Venue Competitor Research on how to outsell them

Kevin Kosky

Doing an Event Venue Competitor Analysis to Make More Sales

A Venue Competitor Analysis Can really help improve your Event Sales. This blog covers the elements and benefits of a doing a good Competitor Analysis.

  • How do you identify your KEY Competitors?
  • How can your differentiate your Venue from others?
  • Could you co-operate with some of your Competitors for a “win-win”?

Venue Competitors

Who are your BIGGEST Events industry Competitors?

  • You have LOTS of competition for any event – There are thousands of spaces, places & venues that can host a group gathering like a Function, Event or Wedding. Then there are other alternatives like Overseas venues or just NOT having the event at all.
  • Many events are cancelled, indefinitely postponed or just NOT held because NOBODY wanted to run it or it was considered too difficult to organise. I firmly believe we could grow a “bigger events pie” by making it easier to buy and organise events.

How many Venues are you competing against for each event sale?

  • Most event organisers ask other people for ideas and do lots of web & social research to prepare a “Consideration Set” of Venues that are to be considered for the event.
  • The web has made it easier to shop online for venues and reduced the number of enquiries and inspections needed before choosing a venue.
  • For a significant emotional and Personal events like a wedding, couples and families may typically inspect maybe 3-6 venues. For Corporate Events this could be just 0 to 3 venue site inspections. Venue Sales Staff need to do an Awesome job marketing online and handling those few keen enquiries and venue tours or site inspections.

So HOW do you find out which venues are your BIGGEST competitors?

Here are 5 ways to research your competitors

  1. Followup Calls – You can find out your biggest competitors by phoning and asking your prospects who didn’t book with your venue. Ask “Do you mind if I ask which venue you’ve booked?” – “If there was one thing we could have done differently what would it have been?”
  2. ASK your prospects after building rapport during a site tour – “May I just ask – Which other venues have you already seen?” & “What did you like about that venue?” – “Anything you didn’t like?”
  3. Look at the end of Your own Google My Business listing as it will sometimes show a list of 15 businesses that “people also searched for” – this is a useful indicator of other similar venues and websites that prospects have been looking at
  4. Do a Google Search of the Events you offer to find venues on the Local Area Map
  5. Ask your Webmarketing Agency for a Semrush or Moz Analysis of your online competitors

Studying Your Venue Competitors to Make More Event Sales

It’s a great idea to closely monitor and study your KEY competitors to find out more about the event venues in your “Consideration set” – the other venues that you will be compared to when prospects are looking around for an event, function or wedding.

Some venues are more suited to Personal or Corporate Style Events and different event sizes and each has it’s own strengths and weaknesses.

For example Venue Weaknesses may include –

  • Location, no carparking or too distant or bad surroundings
  • Ambience – too corporate, too romantic, not exclusive enough, noise or
  • Facilities – lacks accommodation, has gaming onsite, is a catering only Venue
  • F & B Offering – limited Food Style or choice , No BYO, etc
  • Service levels – Poor online reputation

Here is a Blog on Venue Features & Benefits to look for.

Checklist for a Venue Competitor Analysis

  1. Make a list of your KEY competitors
  2. Review the Marketing and Webmarketing they are doing
  3. What’s their Online Reputation like? – read their reviews
  4. Find information about their Market Share and performance from Suppliers or Staff?
  5. What are their Strengths? What do they do really well? –
  6. Find their Weaknesses – What do their prospects & clients complain about?
  7. Who are their Target Markets?
  8. What do we offer that they don’t ? – Find Our USPs (Unique Selling Propositions) or Advantages
  9. Then develop your strategies to outsell your competitors – develop your best phrases and wordtracks to highlight your USPs and respond to any objections about your venue

Popular categories of Venue Competitors:

You can consider the Advantages and Disadvantages of each of these VENUE TYPES in your Market

  • Function Venues
  • Wedding Reception Venues
  • Hotels with Accommodation – like the Hyatt Hotel
  • Pubs – Public Hotels
  • Microbreweries and Coffee Roasters with event space
  • Restaurants & Cafes
  • Wineries
  • Members clubs like the RACV club or Australia club
  • Sports Clubs Facilities – sports like soccer & football, lifesaving centres
  • Golf clubs
  • Mililtary Clubs (RSL) & Other Clubs that are Gaming Venues
  • Private Venues & Homes with Caterers
  • Government Department facilities
  • Live Music Venues & Theatres
  • Town halls
  • Council Ovals, pavilions etc
  • Council Halls & recreational centres etc
  • Floating Docks
  • Event Boats & Ships
  • Caterers working in other Spaces
  • Tents and Marquees
  • Outdoor locations with Food trucks
  • Other open spaces like closed off alleyways, parks or beaches
  • Warehouses
  • Nightclubs
  • Stadiums
  • Racecourses
  • Concert Halls
  • Convention Centres

A typical Event may require a Space, Food, Beverage and Entertainment etc – You will most likely be judged on the quality of your service and staff, your F &B  and the ambience of your event space – it’s location and quality.

Sometimes it can be handy to work WITH some of your competitors for the benefit of the local region – referring bigger or smaller events to each other or combining forces to host a huge event. This is called CO-OPETITION or cooperating with your competition and can be good.

Do the most you can with what you already have and do your best promoting your venue offer in the competitive events marketplace.

ABOUT Kevin Kosky & BIG HAT – Wedding & Venue Sales Training

Big Hat Professional Services provides Hospitality Workshops, Webinars and Training on Sales, Service & Strategy using Certified Speakers and Trainers like David & Kevin.

Kevin Kosky is a skilled business communications trainer. He is a specialist on inbound phone skills, presentation skills and delivering sales presentations. Kevin is an expert teacher of face to face communication skills like sales, supervision and presentation skills.

 

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