Last week my travels took me to Nashville Tennessee to work with one of my clients. It was a good trip but one thing struck me clearly, the power of NCAA Basketball on the local economy.
The NRA reports that business in the restaurant industry was off dramatically during January and February. My clients have expressed similar concerns about their business as well. With this as a backdrop, it was great to be in a city restaurant bustling with activity during tournament weekend in Nashville. Lunch on a Thursday found the restaurant packed with a 10 minute wait.
Later that day spoke with a client in another city where there was a tournament last year and asked him about the economic impact on his business. He told me that it added a significant boost to his numbers that unfortunately he has to face this year. I think he will do OK because we had put together a great program to take advantage of St. Patty’s Day and the NCAA Brackets Challenge with a tie-in to his loyalty program.
Obviously the NCAA tournament is a great business boost if it is in your city. If it isn’t build an event that takes advantage of the promotion potential that the games bring.
Joe Welsh
Joe Welsh is a Partner with CORE Restaurant Marketing Solutions which is a national restaurant marketing agency focusing on helping restaurants improve their sales and profitability. Joe has worked with restaurants on a local and national basis. He has developed and implemented programs for US Foodservice, Gordon Foods and Performance Food Group. Joe has his Master’s Degree in Food Marketing from St. Joseph’s University and over 30 years’ experience in the Food Industry covering both the retail and foodservice sectors.
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