13 Sep 08 How do I get more people to come?

When i was young, I would always play around the house and on the streets with the local crew of kids in my neighbourhood. Being the mischevious bunch that we were, it wasn’t uncommon to find us running around from the street, to the yard and into the house.

My grandmother would always try calm us down a little when she would see a handful of young rascalls storming towards her at top speed and then continuing to run laps around the kitchen table, all whilst incorporating the fantasy world of pirates, cowboys and superheroes in our endeavours.

But once all the fun and games were over, my grandmother would sit me down and say

- “I have no problem with you boys playing and doing what you do, but I do want one thing.”
- “Whats that” – I would say.
- “I want to know the names of these boys, where they live, and who they are.”

Bewildered, i asked why? Why was any of this necessary? I was making friends and having fun wasn’t I?
But apparently, that wasn’t enough for my grandma.

“I need to know, because I need to understand who they are, so I can understand who you are, and who you will become,” she said.

For years I never understood what all of that nonsense meant, but as I matured and learned what it was like within the nightlife and hospitality industry, it started making sense.

You have to know who your patrons are, in order to know what your venue is.

You have possibly been collecting a database for a while now, but do you really know what music Jane Denton on the fourth page likes?

Do you know what kind of drinks Andrew that came in last friday likes?

Why is this important?

Well imagine the following.

Imagine, that Andrew is having a birthday within the upcoming few weeks. Now imagine that you want to reach out to him in someway.

Those who keep databases buried in paper, or on an excel sheet, will be doomed. You just won’t be able to communicate to all your patrons on a personal and intimate level like you would with MyGuestList.

Not only can MyGuestList show you that Andrew is indeed turning 21 in four weeks time, but it can also tell you that he likes Vodka pineapple drinks and he loves electro house.

So, with this information at hand, now you can communicate to Andrew on a more personal level, asking him to have his birthday at your venue and promoting something to him which is inclusive of his likes or dislikes.

Do this for the number of patrons in your database and before you know it, you will be hosting more parties than you ever thought possible.