How to Beat the Odds in a Challenging Economy

According to the BBC, the UK’s night-time economy has taken a serious hit over the past five years. Nearly 1,000 night-time venues (bars, clubs, and restaurants) have shut down across Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk between March 2020 and June this year. That’s a sharp decline from 7,033 to just 6,042 operators in the space of a few years.

And it’s not just nightclubs and bars. New figures released this year reveal that eight pubs a week ceased trading across the UK in the first half of the year, as the industry struggles with rising tax and labour costs. The total number of pubs in England and Wales, including those vacant or available to let, has now fallen to just 38,780.

But Why Are So Many Venues Closing?

There is a combination of factors at play:

• Rising operational costs and inflation
• Lower disposable income among consumers
• Higher taxes and labour costs
• Changing social habits, with fewer young people going out clubbing and people drinking less
• The longtail impact of COVID-19 is still hanging over the industry.

With so many businesses struggling to reach their full potential, attention is turning to the proactive steps that operators can take to strengthen their businesses and move forward towards growth. So, what’s the answer? Well, at Stampede, we believe that technology-led customer engagement and more innovative marketing can genuinely help.

Insights from the Industry

Our Founder, Patrick Clover, believes, “Trading without an effective, modern sales and marketing strategy is like sailing a ship without a rudder… If you’re going to go through all that hard work of setting up any kind of hospitality business – pub, restaurant or hotel – it really is worth assessing whether your sales and marketing strategy truly matches the proposition that you offer your guests!

“Businesses that prioritise a robust customer acquisition and retention strategy, powered by effective guest engagement technology, consistently achieve greater success and revenue growth. Sadly, though, there are still a lot of hospitality businesses that actually have little to no modern, or digital, sales and marketing strategy. These are often the same kinds of companies that we notice are struggling.

“Instead, with the right kind of approach and conditions, these trying situations can be turned around. It is possible to improve and re-engineer marketing and sales to take a more strategic approach. Today this includes using a modern guest engagement system that unifies customer data into one platform for better use to support marketing; and to generate loyal customers, which ideally leads to repeat business and customer referrals.

“Alongside this, as businesses consider their sales and marketing strategy, they also need to consider whether their entire customer journey is branded when communicating with customers. Creating a memorable, branded, customer journey that includes all the major digital points like guest Wi-Fi, social media, and targeted email as a minimum, supports growth. Putting these steps in place sets businesses up to deliver targeted, personalised marketing more effectively, the results of which can lead directly to more revenue and positive reviews online – all made possible by guest data and a strategic approach. 

Conclusion

The hospitality sector is undoubtedly facing one of the toughest periods in its history, but there is real opportunity ahead. Businesses that embrace digital tools, personalised engagement and innovative marketing will be the ones that weather the storm and thrive. In a market where every customer counts, a tech-enabled strategy isn’t optional – it’s a powerful advantage.

If you’re a bar, restaurant, pub or nightlife operator struggling with footfall or looking for ways to build loyalty and boost revenue, now is the time to act. Get in touch with us at hello@stampede.ai to explore how our guest engagement platform can support your growth.