The publican’s secret strategy

Everybody loves to win something, especially in these tight-fisted times. So why not take advantage of that and hold a little competition and get a bit of buzz going around your business.

The best competitions have a sense of time and place about them.

My favourite is the “bar tab” draw run by our local pub.

Every Friday night, at 6pm sharp, the publican would draw a business card out of the hat and the winner would get a $1,000 bar tab on one condition – they had to be in the pub.

If the winner wasn’t there, the prize would jackpot. After a few months, the pub was packed every Friday with people trying to win a $1,000 worth of free drinks.

Now, I know most of you won’t own pubs. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get a sense of time and place. You could hold a weekly client barbecue on a Friday and give away a free product or service, with a similar jackpot model.

Or you could give away a prize to someone who spent a certain amount of money in-store or online on a certain day – what a great way to drum things up on a quiet selling day.

Competitions often have state-based rules and regulations around them, so be smart about how you structure yours (make it a game of skill rather than a game of chance and you’ll be better off).

But if your business needs buzz, a competition is a great tool.

Get it done – today!