Recently, I heard
a noted industry marketing guru stand in front of an audience of bowling proprietors
and tell them that bowling “is a commodity industry.”
I wanted to shoot
him or at least destroy any chance of him having additional offspring.
Unfortunately it
has become that because of the overpowering (and incorrect belief) that proprietors
have of consumers’ perception of bowling, (I.E “all they care about is price,
they just want to get the buying experience over with by buying cheap.”)
Thus, we have proprietors
leading each other over the cliff by selling bowling at the lowest possible
price just so they have traffic, just so they can sell a beer, rent a pair of shoes
or sell a hot dog. It is this thinking
that has led proprietors to being unable to maintain their centers, to improve
their centers or to pay more for better personnel.
Is that why I see
more bowling centers closing? Not enough
capital to do any of the aforementioned?” Yeah, I think so and that leads to an
inferior and less desirable product which leads to fewer customers, less
revenue and eventually to posting this sign: “Out of Business.”
When an industry marketing
guru or a proprietor says that “all the customers' care about is price”, the guru is really
saying that the customer believes that nothing about the product matters
to them. In fact the product is no longer the discussion; the price becomes the
discussion.
But it doesn't have
to be that way.
No, you can’t make
bowling interesting to all, but you can get those that are interested in your
newest innovations to care and TALK ABOUT IT.
Remember that
bumper bowling was invented by a proprietor who used carpet rolls which morphed
into blow up bumpers which morphed into automatic bumpers which morphed into greater interest in bowling among families with children.
The closest I have
seen is Gordon Murray’s Profit Platform which turns the bowling center into a
music and rock show. Now that’s innovation that cannot be confused with
commoditization. (No Gordon didn't pay me to say this, but he should :)
So who out there has the next “carpet roll?”
