amalik91 Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 [color=#505050][font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]hiya fellow hookah smokers! I put up a post a while ago mention that my family would be buying the Hookups Hookah Lounge in Lake Forest, CA and now we got it! Very exciting and I've been working hard the past week, but one thing I wanted to improve was getting the word out. The colleges around the area has never heard of hookups and I'm trying to get the name out there. It's a place to study, socialize, etc. All I can do really is put an ad in the college paper, and work with facebook and twitter. Is there any other way to bring in more customers? maybe bumper stickers? flyers? etc? Thanks![/font][/color] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushrat Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Skip the student newspaper. I used to own a place called Hookah Bliss in Chapel Hill, NC. Big college town. I ran advertisements in the student paper on several occasions. Always included a coupon so I could track the response, and not..nothing. My last effort for run for a week in various spots in the paper and I didn't get a single coupon back from a student. Word of mouth is the best way to get the word out. People are going to come in if they can see you, if they have a good time, they will tell their friends and so on. Make sure your web site lists your menu, it will help with searches. The BEST thing for getting the students may be getting a reporter to come in and do a story on your new business. That got me a lot more visibility than anything else i tried. As opposed to the coupon, which got zero return, I heard people tell me "i saw the article about you in the paper." Hope that saves you some money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coyote Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 It might help to have some unique appeal also. There a lot of lounges you can go to smoke and study. Most places have belly dancers. At the place I go they have poker nights and special cigar events with food and beverages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skoozle Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Wear a Hookups t-shirt and set up a pipe right in the middle of campus. People will stop and ask you about it then you can tell them to go to the lounge and hand out flyers. Keep a few hundred plastic mouth tips on hand to let people try it. I wish someone had done this when I was in college. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headhunter Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 [quote name='Skoozle' timestamp='1351175523' post='559267'] Wear a Hookups t-shirt and set up a pipe right in the middle of campus. People will stop and ask you about it then you can tell them to go to the lounge and hand out flyers. Keep a few hundred plastic mouth tips on hand to let people try it. I wish someone had done this when I was in college. [/quote] this sounds like an awesome idea, as long as they haven't banned smoking on campus +1 for ingenuity because i wish someone would do this on my campus lol i would sit and talk with them for a while Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuckthatvincekid Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 I think social networking is a really good way to connect with your clientele nowadays. If any colleges nearby have a twitter, see if they can hook you up with a tweet/retweet somehow. Track who talks about "xxx" college + things to do and tweet at them about the hookah lounge. Have facebook account too, run promotions (like us for a dollar off your first bowl, or whatever works.) Also, the hookah on campus was a really good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r1v3th3ad Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 by chance, is this Hookahups related to someone that made tobacco back in say '08? I dont know what ever happened with it but a guy came here saying he was getting into the tobacco industry for hookah and had preproduction that he gave out samples to forum members...I got to try all 12 or so flavors and the stuff was amazing, but he just sort of disappeared and I've been wanting it ever since...can you ask the former owner if he was related to this business venture for me please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushrat Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 I remember hookahups..was some good stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeetsak Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 im with skoozle smoking a hookah in public will always get you attention..if you like it or not.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezxen Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 New approchement to sign waving have a Guy smoking with a sign that will get attention Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skoozle Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 [quote name='headhunter' timestamp='1351196731' post='559301'] [quote name='Skoozle' timestamp='1351175523' post='559267'] Wear a Hookups t-shirt and set up a pipe right in the middle of campus. People will stop and ask you about it then you can tell them to go to the lounge and hand out flyers. Keep a few hundred plastic mouth tips on hand to let people try it. I wish someone had done this when I was in college. [/quote] this sounds like an awesome idea, as long as they haven't banned smoking on campus +1 for ingenuity because i wish someone would do this on my campus lol i would sit and talk with them for a while [/quote] If smoking on campus has been banned, he has bigger problems to worry about than running a hookah lounge. Time to plan a violent overthrow of whoever banned smoking on a college campus. Seriously, unleashing big clouds of smoke in public view will attract almost anyone who is into tobacco or smoking. That's the target audience, right? Some will be disapointed that it's only tobacco, but they arent the customers you're looking for either. Free Samples - Works for chinese places in malls everywhere, it will work for you. Just be sure to check ID before letting someone try it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chreees Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 They finally banned all tobacco here on MTSU's campus this year. No more Middle Eastern guys chilling in the quad smoking their Mya QTs, but you still see people walking around smoking cigs. If caught by campus police its a $250 fine. Tapatalk'd via iPhone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skoozle Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 All tobacco? You can't even chew? It bothers me that colleges can't let college aged students be adults. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chreees Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 "Tobacco-Free" is how they put it, so I'm assuming so. I haven't read the specifics, as it went into effect after I graduated. Tapatalk'd via iPhone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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