Taking a Chance to Start 2012

As a writer, I sometimes struggle to find relevant subject matter to communicate to my audience. Other times, the keyboard cannot keep up with my fingers as words seem to flow from their tips.

With 2011 getting ready to go into the record books and 2012 ready to become a reality, I have spent considerable time deciding what to write.  Should I offer 10 ideas for 2012;  10 "life style" ideas for 2012 or perhaps just a short poem or ditty about living in the moment, happiness, health, prosperity and all that good stuff?

 I decided against this. It seemed as if it "had been done" and certainly done better better than I could by such notables as Henry James, Faulkner and Updike to name a few.

In addition to my bowling consulting work, bowling operator work and motivational speaker, I have taken to writing short stories, poems and, for other new clients, even speeches.  Like my bowling business, I get great fulfillment in writing.

So today I am going to take a chance.  I am going to share a short story, actually a very short story, I wrote and submitted for publication (which is pending approval) to a noteworthy magazine.  It has nothing to do with bowling, but everything to do with "a moment in time" and a greater insight into what my friends and colleagues have said is my "weirdly eclectic mind set."

Here it is. I hope you like it and I hope you comment on it


There’s a Reason I Missed My Train
 by   
 Fred Kaplowitz

By one minute, I had just missed my Amtrak train #55 to New York City. Realizing that I had no juice left in my cell phone to call home, I wandered Boston’s South Station, forgetfully dragging my charger, trying to find an outlet that worked, but to no avail. Spotting a woman charging her phone in a double outlet, I approached and asked if I could use the other outlet. Smiling politely, she said, “Sure, why not?”  As I plugged the phone into the charger and the charger into the rusted outlet, I realized that she and the man standing near her, but not close to her, were together. They looked to be in no hurry.  No hurry whatsoever.

We began with some small talk about travel and the places we had been. After a very noticeable pause,  turning hard to look at me, almost through me, and clear out of the blue she said, “I saw the white light and then saw the beauty and glow of Jesus; more spectacularly than I ever could have imagined”. As she completed her sentence, and for what seemed like a lifetime, her eyes closed and she began to rock back and forth. So unexpected was this sequence of word and movement that I found myself trying to catch my breath. For a moment, an instant really, time stood perfectly still. When she opened her eyes and stopped rocking she said, “It was right after an intentional hit and run accident on me.”

Continuing, she said that “Jesus asked her to come with him”. “But”, she said, “I told him I was too young to die” and he said, “Go. Your wish is granted, but you will see me some other time”.  She said, she had survived breast cancer, colon cancer and is now homeless. “I am still here”, she said, through her dark liquid eyes and, oh so tellingly, hard to find smile.

The  small slender man who had been standing with her was eerily silent and, while busily rolling a cigarette, was watching me intently through eyes so sunken and so engulfed in dark circles, he reminded me of someone I knew  a long time ago who had just barely survived a nasty street fight. Almost tempted to ask him what had happened to his eyes, I quickly thought the better of it and held my piece. Silently, I said to myself, “I hope to God you were protecting her”, but  I already knew the answer when he reached out his hand and introduced himself to me.   

                            

His name was Dale. He was her husband. Her name was Pat. They met in Church. “Been together for seven years and married for four years”, he said.  He helped her, said, “To get off smoking crack and being a prostitute”.

                                                                                       

Tonight they were going to their special place to sleep and then, tomorrow, they would get up and do what they needed to do; find food and find a safe place to sleep. They would endlessly repeat these tasks, I thought, until the Universe brought them the opportunity to change their lives, but only if they could see “the change” they were praying for and then capture it for all it was worth.

We said our “goodbyes” and “be safe” words to each other and then they were gone. Walking toward my train, I sadly thought, maybe she should have gone with Jesus.

.                          Boston, MA 9.1.11.

May the New Year bring you all you wish for and all you desire.

Just Hit Delete

Well the New Year is just 4 days from now and my inbox is filling up with invitations to this years party;  parties for kids, seniors, adults with older kids, entire families and just kids parties. The invites keep a coming.

Once we would have been bombarded with direct mail or even TV, Radio or Newspaper  advertising.  Now we are bombarded with Facebook, twitter and email.

Whats the difference?

NOW I don't have to look at your electronic messages. I can just hit delete.  THEN, I had no choice. I had to look, hear or read your message.

So how come with all these electronic miracle communications, as an industry, we aren't doing very well?

Its not the communication. Its not the facilities. its not the sport. Its not the entertainment.

Its the product we are communicating... same old New Years eve party, same old extreme or cosmic, same old Pizza pins n pop. Same old quarter mania.  Same old. Same old.  That's OK if we communicate it to new people...but very few of us do that. We just point, click and send to everybody!!!

And what's funny is this -  you get some people to discuss new ideas and half of them will say flat out:  "that won't work in my market."  Or  the classic: "We tried that and it didn't work."  

And that is too bad because: "Closed Minds = Closed Cash Registers"

Usually the people saying this are the proprietors or managers that could really use a new idea or two. But instead of embracing it, they will  immediately dismiss because it doesn't fit their thinking. They won't even examine it or even test it.

Is it because they think they know what  the customer wants precisely?
Or worse is it because they think they are the customer?

9 times out of 10 YOU ARE NOT the customer. So why are you deciding what THEY would want?
Seriously??

No wonder I hit delete. 

10 Things I Learned in 2011

As I look back on 2011 I realize that it was a much different year than any year I experienced in the bowling industry and that spans over 35 years; 16 of which as the head of  The Kaploe Marketing Group,  having proudly served hundreds and hundreds of proprietors over the years domestically and internationally.

It was a much tougher year.  Much tougher.  Open play was off allot and leagues were at best down slightly Again!

So I thought I would make a list of things I learned this past year and perhaps some of them will resonate with you as well and give you "pause" to think about how to improve your businesss.

1.  Bowling is NOT recession proof any more and in order to get new people into the center and get people to return more frequently, it takes a sustained effort of specific offers to KEY segments vs. a blanket offer to everyone.

2. If you have a blog for your center, you will get 88% more traffic per month than those those who do not (Source: Hubspot Research June 2011).  By the way, if you need help in writing blogs, just contact me (516 359 4874) because we are introducing a  new service for your center in mid January that will create professional blogs for you...really inexpensively too!!

3. Content is king.  Many proprietors are still using  emails and Facebook for one thing and one thing only: to deliver an offer and sell, sell sell. STOP!  You need to build a relationship with your customer and provide them with valuable information that THEY want as a first step to get them to trust you.  Once trust is established you can then offer coupons and special deals that are relevant to specific segment.  There's a reason they call it SOCIAL media, right?

4.  Customer service is no longer just a buzz word.  It is expected and when not delivered, you and your center will soon find that you are on Facebook and Yelp in a very unflattering way. Hire the best athlete and train him or her to  carry out your tactics.  Just because someone has had experience in "front desk operations"  doesn't mean they understand the 21st century customers needs.  In fact it may hurt more than help.  Meeting, greeting, saying thank you and fixing customer issues immediately are essential.  How often do you retrain your staff or get a mystery shopper to tell you how you are doing?

5. Build your cosmic bowling back up by creating an interactive entertainment experience. Go to a college and hire someone who is studying hospitality or communications for Friday and or Saturday night to be your MC to run dance contest, trivia contests, give out funny prizes (red noses, rubber ducks, t shirts, free games, pizza, etc).  Use theme nights; get a band once a month or so and strive to be as entertaining as possible. This product is viewed as entertainment. It "aint" just bowling anymore The 21 year old who has stopped coming to your cosmic show has stopped because it hasn't changed since he was 16 years old. Boring doesn't sell!

6. Get better toilet paper. Women judge a bowling center's cleanliness by the quality of the toilet paper. Don't ask me how I know this...its a very long story.  :)

7.  Make sure your website is updated at least once per week and that you post on Facebook every day. Yeah, I know you're busy, but to communicate effectively someone on your staff (or you)  needs to devote at least one hour per day to 21st century marketing communications.

8.Try to build a short season league program every month (6 to 10 weeks). That's what NEW customers want. That's what they expect and if you don't offer them this choice, they just won't join anything.  Period.

9. Outside selling is still very important. If no one in the center is getting outside of the center to speak to chamber of commerce members, non profit groups, community organizations, companies and local retailers at least once a month on a "blitz" program,  you will be very disappointed in your lineage results.

10. Company parties, team building events and fund raisers are a vital source of revenue and should be done every month, not just during the holiday season.

What did YOU learn this year?  Please let me know.


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What Are We Missing?

With all the talk about book stores, as a brick and mortar business, going the way of Woolworth, it is surprising to note that book sales, at independent retailers, have reached an all time high during this holiday season.  When once the mighty Kindle or Nook or I Pad were predicted to make book stores obsolete, the numbers proved those who predicted this trend absolutely wrong.

Some will point out that the closing of Borders forced people to buy books at independent stores.  Others will say that  these electronic marvels don't have the breadth of choice that the retailer has; nor do they have the element of  "touch and feel."

Reports about this phenomenon suggest that people really like books. Actual paper and hard cover books. Even paperbacks.  They like to turn the pages; to be able to book mark their place with their favorite bookmarks; to write in the margins and to write dedications in the front.

Simply stated, I think people still like this "Old Fashioned" feel in the same way they like the traditions of holiday cards, the tradition of gifts rather than gift cards (although gift cards are at an all time high). Interestingly, personal stationery sales are also at an all time high, even in the age of the Internet, email, text message, twitter post and instant messaging.

Doesn't bowling have that kind of traditional fun and nostalgic feel intrinsic in its entertainment value?  How many times have you spoken to someone on a plane or at a meeting or at a party and heard them say, "We went bowling for the first time in years. I forgot how much fun it was!"

Yet, I can't find a proprietor who is talking about this in their blogs, their Facebook posts or even on their websites.  Or even, if they do it all, in their media advertising.


Maybe we are missing something here.  What do you think?

3 Ways You Should Be Using E mail In Your Business

Email marketing is still one of the most under-utilized and misunderstood marketing tools ever invented. Nearly every day, there are articles in business publications and websites that share misinformation and misleading information in regards to email marketing.

Even with all of the technology and social media platforms in existence, email still plays an important role and acts as a gateway to most if not all of the social media sites. Without an email address, would-be users cannot gain access to certain sites or cannot use the full functions of sites.

Almost every transaction you make online requires that you share an email address in order to complete your transaction. Whether your goal is to make a purchase or download free software, most website owners will require you to share your email address with them.

Email is integrated into our lives. It's on our cell phones and most paper forms that we fill out these days. So, email is not going any where any time soon. We'll be using email for a long time to come. There hasn't been any technology to come along to replace it.

This gives businesses an advantage in that email still offers another medium or channel for them to reach their leads, prospects and customers.

So how should your business be using email in your day-to-day operations? 

Here's 3 powerful ways to maximize your email marketing

1. Lead Generation: There are almost no businesses that can't use email in some capacity to generate leads. For example, if your business is a house painting contractor, you could offer a free report titled something like "Top 3 Reasons Why You Should Be a member of Our VIP Bowling Club." And, the only way your prospect could get the report is by signing up via email to receive the report. You could have the prospect either sign up via a form on your website or simply by sending an email to your email Autoresponder account.

2. Lead, Prospect and Customer Follow-Up: Studies have shown that it takes 7 to 12 follow-up contacts to convert a lead or prospect into a sale. Whether that contact is done via phone, mail, fax, in-person or email, the studies show that it will take up to 12 follow-up contacts to make the sale. This is especially true for high ticket products and items. Proper email follow-up is an art and a science in one. If writing effective sales copy isn't your expertise, it is much advised that you find a competent copy writer to follow up with your email leads.  (If you need help with this, please call us.  Its just one of the many tactical programs we are known for)

3. Cross Promoting: Getting your leads and prospects to sign up for your email list can be difficult. So, if you're going to go through the time, energy and effort to build an email list, you might as well get the most from your email list. One way to get a return on your investment from your efforts of building an email list is by cross promoting products and services that are closely related to what the prospect originally signed up to receive. If you have a good relationship with your email list, you could also sell advertising to other businesses where either do "solo" emails promoting the paying advertiser's product or service. Or, you could offer a 4-line advertising "blurb" placed inside one or more of your regular emails to your list.

Developing a relationship with your list of prospects should be the MOST important goal of your email.  

What do you think?

Some Assembly Required

It’s that season when a box of toys becomes a project. The warning label on the box, “some assembly required’ really means“ prepare yourself to read instructions that were translated into English and not translated very well, making your job of assembly more arduous and somewhat daunting task.”

“Some assembly required” is just work.

Isn't that true of our businesses? Isn’t “some assembly required” for the work we do? 

Whether we produce a product a service, an experience, or a lifestyle, we are always into “some assembly required.”

"Some assembly required" means getting it done and to get the work done (we all have great ideas, it’s getting it done that’s important is something I have heard from proprietors for many a year) you only have to do two things:

First, set a deadline to get the task done. Set penalties for not getting it done (a $5 penalty for the owner and $2 penalty for the employee who misses the deadline).  This money will go to a charity, but more importantly it will tell the proprietor who is getting it done, who is taking it seriously and who really gives a damn...including the proprietor.  Post the results. Eventually the non performer will either start to perform better, quit or get fired.

Second, hold meetings every week and have the team members report their progress of meeting the deadlines for their tasks.  Eventually peer pressure will force them to perform or to quit.  In either case, you win.

T’is the season.  Some assembly required. 

Set it up for January and February league starts.

Do it now. Christmas is almost here.

A December To Remember

With reports of black Friday sales reaching over $11.2 billion and same store sales for big retailers reporting a 6% to 7% increase over the same period last year, it would seem that American consumers have woken up from their "no spend" funk and attacked the malls with vigor.  No doubt deep discounts and longer opening hours combined with a barrage of TV and Internet marketing helped.

But what happened to bowling?

In the northeast and mid Atlantic proprietors reported a drop in Thanksgiving weekend open play. The cause? 65 degree, sunny skies and to may football games..  In the Midwest, proprietors fared the same and in the northwest, numbers were slightly up.

Maybe we should declare our own black Friday or christen December a "Bowling Holiday season" complete with fundraising deals, local bowler appreciation days and special pricing on specific day parts.  Judging by black Friday, consumers seem to respond to big sales backed by advertising and Internet communications

So what kind of  exciting offers can you put together that would get more people to come into your center?

Here are some examples:

1. Be a kid with your kid. adults pay $X.XX per two hours and kids 12 and under pay $Y.YY per two hours
2. Bowl for 2 hours from December 22 to December 31 at 4pm any time lanes are available and we will donate X5 to local charity Y
3. Get a free pizza and 4 complimentary soft drinks when 4 or more people bowl for 2 hours for X$$
4. Get $5 back toward future bowling anytime you and your party spend $50 or more

What else can you think of?

How will you promote it outside of the center?

Who will take responsibility for it?

A Different Kind of Black Friday

In light of the global economic news, American retailers have taken to opening their stores earlier than the "traditional" 6am Friday morning openings.  many retailers opened at midnight or 1am or 2am. Whatever time they opened, stores were jammed with shoppers looking for that 55" HD flat screen TV which normally sells at $1200 for $229. Some got it. Others did not.

The one thing these retailers had in common was their old school newspaper ads combined with TV and Internet sites. There was even a  free app on smart phones for Black Friday deals.  Obviously, they all promoted big discounts on their merchandise.

All of them except one retailer.   Patagonia

Patagonia Advertisement NY Times, November 25, 2011

Taking a completely different marketing approach, Patagonia,  a retailer of outdoor gear, decided to tell people NOT to buy their jacket (as advertised) pointing out the environmental costs to make the jacket and cautioning shoppers to buy only what they need as this will help reduce environmental costs.

Why would they do this?  Obviously, Patagonia's key market is people who enjoy the outdoors, whether it be for hiking, camping, jogging, para sailing, hang gliding, rock climbing, or just staying warm.  No doubt their research indicated that these folks are probably more sensitive about environmental issues than other types of buyers and would respond more positively to this type of appeal.  Not only does this type of advertising make sense FOR Patagonia, but also breaks through the clutter of  all the other retailers claims of "sale, sale, sale".

Kind of like bowling isn't it?  While every proprietor has his product on sale, in one form or another, maybe its time to take a different approach and attract customers in a different way.

Some examples might include:                                                                                                                                 * "Bowl at happy Lanes and we will contribute X$ to a "feed the homeless" project in Anytown, USA".
* "We'll contribute X$ of every bowling purchase to "Local Charity X from now through New Years".
* "When you bowl at Happy Lanes and spend X$ we will contribute X$ in food to a food bank. Or contribute towards a winter coat for poor people or Ta toy for Tots, etc".

Would some of these positions set you apart from other forms of recreation and entertainment options and generate new revenue?

I think so.

What do you think?

New Book Recommendation

Just finished this great book. Please read it.  Have a very Happy Thanksgiving.   Please consider WEIRD

Seth's latest book, We Are All Weird, came out 8 weeks ago, to very strong reviews and gratifying feedback.
It's likely you haven't had a chance to read it yet. I hope you'll give it a shot. (The Kindle edition runs on all computers and tablets and you can read it for free if you're an Amazon Prime member).

Here's an excerpt from the beginning of the book:
The mass market redefines normal

The mass market—which made average products for average people—was invented by organizations that needed to keep their factories and systems running efficiently.

Stop for a second and think about the backwards nature of that sentence.

The factory came first. It led to the mass market. Not the other way around.

Governments went first, because it’s easier to dominate and to maintain order if you can legislate and control conformity. Marketers, though, took this concept and ran with it.

The typical institution (an insurance company, a record label, a bed factory) just couldn’t afford mass customization, couldn’t afford to make a different product for every user. The mindset was: This is the Eagles’ next record. We need to make it a record that the masses will buy, because otherwise it won’t be a hit and the masses will buy something else.

This assumption seems obvious—so obvious that you probably never realized that it is built into everything we do. The mass market is efficient and profitable, and we live in it. It determines not just what we buy, but what we want, how we measure others, how we vote, how we have kids, and how we go to war. It’s all built on this idea that everyone is the same, at least when it comes to marketing (and marketing is everywhere, isn’t it?).

Marketers concluded that the more the market conformed to the tight definition of mass, the more money they would make. Why bother making products for left-handed people if you can figure out how to get left-handed people to buy what you’re already making? Why offer respectful choice when you can make more money from forced compliance and social pressure?

Mass wasn’t always here. In 1918, there were two thousand car companies active in the United States. In 1925, the most popular saddle maker in this country probably had .0001% market share. The idea of mass was hardly even a dream for the producer of just about any object.

At its heyday, on the other hand, Heinz could expect that more than 70 percent of the households in the U.S. had a bottle of their ketchup in the fridge, and Microsoft knew that every single company in the Fortune 500 was using their software, usually on every single personal computer and server in the company.

Is it any wonder that market-leading organizations fear the weird?

The End of Mass

This is a manifesto about the mass market. About mass politics, mass production, mass retailing, and even mass education.

The defining idea of the twentieth century, more than any other, was mass.

Mass gave us efficiency and productivity, making us (some people) rich. Mass gave us huge nations, giving us (some people) power. Mass allowed powerful people to influence millions, giving us (some people) control.

And now mass is dying.

We see it fighting back, clawing to control conversations and commerce and politics. But it will fail; it must. The tide has turned, and mass as the engine of our culture is gone forever.

That idea may make you uncomfortable. If your work revolves around finding the masses, creating for the masses, or selling to the masses, this change is very threatening. Some of us, though, view it as the opportunity of a lifetime. The end of mass is not the end of the world, but it is a massive change, and this manifesto will help you think through the opportunity it represents.

What Pigeons Can Teach Us About The Internet

The other day I had some errands to run so I finished them and then finding myself near a park, I decided to get a roll and some coffee, take 10 minutes and sit in a park, maybe even feed the pigeons.

And it was there that I learned something about social media marketing.  In fact, I think the Pigeons invented social media.

As I started on my roll, I realized that it wasn't all that hungry and decided to eat just one half, the top half with the seeds in it, of course).

It was after the coffee and the roll were deliciously consumed that I noticed that there were no birds in the park and no pigeons.  About then I broke off a piece of the bottom half of the roll and tossed it into the walking path.  No more than 5 seconds passed when a small bird flew down and landed next to the piece of roll. As it began pecking at it, another few birds landed, then a pigeon or two also landed.  By the time I tore the roll up and distributed these pieces across the walking path, no less than 50 to 75 birds and pigeons had found it. The whole process took less than five (5) minutes.

So here is what I learned. I put some information out on the “bird network” (ONE piece of bread) and this “post” was picked up by the leader who swooped in and checked it out. The leader in turn "retweeted" this information to his buddies and they in turn sent information out to their individual “Bird networks.”

And just like that, the transaction that I started (sending valuable information to my target audience) was picked up by other birds in the network and retransmitted to more and more birds.  And so my inventory was sold. 

Before the computer, before the internet, before Facebook, birds and pigeons communicated in this way, so did people.  In the birds’ case, it was word of beak.  In our case it was word of mouth.

So how will you be communicating your inventory availability (tweet, tweet)!

A Reader Writes About My Blog "Ah, Whats One More Lost Sale"

Last week, I wrote a post about losing one more sale because the customer service people did not know how to respond to an inquiry generated by a proprietor's social media initiatives.I commented that "maybe the proprietor should have spent as much time on training his staff to answer customers' questions a she did on social media". One comment that came back to me is as follows and i wanted to share it with you.

I guess everything old is new again :-) 

Comment by Rob McNaughton 16 hours ago

Delete Comment

Being the "longtimer" that I am, I remember a BPAA Convention in 1981 or 82 in San Diego I think that was themed "Back To Basics". I'm not sure we ever learned the basics properly as an industry. We must learn to plan and communicate first to our entire staff, plan and coordinate with our entire staff, solicit input from our entire staff and make the entire staff be a part of the promotion and a part of the center itself.

Implementation and execution of the plan involves everyone in the center. A novel idea? I think not but one we seem to "misremember". Here we are talking about getting back to the basics thirty years later.  Good post Fred!!

A Client Speaks:

I don't usually post this kind of stuff, but wanted to share this with you.  Wood Foss and his family are wonderful clients, but more importantly have become, dear friends. 

     "I do not attend many Bowling business events.  My wife and I were planning on a major upgrade to our facility.  24 lane center, $500K type money.  We attended a Brunswick presentation in Wichita, KA. and were sitting on a bus next to this little quirky guy.  He was talking bowling in terms I really identified with.  The guy couldn’t just shut up…  But, I am a little taller quirky guy, who also loves to talk about bowling.  And it went on and on.  Fred offered me some very specific ideas and introduced me to some very helpful people on the Brunswick Staff.

        In another month I attended the East Coast Bowl Expo.  Guess who I ran into???  We wanted to truly change our center.  We are a traditional style location with a  healthy restaurant venue.  Bowling was stagnant.  We attended all the presentations about bowling and Fred Kaplowitz was truly on top of the issues that needed to be discussed.

        I engaged Fred in a monthly marketing contract in October of 2008.  He has provided me with help and insight in every department.  We transformed our tired traditional center into an upscale traditional center of which we are very proud. 

If you notice the dates 2008 to 2011.  We have blown through the recession.  Our results have been very satisfactory.  We are growing our league play!  Fred kept nurturing our league business and thank God, we did not fall into the open play boutique trap.

        Fred has been our partner or perhaps mentor is a better word.  He feeds us, but more importantly, listens to us and adjusts to our market.  He has the contacts, knowledge and ideas from all over the bowling universe.  He runs his own center and knows the business inside and out. 

 Hire this man, you will benefit from his ideas and enjoy his company."

Kindly,

D. Wood Foss

Alley Katz, Inc.

116 Granite St.

Westerly, RI 02891

401-741-4503 Cell

401-596-7474 Office

401-596-3655 Fax

dwf1@alleykatz.necoxmail.com

www.alleykatzri.com

What To Do When No One is Buying?

Today, “flat” is the new “up.”  As the economy continues to drag, that new reality is banging into an old reality.

When times are tough, owners and operators take a  cost-cutting knife to Marketing.  However, intuitive these actions might seem, it’s time to spend.  Companies that continued to invest in sales, innovation and marketing during the past 18 years have a  book-to-market value 25% greater than those that “battened down the hatches” (“The Importance of the Customer Experience in a Down Economy – International Thought Leader Report, First Edition,” Customer Futures, 2008).
 
When no one is buying, chasing new business not only demoralizes everyone, it’s a waste of time.  Instead, divert new business development resources to customer retention and concentrate your efforts on meeting the needs of the customers you already have.
 
Perceptive marketing people look “closer to home” will find that they already own the single most effective asset needed to jump start sales.  Buried in your customer list are those new business opportunities you need.  Discovering and closing those opportunities, however, requires a new way of thinking.
 
Customers are in the driver’s seat when it comes to buying decisions.  Customers do more to compel sales than marketers do.  If you doubt that, consider the power of social media, word-of-mouth and referrals in these real world behaviors:
· 87% will stop doing business with a company after a negative experience–up from 80% in 2007 and 68% in 2006
· 84% of those who had suffered a negative experience would tell someone else–up from 74% in 2007 and 67% in 2006 (2008 Customer Experience Report, Harris Interactive)

Don’t throw in the towel just yet.  This same report contained some good news for companies with outstanding service:
· 58% would pay more for a better experience – even now
· 58% credited outstanding service as the number one reason to recommend, outstripping low prices (44%) and product/service quality (43%)

The secret is building loyalty. And to do that you need some information. So how do you do that?

Ask just three simple questions:

1. What do you need/want/desire that we aren't  providing?
2. Will you buy from us again?

3. Will you recommend us to your colleagues? 

(The goal in this question #3) is to register a 9 or 10 on a 10 point scale. Anything that is 8 and under is a “fail”)

Use this free R&D to expand your footprint in existing markets, uncover new business opportunities and find ways to improve your products, services and communications.


When you make those improvements and communicate them back to the customer, not only will you let him know that he was heard, but you will make him part of your success!

Ah, What's One Lost Sale?

My recent Face book posts have been harping on the need for the "back-to- basics- old- school- real- and- relevant- marketing- strategies"  that direct the execution of specific tactics to  reach our goals.

I wrote these posts in the face of 50 to 100 posts I receive daily from proprietors about being invited to this event, that tournament or to take part in a special offer or two.  Mostly, I read them for content and then go to the next post.

Now I am not saying that new media is all wrong, nor am I saying to not use it. I would be the first one to stand up and say, "embrace it, understand it and master it."

But let me give you an example of what I mean.  Recently, I saw a series of communications from a noted proprietor where he sent out great emails, Face book posts, ramped up his mobile marketing and invited people to consider his center for a Holiday party.

So I called and asked about some information. NO ONE in the center knew anything about it and the owner was not in.  Three hours later I called back...and got the same answer, "Gee, the owner isn't in, could you call back later?"

But maybe, just maybe if Mr. Owner would have spent the same amount of time on a customer response strategy as he did on his Face book strategy, he would have made another sale and dazzled the potential customer.

Because even with all of us using the new media, our business is still off; our open play on weekends is hurting and our league play is flat to down.

Why?  Perhaps, it is because we have lost site of developing and tactically implementing the basic strategies of our business.

Getting back to basics and developing relevant marketing strategies that have to be implemented with real tactics, not just inbound marketing communications, is something we all need to do...and do it quickly.

What do you think?

50% of Workers Earned Less Than $26,000 in 2010

If you have been wondering why open play bowling is off (as are restaurants, bars and nightclubs), maybe this article will shed some light on  the issue.

The following article was excerpted from a recent report on payroll taxes.

"1) Half of all workers made less than $26,364, the median wage in 2010. That means the typical wage is at its lowest level since 1999, after adjusting for inflation.

2) The number of millionaires increased by about 20 percent.

3) The size of the missing work force is 10 million. The number of working people fell by 5.2 million since 2007. But that's not the entire job deficit, because, based on population growth estimates, 4.5 million more would have joined the work force between 2007 and 2011. Add it up, and you get a 10-million-worker gap.

 

What you see in the graph above is that median pay took a  nose dive after 2007, effectively wiping out all gains made in the previous eight years. The macro explanation is that the economy shrunk, and middle class jobs disappeared and were replaced with (or outlasted by) lower-paying positions that companies kept on.  But the economy isn't one giant corporation. It's thousands of giant, medium-sized, and small companies in industries that lived through very different recessions.

So to fix our open play, is it an either or situation of having to cut our prices to  get to this market or target a  more affluent  market?  Perhaps a combination of both.

Or do we create a high level bowling loyalty program that encourages repeat business by offering discounts for future business transactions?

What would you do?

The Consumer's Confidence Problem Is Your Open Play Problem

I speak to allot of business people every day.

From bowling and entertainment industry people to automotive dealers to software developers, to restaurant owners to distributors and manufacturers of high tech and low tech products.

Not one of these folks has indicated that business is good or at least improving.  There is almost a quiet (but angry) acceptance, grudgingly so may I add, that this "new normal" is  here to stay and that the future isn't all that bright.

Smarter minds than mine have dissected the reasons for all this, but in my simple point of view. I think its all about housing.  Even when the stock market went into the tank during the "tech crunch"', people still had their housing "asset" and that was continuing to increase. So if we felt less wealthy because our portfolios went down, we secretly knew that our house was "our safe" place; our last bastion of economic solidarity.

With the hosing meltdown of 2008 to present, consumers looked around and found they were naked, out in the cold with no back up asset. Not only did their 401k's take a major hit, but their homes (THEIR HOMES, FOR CRISSAKE!!)  lost value.

In fact, according to a recent Standard & Poor report the ratio of total mortgage debt to property value now stands at 69.8%. In some areas like Las Vegas NV and Orlando, FL this ratio is 119% and 100% respectively.  In Warren MI, its 88.4% in Nassau and Suffolk County NY, it is 45.4%.

Further reports indicate that for every $1,000 lost in property value, each individual consumer cuts back anywhere from $20 to $70 a year in spending. 


Doesn't sound like much, but if you put it all together, from 2005 to 2009, consumer spending decreased by $240 BILLION DOLLARS.  This decrease represents about 1.7% of annual economic activity, enough  to be the difference between mediocre economic growth  and healthy growth.


What has happened is that people have realized that the economy is not going to get better any time soon, so they have stopped spending. Period.

I hear it every day from bowling proprietors. They tell me how their open play and bar business has taken a big hit, especially liquor. Even beer companies like Bud and Miller report very soft sales with some markets being off as much as 50%.

So what are you supposed to do?

In good times and bad, customers are first and foremost people.
And people always want to do business with people they trust and who they believe really care about them. In this economy, your number one job is to prove to your customer that you are a member of the community who cares about the community.  (Why would you not?)

Simply stated. Be their friend and continue to build on the relationships you have with them. Here's seven (7) actions you can take right now

1. Go back to your existing customers and invite them in with your very best offers.  Best beer offers, liquor specials...all within the confines of your state laws of course
2. Communicate with them about ways to save money and live better. Be a resource they can trust for helpful information.
3. Be more visible in the community. sponsor local events, get involved in fund raising, put out the "Christmas Toys for Tots" cans early. 
4. Work with area merchants to co-promote. Distribute other merchants coupons that will save your customers money and time.
5. Give free games away to get people to bowl paid games
6. Create frequency programs where they can get premiums for bowling more.
7. Make sure your people respect and honor the customer and treat him with more dignity than ever.

As people settle into lives of believing they are less prosperous, discretionary income is the first thing to go
But if you show them that having quality family time in a safe and clean environment is something that IS vital to their well being and can prove your center's "value proposition", you can survive this cycle

For more information on what you can do to retain and grow customers, please email me at fredkaplowitz@gmail.com

Lets talk.

Something's Happening Here

"There's something happening here. What it is ain't exactly clear. There's a man with a gun over there. Telling me I got to beware                                                                                                                                                                            Buffalo Springfield

I'm not sure when this song was recorded, but somewhere in my 70's memory I recall it. Now seeing the "Occupied Wall Street" demonstration, (getting bigger every day) I am reminded of this song. Yes, there is something happening here and I am not exactly clear.

But most definitely, it is forming, perhaps not quite like a Tsunami, but definitely a major wave of change to our system is beginning to manifest itself. 

From Wall Street to Los Angeles, sea to shining sea, occupiers are taking to the streets. No longer is it credible to say of protests and massive civil unrest abroad “It will never happen here.” To do so today would be a denial of reality. It is here...wherever that “here” may be for you. And if it is not, it soon will be.

In the 21st century, we use terms like "open source architecture" to define how a group of people build a software program or even an encyclopedia.  

If anyone would have told you back in the early 90's that the Encyclopedia Britannica would be dwarfed by a new encyclopedia called WIKIPEDIA and constructed, added to and modified every day by a bevy of people doing it for FREE, you would have said that is impossible to comprehend.In fact, where is the Encyclopedia Britannica?  Where is Microsoft's encyclopedia, Encarta?  Gone! Even to this day it is impossible to comprehend that millions of people have devoted endless hours to building this "open source" product. And continue to do it even as I write this blog.

What is happening on Wall Street is no less a phenomenon. People are building the "movement" every day. At first it was viewed as another display by malcontents and have-nots.  Some were even referred to as "hippies" Yikes.But then something happened. People from around the country started to show up at Zuccotti Park near Wall Street and the "movement" began to form.  Even the Iranian clerics are posting this as "America's Spring", which they claim, will bring the downfall of American capitalism.  Pretty heady stuff from a world away. 

For many Americans, this is quite a confusing time. Frightening, even. They know something is happening here...but they don’t know what it is. And that includes many of them in the occupying camps themselves. They know they are angry...that they have been dealt a rotten hand...that they are the “have-nots.” But they don’t know why...or who to blame. Then, along comes an “open source” movement. They didn’t even know such a thing existed a few weeks ago. But they are drawn to its energy and their fellow downtrodden within it. The see that it is going somewhere, doing something. It is on all the news channels and in the paper. And now they are neck deep in it, swept along with the tides of change, resistance and revolution. 

Lets keep an eye on this; who knows what effect it will have on our lives, our families or our business. What do you think?  What kind of effect do you think this "movement" could have? 

I will keep you posted from "something happening here land."

Yikes! Find Out Why Facebook is Killing Conventional E mail

My daughter is getting married in six weeks.

And while almost all of the details have been taken care of, it seems that Internet communications are about a solid two to three months behind my planning and buying process. I am still getting information about catering halls, hotels, car rentals and even dresses, invitations, DJ's, bands, and flowers; not to mention information about tuxedos (which we won't be wearing!).

The web has discovered that I am a target for wedding stuff and because of that discovery, various companies out there have cranked up their automated marketing machines, Facebook ads, and Google ad words to consistently and unrelenting send information to either my Inbox, Spam box and Boxbe filter folder. 

No matter how frequently I delete, unsubscribe or just ignore, more keep coming.  Sometimes the companies will go away, only to come back 30, 60 days or 90 days later. (Hey, it's all programmed).

And there is the flaw. 

These companies don't know when to turn it off.  

I posted an email to over twenty of these companies (in the bcc box) writing that our family's arrangements for this event are DONE; marriage essentials are done, done done,

And to, please, not send me any more information! For every "unsubscribe" I post, I get two NEW ones.

As time went by, I started to not open some companies' emails and then, after a while, not open them at all. B-Bye.

These companies who only utilize email as their one hit pony media strategy and view email as an inexpensive way to reach customers (i.e. a substitute for direct mail) will note in the long run, it is neither inexpensive nor the only one trick pony around. There's always a new one coming. Things change.

No wonder fewer than 15% of all emails are opened; some estimates even peg it 12% or lower.

And that's one reason Facebook is killing E-Mail as the social media of choice.

People are using Facebook, to talk about themselves, to stay connected, to maintain and build on existing relationships to exchange information, to solve a problem, check a fact, research a topic, etc. And , of course, to just talk about their lives and things they are doing, or contemplating...which includes, sometimes, pretty personal stuff.

On the Facebook side, the information I received from my Facebook Friends were more credible and I opened them more often than email  from a company always trying to "tell me and sell me."

Because customers want valuable information from a company they can use or at least appreciate.

• First, so they can  trust  if their information is genuine and credible.
• Second, to give you permission to send them either information, coupons and deals" or a combination of both.
• Third, so they can decide if you have any product or service that would either make them money, save them money, free up time, make them feel good.

Ask yourself this, please?

What is Your Social Media Strategy?

Steve Jobs 1955 - 2011 RIP

Steve Jobs died yesterday.

Accolades from President Obama to the man in the street flooded the internet. People tweeted, facebooked and emailed their feelings about Steve Jobs.  I  re-read his speech  from his 2005 Stanford University Commencement speech His insights about life, death and making a difference through your work came through. Here it is.  I hope it inspires you as muchg as it has inspired me

"Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.

You have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.

Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me. Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful, that’s what matters to me."

What are your thoughts about Steve Jobs?

7 Ways to Raise prices and Have Your Customers Thank You

Raising prices is one of the best ways to double your profits - because all the extra money goes straight into your pocket. Yet, isn't our greatest fear that if we raise prices we will lose customers - or that our new customers will go somewhere else that's cheaper?

Price is determined by the amount of value that your customers see in your product or service. Simply, if they see lots of value they will be willing to pay a higher price. What if you could quickly boost the value in your customers eyes, enough so that they will be willing to pay more for it?

That's where the bonus comes in. A bonus is something that you add to your product or service - that is highly valuable in the customer's eyes, but is very inexpensive for you to provide.  here are 7 ways to raise prices and have your customers thank you.

1.Special free gift.
Try to get a vendor to give you product for free or sell it to you at cost (one man's trash is another man's treasure) - and then give it to your customer with their purchase.  (what do the beer or liquor distributors give away that you can add to the purchase?) 

2. Add a service to a product.
Provide consultation services that only costs you time, but that the customer values greatly. (offer FREE coaching with an open play special.) 

3. Add a product to a service.
Find a product that your customer needs with your service. Partner with a vendor to provide it and share the profits.  (have a ball, bag or shoes anyone?) 

4. Bundle items together.
Put products or services together, that your customer values - but that cost you close to nothing to provide. (offer a slice of pizza and a soft drink or an alcoholic beverage with a late night mid week open play special.) 

5. Convenience.
Provide more convenience for your customers  without utilizing a lot of time or money.(open earlier, stay open later for kids camps, company parties, fund raisers?) 

6. Special arrangement.
Provide the product or service in a more beneficial format for the customer ( Pizza pins n pop, burgers n bowl, chicken wings n bowl?) 

7. Value pricing.
Add more bonuses for customers that will pay more, less for those who will not (my favorite). bonuses could be a free game with a red head pins trike or a 2 liter bottle of a soft drink or a pizza for bringing 5 people to your cosmic show.

Once you find the bonus that works and provide it as an incentive for raising prices - you will be able to raise prices and your customers will thank you for it.

7 Pillars of Success To Market Your Business on The Internet

I have watched many a proprietor try to build an on line marketing campaign, only to get tripped up on some key points. So I thought I would assemble my "7 pillars of online marketing success" for you.  Here they are>

Pillar 1: A Website You Control
You must operate your own website, which enables you to make basic changes to it yourself, preferably right through your web browser. Waiting for a "webmaster" to update text and pictures does not qualify as a smart use of your time or money. WordPress, an open-source (free) publishing platform, makes an excellent choice for managing and organizing virtually any size website.
Pillar 2: Google Maps
Google now stands alone as the "900 lb. Gorilla" of the online search world. However, most don't realize that "Google Maps" is the most basic component of local online marketing with Google. Get all the details at Google.com/places/. This tool is one of the fastest ways to get found in Google and, best of all, it's free!
Pillar 3: Basic SEO
SEO stands for "search engine optimization," which means making your website relevant when someone searches for your business name or terms related to what you sell. Building all the content, information, and text on your site around a central theme is the No. 1 thing you can do to increase your chances of ranking well in Google and other search engines.
Pillar 4: Make Value-Added Offers
Most people don't make offers on their websites. Their web pages look like everyone else's and say basically the same things. You must make offers on your site that spur people to action. Offer a discount or faster service. Give an incentive to come in today. Most important: Make your offers big, bold and obvious on your site while giving people a reason to do business with you right now!
Pillar 5: Drive Traffic
You won't make a dime with your website if the right people don't see it. The fastest way to drive traffic is to buy it, specifically with the Google AdWords pay-per-click program. Pay-per-click means you only pay when someone clicks your "sponsored" ad on the search engine listings, and Google's AdWords is the largest pay-per-click advertising network. However, make sure you set up a "geo-targeted" campaign when starting out so only people in your local area see your ads (instead of wasting time and money showing your ads to people who could never patronize your local business).
Pillar #6: Local List Building
Building up a local following that you communicate with using online tools rates as one of the smartest and most cost-effective things every local business can do. Whether through email, text, Twitter or Facebook (or some new tool), communicating with a targeted group and providing value-added information and offers can bring huge rewards. One coupon with the right offer to the right audience can turn a ho-hum Thursday into a blockbuster sales day.
Pillar #7: Consistent Follow-Up
The biggest online marketing mistake I see people make is NOT following up with prospects and customers. Use email and other communication tools to keep in contact with your prospects and customers and give them reasons to do business with you (by making offers) while providing useful information they want. As a wise man once said, "The fortune is always made in the repeat business."

Three Ways To Look at Our Business

There are only three perspectives from which we can view our business.

The first scenario is from the past. We look at how the business was and wish it would go back to that: Two (2) shifts of league bowlers, waiting lists and the only two problems we had was overbooking and slow bowlers. In this scenario, we do everything we can to take our business BACK to what it used to be.  Trouble with this perspective is that the particular jigsaw piece we are trying to fit into the puzzle is incorrect.  Because the puzzle has changed and the piece no longer fits.

The second scenario is the present perspective; we recognize the changing environment, economy, demographics and consumer attitude shifts and try to build contemporary products so we fire out a bunch of new promotions and programs, secretly hoping that we get ONE hit. (Hope is never a strategy)

The third scenario is the future. We build our products and programs in such a way as to define our vision of the future of our business. We don’t pray for the past or muck up the present with secret wishes. We work to build our future.

Better to ignore the past and present and look at our business with BOTH eyes on the future.

I Can't Get No Satisfaction

Much has been written about the jaded society we live in; the unending need for new stimulation and the desire to be first with the most new toys.

Yet, there seems to me to be an unfulfilled desire by people looking to find some new "satisfaction" in their purchases. People have come to settle for customer service that is just OK or to settle for a dinner that was OK or even a movie that was ho hum.

What are your customers unsatisfied about?

Is it the food and beverage offerings that they might describe as OK or is it the bowling experience which is about the same as anywhere else, only cheaper, or is it the fact that they really don't get  their hit of satisfaction with your whole deal...its just more of the same and its just OK?

If it was a better experience and was more satisfying, then more people would bowl more frequently. Sure 70 million people went bowling last year, but the vast majority of open play bowlers, some 65 to 68 million of them only went once or twice last year. 

Why is that?

Because they got the same experience, the same product and the same delivery, for better or for worse. We just didn't deliver anything new or exciting or, Heaven forbid, something different.

Think about your cosmic bowling experience. You have had it operational for over 10 years. The 16 year old high school sophomore who experienced it for the first time loved It and came every week. Now that sophomore is 26 years old and the cosmic experience that he once loved is 10 years old and not so satisfying.

If we settle for the tried and true; for the "way we have always done it" and for the obvious, we will continue to get a customer who only visits us once or twice a year instead of a customer who wants to visit more frequently because we are providing satisfaction.  Which kind of a customer would you want to have?

So here's the challenge, what are you or could you be doing differently to make your customer a more frequent customer?  Put on your brainstorm hat, your silly hat, your outrageous hat and...do something different?

For a change.








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New Kids Bowl Free Open Play Promotion To Be Revealed

Bruce Davis celebrated his 70th birthday last week with some buddies at his cottage in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  This beautifully wild and pristine  area was conducive to some great brainstorming and the Kids Bowl Team, who also spent some time there,dug in and came up with a great NEW open play promotion  for your center - it will  dramatically increase your open play lineage.  The good news is,  its not a discount program. And it all starts October 28, 2011 and will run through April 30, 2012
 
It's an exciting promotion that includes great elements:

- Instant FUN & Excitement for your existing open play guests
- Simple way to invite guests back in the next 45 days
- FUN National Prize Give Aways to build buzz to your open play program
- Done For You Emails To Your Entire Kids Bowl Free email list each week to invite them for the weekend & how to join in this fun PAID Games Promotion.

Bruce and Darin will share all of the details with you on a FREE tele-seminar...

Click here to get details on how you can join us on either September 15, 2011 at 3 PM EST or September 16, 2011 at Noon Est.

Click here if you can't attend either call, but you'd like us to send you the audio recording & have a member of our team follow up with you

Click here if you do not need an additional help with your open play traffic and do not want to learn more about this program

This exciting promotion will launch nationwide on October 28, 2011 and end on April 30, 2012.

Don't miss this FREE informational call where we'll  "tell all" and give you the first opportunity to participate.  

Please join us.