Originally Posted on SF Gate.
According to Technomic Research, 49% of restaurant and bar operators who display sports reported that offering sports programming increases a customer’s length of stay, while 33% say it increases customer retention.
This proves that watching live sports is a community activity, and that fans have an even better experience when cheering on their favorite team with like-minded fans. For businesses like bars and restaurants, operators should take note and capitalize on the opportunity to increase customer loyalty and drive sales while becoming the go-to local spot on game day.
Joe Hand Promotions, the leading live sports content distributor in the U.S. for bars and restaurants, wants to help local establishments grow their loyal customer base and enhance their reputation through offering live sports and entertainment programming. Here are their three reasons why embracing live sports programming can help your business’ growth and reputation.
1. Increase foot traffic
Social sports fans want to find the best venue to catch the action. The same Technomic survey shows that high-profile sports events generate a 21% average increase in unit-level sales and a 15% average increase in traffic for restaurants and bars.
By hosting televised sporting events, operators can increase foot traffic by becoming the new “it” spot for game day. This, in turn, will capture a whole new base of patrons, from die-hard fans to casual viewers.
If you want the best variety of sports programming, you can partner with Joe Hand Promotions, an authorized sales agent for leading sports brands like ESPN to provide restaurants, bars and other venues with ESPN+ for Business, which showcases 120-200 live sporting events per month. Events include UFC Fight Nights, Top Rank Boxing, and major-conference college football and basketball, PGA TOUR LIVE, tennis, international soccer, and more, attracting fans from all sectors of the sports industry! You can find the full schedule here.
To read the other two ways that live sports can enhance your establishment, click HERE.