To attract a better crowd to your pub or bar, you have to stop trying to be everything to everyone and start being specific about who you want in the room. You do this by raising your entry price (not just drinks, but 'vibe'), curating your entertainment to repel the wrong people, and focusing your marketing on high-spending groups like function bookings and local professionals rather than discount hunters.
Why 'Any Customer' is Killing Your Profit
Look, I get the temptation. It’s a Tuesday night, the till is looking light, and you just want bodies in seats. But chasing every stray dollar is the fastest way to ruin a good venue.
If you run 'cheapest pints in town' promos, don't be shocked when you end up with a room full of blokes who nurse one drink for three hours and start a blue in the car park. That’s not a business; it’s a liability.
A 'better crowd' isn't just about people with deep pockets—though that helps. It’s about people who respect the staff, bring their mates, and come back every week without needing a 2-for-1 voucher to show up.
Most owners think they have a marketing problem. Usually, they have a positioning problem. If your pub looks like a shed and smells like stale Carlton Draught, you aren't going to attract the crowd that wants to drop $150 on a nice lunch and a bottle of wine.
Fix the Product Before You Spend a Cent on Ads
I’ve seen venues spend thousands on Facebook ads while their toilets haven't been scrubbed since the 90s. It’s madness.
Before you try to get new people through the door, look at what they see when they walk in.
1. The Lighting: If it’s too bright, people won't stay for that third drink. Dim the lights. Use warm globes. 2. The Music: If I can hear the footy commentary louder than the person sitting next to me, I’m leaving after one. 3. The Staff: Your team is your best marketing. If they look like they want to be anywhere else, your customers will feel the same.
If you want the Friday lunch crowd from the local law firms or real estate agencies, your venue needs to feel like a place where they can actually talk business.
💡 Quick take: A better crowd starts with a better atmosphere. If your venue feels cheap, you'll attract people who only care about price.
Stop Competing on Price
When you compete on price, you’re in a race to the bottom. And guess what? Someone will always be willing to go broke faster than you.
If your main drawcard is 'Cheap Steaks' or '$5 Schooners', you are training your customers to only value you when you’re cheap. The moment you raise prices to cover your rising power bills, they’ll ditch you for the place down the road.
Instead, focus on value. People will pay $30 for a burger if it’s the best burger in Paddington. They’ll pay $18 for a cocktail if the glass is chilled and the garnish isn't a wilted piece of lime.
This is especially true if you're trying to get better spending customers who care more about the experience than the change in their pocket.
The Function Trap (And How to Win It)
Functions are the holy grail for pubs. You get guaranteed numbers, a set spend, and usually, a crowd that behaves themselves because they’re there for a specific reason.
But most pubs treat functions as an afterthought. They have a PDF menu from 2018 buried somewhere on their website that takes ten minutes to download on a phone.
If you want to book out your function space every single weekend, you need to make it incredibly easy for people to say yes.
- Put high-quality photos of the space on your site. - List your capacities clearly. - Have a 'Book Now' button that actually works on phones.
Don't make them 'enquire for a quote'. Give them a range. People are busy. If they have to wait three days for your events manager to email them back, they’ve already booked the place down the street.
Using Google to Filter Your Crowd
Google is where the 'better crowd' looks for you. They aren't scrolling through TikTok looking for a pub; they’re typing 'best beer garden near me' or 'good steak Brisbane' into Maps.
If your Google profile looks like rubbish, you’re losing the best customers before they even see your front door.
I’m talking about blurry photos of half-eaten schnitties and reviews from three years ago. You need to proactively get more Google reviews that mention the things you want to be known for.
If your reviews all say 'great place for a quiet drink' or 'amazing wine list', that’s the crowd you’ll get. If they say 'cheap pots and loud music', well, you know who’s turning up.
"Rachel Wong's take — If your Google Maps photos look like they were taken on a Nokia 3310 in a dark alley, don't be surprised when the high-spenders skip right past you."
— Rachel Wong, Marketing Director
Curating the Vibe with Entertainment
Music is a massive filter.
If you want a younger, trendier crowd that drinks seltzers and premium gins, you probably shouldn't have a 60-year-old bloke in the corner playing 'April Sun in Cuba' on an acoustic guitar every Saturday night.
There’s nothing wrong with Dragon, but it sends a signal about who the venue is for.
If you want a 'better' (read: higher spending) crowd, think about DJs who play house or disco on a Sunday afternoon. Or a jazz trio for Thursday nights. It sets a tone. It tells people: 'This is a sophisticated spot.'
The Power of the 'Regular'
Your best customers are the ones who are already there.
We see so many owners obsessed with 'new' customers that they ignore the legends who come in three times a week.
How do you treat your regulars? Do you know their names? Do they get a 'on the house' drink every now and then?
A better crowd is often built from the inside out. When a new person walks into a pub and sees a bunch of locals having a great, respectful time, they feel safe and comfortable. They stay longer. They spend more.
If they walk in and see a bunch of rowdy idiots taking over the bar, they’ll turn around and walk out.
What About the Food?
Food is the biggest driver of the 'modern' pub crowd. The days of the 'greasy spoon' pub counter are mostly gone.
Even if you’re a traditional boozer, your food needs to be tight. It doesn't have to be fancy, but it has to be good.
If you can’t get the basics right, you won’t get the families, the couples, or the groups of friends. You’ll just get the people who are too drunk to care what they’re eating.
✅ What to do: Pick three signature dishes and make them world-class. Don't try to have 50 items on the menu. Do five things perfectly.
Dealing with the 'Wrong' Crowd
Sometimes, you have to actively push people away to make room for the ones you want.
This sounds harsh, but it’s business. If you have a group that’s loud, aggressive, or just puts other people off, you have to deal with it.
This might mean changing your dress code. It might mean getting rid of the pokies (a big call, I know, but it changes the DNA of a room). It might mean stopping certain drink promos.
Look at your data. Who are your best customers? When do they come in? What do they hate?
If your best customers stop coming on Friday nights because it’s too rowdy, you aren't 'making money' on those rowdy nights—you’re losing your long-term bread and butter.
Marketing That Actually Works
Stop posting 'Happy Hour 4-6pm' on Instagram every single day. Everyone does that. It’s boring.
Show the 'better crowd' what they’re missing.
- Post a video of the atmosphere on a busy Saturday. - Show the chef prepping a fresh piece of fish. - Show a group of friends laughing over a round of cocktails.
You want to sell the feeling of being at your pub, not just the price of the beer.
And please, for the love of all things holy, make sure your website works on phones. If I’m on a bus and I want to see your menu, and I have to pinch and zoom to read a grainy photo of a chalkboard, I’m going somewhere else.
The Long Game
Changing your crowd doesn't happen overnight. You can’t just flip a switch and have the Paddington elite suddenly appear in your front bar.
It takes months of consistent effort. You’ll probably lose some revenue in the short term as the 'cheap' crowd leaves. That’s the scary part.
But once the word gets out that your venue is 'the' place for a good night out without the nonsense, the better crowd will find you. And they’ll bring their wallets with them.
What to do next
You don't need a massive agency to start this. You just need to be honest about where your venue is at right now.
Walk across the street, look at your pub, and ask yourself: 'Would I want to spend $200 here?' If the answer is no, start there.
Clean the place up. Fix the lighting. Update your Google profile.
If you want some help figuring out which levers to pull first, give us a yell at Local Marketing Group. We’ve helped plenty of Brisbane venues stop chasing the wrong dollars and start building a business that actually lasts.
You can find us here: https://lmgroup.au/contact