls' Night, where I did a show and then a mini-lesson. The winner of a shimmy contest got a prize (a small gift card to the restaurant or something). Another week, we did Fire Night - I did fire dancing and they served flaming shots. They also hosted a fashion show and I danced as kind of an intermission.

Don't stress yourself out on making every week a big special new theme - but maybe once a month, you can pitch a fun theme party. ESPECIALLY as the kick-off for the weekly BD entertainment. You need to pique their attention and create a buzz.

Oh, and as far as outside promotion? The Indian restaurant was very good about doing their own promo via Facebook/MySpace blasts, blogging, hanging up colorful signs, etc. I also helped out on my end of things, by promoting it through MySpace and Facebook.

I get a little worried when venues expect BDers to do all their marketing for free. You might want to include a little "Assignments" section in their proposal, with your expectations for them. (i.e. - promoting through social media, putting up signs, offering drink specials or discounts that night, etc.)

Do you have students or a troupe that you would like to showcase once in awhile? They will bring friends/family. Maybe not for every week, but once a month or every other month or something.

i worked at a restaurant that had a very slooooow night until we decided to market a girls night, early enough so that people were able to come after work. i would do a short show (2 songs)then teach a mini class then another short "show" basically dancing with the girls. it was always a lot of fun and a great promotional tool for both the restaurant and me. To get the ladies in the restaurant, they offered happy hour prices on a select few drinks. Another promo thing they could do is offer a free appetizer with any entree. Many people, including myself especially, will go for an offer of anything free.

Definitely beware of getting drawn into doing major marketing work for them. They will if you let them!
It's not our primary job to bring the crowd to them, it's our job to entertain the crowd they draw IMO.

Mahin

Along the lines of MahinS' post, I'd like to share an experience:

It's happened a couple of times that I have been asked if I can, in essence, "guarantee" a good crowd at a restaurant. I answer that I always promote the nights I dance with students, family and friends, but I am in no position to "guarantee" anything -- I don't have any control over what people decide to do with their time.

I therefore echo her advice to not become responsible for the promotion that is, indeed, the duty of the establishment.

Re: Satin's "theme night" idea: I think it's great! Maybe once a month or every six weeks or so. Ditto to Zobeida's suggestions. Oh, heck, ditto to everybody's suggestions!

I truly hope this works out well for you! How exciting!

Deborah

The bit about selling things that really "gets" me but that really works is to sell the benefits. Not the features.

So, an alarm clock will always be accurate and has an alarm that will definitely go off no matter what. These are the features. The benefit is that you will never get up late again, ever.

So to sell benefits to your marketing committee, you have to figure out what problem it is they want solving and what benefit you can offer to help solve that problem.

The problem is they aren't making enough profit. So whatever you propose has to be low-cost and maximum impact.

Whenever I used to work in a restaurant, as a waitress, the owner told me that most of the profit was made on the drinks. Food was only served because it gave them a license to sell drinks.

And the restaurants I've worked in as a dancer liked to have me on when people had finished eating, to start a "party" atmosphere so that the dj could carry on with the "party" after my show and the punters would stay and drink more.

This is a Tuesday gig though - not many people want to get wrecked when they have work the next day. So really you have to think of a way to make a profit without having to get people drunk.

Perhaps they need a special set menu that includes the wine (cheap as usual), and that starts earlier in the evening so that people still have time to get back and recover.

If you can include some sort of incentive to get people coming back once a month then that would help. Repeat custom is the best, as they tend to recommend on to others.

I guess the first step is to find out the profit margins on what they sell and take it from there.

Ramble

Thanks, this is great feedback everybody.

Just to clarify, the venue is already sold on me and I get the impression that the marketing committee wont be a hard sell either. They've already told me they are willing to support me on advertising, food or drink specials or whatever, I just have to ask specifically for what I want. They are trusting my advice as a professional and though they don't expect me to bring my own crowd 100% of the time, they do want my support from my network.

In most respects this is a great opportunity for setting up a nearly ideal gig. The only problem is that it is a Tuesday night.

What I could use are ideas that will bring in the GP every week, something beyond just, there is a belly dancer there. The theme ideas sound great.

I really appreciate your input.

I was hired to do this on Sunday nights at a lounge.

Aside from tons of Facebook and email campaigns, I think a big draw is the specials that the restaurant offers. They do a hookah and hummus plate special for $20 - ties into the bellydancer theme, and you can't beat $20 for a big plate of hummus and a hookah!

What about the crowds of Friday and Saturday night? You could use that as a marketing tool as well. Tired of being in a crowded restaurant and not being able to see the dancer? Tired of the crowds on Friday and Saturday, period? Take a break from your weekly stress and enjoy an intimate dinner at blah-bittity-blah on Tuesdays!

And I think the girls night out is a great idea! And the mini-class! And the theme nights!

Live Music (if you can swing it) it's a huge draw for both GP and dancers in the community.

I would also look at how Kaeshi Chai (of bellyqueen) has set up Je'Bon in NYC. It's a wednesday night (not exactly a party night) at a noodle house on St. Mark's Place yet she draws a crowd almost every week due to the live music and rotation of dancers who also show some of their high level students off for a song or two.

Originally Posted by MahinS

Definitely beware of getting drawn into doing major marketing work for them. They will if you let them!
It's not our primary job to bring the crowd to them, it's our job to entertain the crowd they draw IMO.

Mahin

Couldn't have said it better myself. And this peeves me off big-time, because I know one of my friends who always seems to put up with this line of bull, and wonders why restaurant owners take advantage of her goodwill.

In theory, a BDer is a value-added "perk" that can help a venue stand apart from its competition and, thereby, attract a crowd. A BDer can offer nuggets of marketing insight if that's one of her strong suits, or bring friends and students, or take initiative to help promote her shows at the venue via Facebook, MySpace, mailing lists, etc. All of the above, within healthy limitations, are totally within our normal realm of expectation and duty.

But - and this is a big but - I don't think a belly dancer should be used as a replacement for an advertising budget, a well executed social media campaign, great P.R., an informative website, sufficient word-of-mouth "buzz" from patrons, and (if necessary) an internal or outsourced marketing and promotions professional. Want me to write and implement your marketing plan? I'll have to invoice you a couple grand for that!

How will people outside of the dancer's circle know that there's great food, ambience and entertainment at the said venue, if nobody knows that the venue exists? What happens when the dancer's BFF's get sick of following her to her weekly gig, or if they're all on vaca or booked for their own gigs at the same time? If there are only two (non-dancer) tables, then shame on the restaurant owners for bad marketing, not shame on the dancer...

Originally Posted by SatinWorship19

Couldn't have said it better myself. And this peeves me off big-time, because I know one of my friends who always seems to put up with this line of bull, and wonders why restaurant owners take advantage of her goodwill.

In theory, a BDer is a value-added "perk" that can help a venue stand apart from its competition and, thereby, attract a crowd. A BDer can offer nuggets of marketing insight if that's one of her strong suits, or bring friends and students, or take initiative to help promote her shows at the venue via Facebook, MySpace, mailing lists, etc. All of the above, within healthy limitations, are totally within our normal realm of expectation and duty.

But - and this is a big but - I don't think a belly dancer should be used as a replacement for an advertising budget, a well executed social media campaign, great P.R., an informative website, sufficient word-of-mouth "buzz" from patrons, and (if necessary) an internal or outsourced marketing and promotions professional. Want me to write and implement your marketing plan? I'll have to invoice you a couple grand for that!

How will people outside of the dancer's circle know that there's great food, ambience and entertainment at the said venue, if nobody knows that the venue exists? What happens when the dancer's BFF's get sick of following her to her weekly gig, or if they're all on vaca or booked for their own gigs at the same time? If there are only two (non-dancer) tables, then shame on the restaurant owners for bad marketing, not shame on the dancer...

Exactly!

Having a theme night once a month would be good in addition to a weekly special on the night you dance.

Also if you are going to have live music, make sure there is at minimum a cover charge if people don't order food. Otherwise you get bums that will buy 1 drink all night and take up a seat.