Everybody is Nobody

How much time do you and your staff spend on trying to get everyone to come bowling? After the flier is made, what happens next? Do you speak to everyone who comes into the center? Do you go to businesses in the area and distribute fliers?

If you are trying to go after everybody, you are going after NOBODY and unfortunately that's who usually responds to your offer. With open play being soft this fall, you have to be more precise in your marketing effort and go after specific segments; groups of people who have a greater possibility to buy your product.

Here is an example. Suppose you are trying to build a weekday 9pm open play program. The prime candidates for that product would be the 18 to 34 audience with a core group of 21 to 25. To reach this group, we hope you have a data base of emails of former customers with birthdays. This should be your first line of attack. Second, put the offer up on your web site. Third, send a 4 color postcard to a mailing list of 18 to 34 yr olds; send it 2 or 3 times.

Fourth, listen to various radio stations or cable TV and see where the local bars are advertising; then buy radio or cable on those networks or radio station (call the local "bar who is advertising" and ask them if their advertising is pulling results. then contact the media people and get their input. make them prove who their audience is. Make them show you results from other advertisers and do NOT ever buy a schedule that gives you the whole day (ROS schedule). It is not a targeted campaign and you will be wasting dollars...big time.

You need to find the right person to spread the word, to carry your message, to love your program and willing to tell other people. If you don't discipline your business to target the right "someone", you might end up with no one...and that will be expensive.