You have blogged. You
have emailed. You have face booked, and heavens forbid, even spent some money
on some cable TV and now you are sitting around waiting for the consumer to
pick you.
And you just know
that because you sent them a great communication, a great offer, used
testimonials, even had a guarantee and a
sense of urgency to take it, they will come in and bowl.
You followed all
the rules and now you are waiting for the customer to pick you.
“Pick me, pick
me”, you cry. “I am a better value. I am more fun. I even promise to give you a
bounce back coupon when you return. I’ll
even give you discount food specials and beer specials and I’ll get my
son/daughter to hand wax your car while you are bowling.”
And you wait to be
picked.
But not much
happens. You get discouraged and pull
back saying, ‘Well we tried it and it didn’t work.” You even get up on your
haunches and say, “Ah, you can’t even give it away in the summer.”
Know what the
problem is? Know why your message didn’t
resonate with your market?
Simple, you
were counting on them to pick you.
And it doesn't
work that way any more
What you did was
to institute a TACTICAL CAMPAIGN; a one shot silver bullet that you
thought would work regardless of the odds. And then you backed off; never to do
it again. Of course, it didn't work. You had no frequency.
Lost in the
maddening crowd of “pick me, pick me, pick me” that consumers hear daily, did
you really expect your market to block out all the other noise they hear,
immediately text their friends and tell them to plan on bowling at Happy Lanes
this Saturday night?
Yeah, you did.
Its Time You
Picked Yourself.
Its time you
promoted your bowling center on a consistent basis. and not just in April and August.
Its time you made
the commitment to understand that you can break through the clutter with more
frequency, consistency and a STRATEGIC APPROACH to your marketing.
Its time your customer
or prospect knows who you are, the reputation of your center, the kudos you
have gotten in the community, the monies you have raised for charities, the
self esteem of children in youth leagues you have helped to build, the number
of happy birthday parties you have successfully hosted and so much more.
Its time the
customer knows about all of the physically and mentally challenged kids and
adults that bowl at your center?
Its time the
customer knows about the little leagues you sponsor or the “Clean Up After Hurricane
Sandy” campaign you were involved in.
Its time the
customer knows of your PASSION for bowling!!
You can’t get the customer
to pick you if he doesn't KNOW you and, more importantly, if you don’t pick
yourself to be constantly out there telling people why you are a better choice.
Absent this
information, people will make NO choice.
Think about it,
would you go to an accountant whose service was called, “Flash & Dash
Accountants Inc?” Would you rent a
convertible in Florida without testing if the top went up and DOWN?
Yet you expect
your data base to respond, en masse, because you sent them an email, a Facebook
post and a twitter message?
Bottom line, if
you want to be picked, pick yourself.
Then consistently and STRATEGICALLY demonstrate that Happy Lanes really
is a happy place to go.
Be strategic. Be consistent. Be
frequent.
Be the PASSION you
feel…and they will come.
