Hey, What About The Future?

When you own a company, when you sell products or services or have multiple outlets or brands, you always have to think of the future.

Sure you have to run around and make sure that today’s issues are addressed, that customers are happy and satisfied and the people who work for you pumped up and firing on all cylinders, but you also have to think about the future of your company, the future of your brand, the future of your products and the future of your category. (entertainment, recreation, show business…whatever you think.)

I wonder how much time, we as individual proprietors or as the bowling industry really thinks about the future. I know when I was with Brunswick or BCA, we developed 3 year plans. 

We had visions. We did research. We analyzed trends and then came to the best conclusions we could on trying to forecast growth opportunities, product opportunities and market opportunities where we could be a major player. It was a lot more science than art and a lot more disciplined.

Does anybody do that anymore?

I know the big guys do. Brunswick just introduced a new bowling center concept. Bowling Industry Magazine had a whole spread on it. It tilted the bowling center more toward food and beverage and less toward bowling. I think they are right. And I think we should watch the progress of that center and see how it does. My guess is: it will do very well. They’re a bunch of smart folks at Brunswick.

But then again so are we and we need to start examining the future as much as we worry about if the bartender is coming in tonight. Here are just a couple of things to get your creative juices going.

Oh, and in case you need a reminder, remember the guy who put carpet rolls in the gutters for kids so they wouldn’t get gutter balls. There was someone thinking about our future and the beginning of a new product, called "bumpers".

1.     What is the future of open play? Cosmic bowling is a one tricks pony that’s been around for 20 years. How can you evolve that product to make it more fun? Anybody ever use "the baker system" during cosmic bowling? Could be fun, especially if every third person were blindfolded.

2.    How can you make league bowling more fun for the "less than competitive type of bowler" who only wants to bowl 8 or 10 weeks? An 8 team league can bowl 2 frames on one lane and then move to the next pair and for every pair you move you get more or less points based upon the team score. No, I don’t know how to do that, but I never let good marketing ideas get stopped by some operational issue.

3.    Would putting waiters and waitresses and porters on roller skates break the monotony and be fun? Why not? I’ve been in some restaurants where all the employees wear roller skates.  It would certainly improve “on the lane” service

4.    Could you have a comedian do a 5 minute gig after the 7^th frame of a fun league?

5.    Could you put hula hoops up around the lanes and spray them with day glow paint so people can bowl under them during cosmic bowling?

After all, it was Napoleon Hill, author of the world famous book, “Think and Grow Rich,” first published in 1937, selling  over 15 million copies and published in over 100 countries who said” “What the mind can conceive, the mind can achieve.”

So spend a little time thinking about the future, it will be here before you know it.

The Trouble With The Truth

Last night I was on a flight from Gulfport MS to Atlanta, connecting to NYC when, as the fates would have it, I sat next to a a man of the cloth. (OK, I was happy 'cause I knew the plane wouldn't crash.)

The gentleman told me he was from Jackson Mississippi and he was a Baptist Minister. His congregation, he said, "is about 300 folks of varied backgrounds, but predominantly African American".

And as we began talking, he began telling me about his last sermon; a sermon about truth. and then he said something remarkable, "The trouble with the truth, he said, "is that it changes everything."

It stopped me cold.

And I thought about it;  all the way to today and how I could relate that  one sentence in this blog.

It seemed too coincidental as I had been trying to speak "marketing truths" on my whirlwind (20 out of 30 days on the road) client trips.

During this trip, I too was preaching, teaching and assisting; but it was more about bowling marketing than about religion.

I spoke the truth that summer league bowling as we know it and how, in order to exceed our expectations, we needed some complements. Complements such as: shorter summer sessions added to traditional summer leagues. Maybe 6, 8 or 10 weeks. Sessions that could start in June, July and even August.  Sessions that targeted affinity groups.

I spoke the truth that if we continually use our data base as a substitute for direct mail  it would result in getting even less people to open our messages (and more to opt out) than the scant 12% who open it now and the 1% who actually click through to our page for more information.  It's called  "social media" for a reason. No, I don't want to just get sales pitches from you. I want some meaningful information that benefits me. Because it is all about ME. Just ask anybody:)

I spoke the truth about the need to make every customer experience "like inviting your best friend and spouse to your house for dinner." And I detailed the what and how to do it.  How about saying, "Hello and welcome to Happy Lanes, my name is Derf...before asking for shoe sizes?

I spoke the truth about the need to stay marketing focused and not to pull in on the year long investment you
have made to gain and retain customers just because it is summer and nobody bowls..

Do you know of any business that doesn't continually sell their product or service even if they have the lion share of the market? (Think Budweiser, Apple, Google and Exxon.)

It doesn't cost much to make efficient, targeted based and offer based sales calls to companies, organization, non profit groups, religious institutions and schools for summer time indoor picnics and fund raisers. It just takes knowing how to do it and wanting it.  The truth ( factual information) is there if you want it.

I spoke the truth about the fact that even though 68 million people went bowling last year, there are still 250 million people out there who do NOT know they are NOT supposed to bowl in the summer.

Simple statistics tell me you have about a three out of four chance to get to those people.  I would even play on that theme, "Hey you're not supposed to bowl in the summer but"...and then list ten reasons why you should. Then make an offer, provide a guarantee of fun, a call to action and a deadline to take action.  Heck you could build a whole email campaign out of this!!

I spoke the truth about constantly communicating your open play programs, birthday parties and adult parties all summer long to relevant targets, by stressing the fun parts of being inside (no painful sunburns, no mosquito bites, no sweaty underarms- we're cool and air conditioned- no dehydration and well, you get the idea.)

I spoke the truth about the Kids Bowl Free Marketing Movement and how to maximize results from this "done for you" marketing initiative. The truth (factual information) is there if you want it.

But you know what I found?

I found that the truth could change everything...if only we listened and weren't so preoccupied with defending our old beliefs and "the way it was."

Its a brave new world and we need to be braver!

Is The Snow and Cold Blowing Your Customers Away?

And is the cold is keeping them indoors? 

Eventually the hard weather will become soft and people will want to go out again. And you’re thinking, “Sure they want to go OUT, but not go inside.”

Time to "think different" as Steve Jobs of Apple fame used to say.

So how will you persuade a cabin fevered mob of people who, on the first sunny day, will be riding bikes, skateboarding, running, walking, hiking, playing with their dogs, digging in the garden and doing spring cleaning, to come into your bowling center?

The answer is: You are not going to persuade many people to come in. Unless you have some events you have pre-sold. 

Events like birthday parties for adults, seniors, teens and of course, kids, fund raisers, special community events, after prom parties, and end of school year parties for teachers as well as students.

Events like team building, day time bowling for companies, retirement parties, sales meetings, family reunions and fund raisers.

Here are just a few ideas to try:

·        Start a cause; clean up the dead branches in the public park areas; feed some homeless people; host an amateur hour variety show at your center.  By doing these types of events and getting involved in the community, you will get people to come to your center for meetings and gatherings and planning sessions.  From there, it’s not far to get PAID fundraisers, parties, and maybe even a short season spring or summer league.

·        Or a spring dog show in your parking lot. “The First Annual Happy Lanes Dog Show.”  Work with pet agencies, vets, Pet Smart pet stores, etc to get the word out and get lots of folks to your center. Winners get free dog food, pet supplies, pet toys and other goodies for their pets. Build a data base then build a league for pet owners. Can you think of any others, besides cats? Oh yes, don’t forget to get a parade permit, a sign off from your insurance company...and a few hoses.

·        Time to put a full court press on companies and businesses for “Cabin Fever parties or “Spring Fling” parties to boost morale and shrug off the winter doldrums. What could be better than a bowling party? Start now while it is still nasty out and build your parties as a selling situation for summer leagues or summer fund raisers.

Adaptation isn’t about waiting for something to happen and then dealing with it. More often than not it is  YOU creating the change and then working to profit from your ability to implement that change. 

Let the others “adapt to you.”

5 Proven Ways to Make a Happy Memory for Your Customers.

I’m set to do a couple of seminars in the next 30 days. One of them will be with the Connecticut and Massachusetts proprietors and the other with the Ohio proprietors.

I have already started working on these presentations and as I did, I began to think about how many different ways there are to enhance the experience for the customer. Of course I added, “Which customer?” The league bowler? The cosmic bowler? The birthday bowler? The corporate party or fund raiser bowler? My answer was: all of them.

So I came up with a list of about 30 ways to enhance the customer experience and I’m going to share my top five with you.  Otherwise this particular blog would be a book!J

1.     Ever notice when you come to into a bowling center, the first thing you see is stickers on the door about being a BPAA member or about “NO'S?” Things you can’t do pass these glass doors such as: No food or drink, No service without a shirt, No colors, No sloppy pants, No cursing, No running and No teenagers under 18 on Saturday nights. Hello.                                               

Ok, I get that. You need some of those signs, but wouldn’t it be nice to be greeted with a big banner that says: WELCOME TO OUR CENTER. WE WILL DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A GREAT TIME. I think I have seen about 5 of those types of signs in visiting more than 500 centers.

2.     How about a sign as you are leaving the center? THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATRONAGE. VISIT WWW.HAPPYLANES.COM TO GET GREAT MONEY SAVING COUPONS FOR USE ON YOUR NEXT VISIT. Nothing like saying thank you and visit us soon and, oh by the way, why not get a hold of some money saving coupons. Makes the customer feel that his purchase, that day, was valuable and appreciated.

3.     It’s snowy. It’s cold. It’s icy. And Mom has to park her minivan a 100 feet from the entrance, carry the cake, carry the presents and supervise about 4 or 5 children to stay away from parking lot traffic and not run or they will slip and fall.    

                                                                                                                    

How about having designated Moms Parking Spaces as close to the front entrance as possible (MARKED SPECIFICALLY: FOR BIRTHDAY MOMS ONLY) and then having someone right at the door to help her with her packages?  I’ll bet you would do that if it was your Mom.

4.     Give every birthday kid a bowling t shirt in a bright neon color so he or she will be easily recognized.  On the shirt print, “It’s my party at happy lanes and I can do what I want.”  It’s a little extra for the kids, but more importantly, every time a staff member sees the child in the shirt, they would automatically say. Hi and Happy Birthday.”  Wouldn’t Mom be impressed?

5.     Corporate parties usually spend a bunch of money and they get bowling, food, liquid refreshments and (sometimes) a cosmic show.  Now just for giggles, let’s say you gave them a new bowling pin that had a stencil or decal that read: “I pinned down my party fun at Happy Lanes on (day, date).”

It’s a cool way to provide a souvenir of the party and hopefully a billboard that the manager would keep in his office for others to see.  Yeah, I know the pin costs about $13 bucks, but what would another party from the same company be worth to you? A small investment indeed, wouldn’t you say?

6.     BONUS:  Do you have a way for your league bowlers to win a couple of bucks that night. Maybe $10 dollars?   Call it: “The Mystery “10” Jackpot. Why not have a mystery score for every league, maybe two times a month?

How many ways can you think of to enhance your customer’s bowling experience?

Now go out there, and as my good friend Wally Hall always says, “Make a Happy Memory.”

You Tube Gets More daily Hits than Facebook. Lots more.

Approximately 6,000,000,000 hours of video are watched on You Tube each month by 1 billion unique visitor hits per hours.  

Facebook, which has 1.3 billion subscribers, gets 757 million average daily users.

But hardly anybody in the bowling industry is using YouTube. Why?

Oh, I see a few random photos of tournaments and birthday parties, but I rarely, if ever, see a video, that has been edited and presents a nice 2 minute story about your bowling center.

With all this snow, somebody must have a great Facebook story to tell; how you helped a customer start a car; how the staff had a snow ball fight or how customers felt about the weather or how nice n cozy the bowling center was and what a relief to have a place to take the kids since schools were closed so much.

Well? Well?  Do you have any of that good stuff that builds your brand?  Send it to me if you do and I’ll post it for others to see your good work

Now while I am far from a technophile when it comes to You Tube, I have picked up a few tips (from attending webinars) along the way and I wanted to share them with you.

1. Create a Branded YouTube Channel

This step is often overlooked by small businesses. Your YouTube channel is basically your house for the videos you create and upload, the videos you have selected as favorites, and those that you have organized into a playlist.

A customized channel gives you the opportunity to add and showcase your center’s branding with specific colors, information and links to your website and/or relevant social media pages. A channel also gives viewers an option to subscribe to your content with the click of a button. Just follow the guides and tutorials on You Tube. 

2. Make Sure Your Content Fills a Relevant Need

Try to provide your customers with information about your center that is RELEVANT to them. Whether it’s the weather, Kids Bowl Free or new open play programs, you have a plethora of content to share.  For example, you can send some Learn to Bowl lessons for new bowlers and then encourage them to come in and try it.  

If you host a band on Saturday nights, then post videos about the band’s performance and the crowd reaction.  Or post videos about a fund raiser you had.  And get great testimonials as well. That way your audience will see that you are a part of the fabric of the community. 

By doing this you create valuable information and interest in you and your center, thus generating loyalty and trust.

3. Develop Videos that are Quick, Simple, Engaging, and Professional

Decent video cameras are no longer expensive, so you can make a professional video without breaking the bank. Pay attention to lighting the area, sound quality and shakiness of the camera. Your best bet is to use a tripod. It is important to plan an outline and a script prior to making your video. 

Much like writing a story, you will want to include a beginning, middle and end. Make sure your video has a purpose. Keep it simple and short. It’s recommend 2-4 minutes for a video. Preferably closer to two minutes.

4. Optimize Your Video

YouTube claims that more than 24 hours of video are uploaded every minute, so the number of specific videos on the site is constantly changing. It is important you do everything you can to make your video easily found.

Your videos should be findable both within and outside of YouTube. Videos often appear on the first page of search engines, and are a proven method of leap-frogging your competition to the top of the search results page. The fact that Google owns YouTube can’t be overlooked.

To make your video more findable, you’ll want to focus on three key areas

-Title: Make sure your targeted keywords are in the first few words of your title. Another trick is to add a colon after your initial keywords and rephrase your title for maximum effect.

-Description: Two things to keep in mind here: 1) start your description with a full URL, and 2) don’t be stingy with your description. Be as descriptive and keyword-rich as possible. This will help you get found more easily by people searching YouTube for your type of content.

-Tags: Be sure to include any and all related keywords in the tags field. These aren’t the only variables in getting found, but they’re the easiest to manage and control.

So get out there and start using YouTube like a pro…and have some fun too!

What I Learned about Marketing and Customer Service after Spending 17 Straight Days on the Road

I don’t know how it happened.  But it did.

Have you figured out why
your center may be under performing

Between my assistant and me, we put together a schedule that had me flying all over the country to visit clients, attend BPA’s Bowl Summit and visit my wife’s cousins. 

But here is what I learned:

Airlines just don’t care. They simply don’t. In fact I am sure in their job searches they advertise, “If you really dislike people and are totally incompetent and can’t make logical decisions, then we have a career move for you.”  Since when does a “we apologize for the inconvenience announcement rate a gold star in customer service?

They cancelled my flight twice, because the deicers were frozen. Really? The DEICERS were frozen?  The DEICERS???

C'mon Man!!

I got stuck in a middle seat between two hip hop artists who though that the volume on their headsets should exceed the noise level of an Air Bus 320. In fact on this fabulous cross country red eye flight, I was treated to several diet cokes and my choice of salt or fat loaded high carbohydrate snacks at outrageous prices. 

The gate to my plane closed as I was running up to it screaming from about 50 feet away, “Please hold the door” as it was shut in my face and guess what I got. That’s right, “Sorry for the inconvenience.” 

Flight delays due to weather I understand, but after being delayed two hours and finally landing at an airport to be told, there is no gate, so we’ll sit here for 45 minutes. Time passes and then when we get up to leave, we find that the jet bridge is stuck.  I hope you don’t run your bowling center like the airlines.

Car rentals and hotel rooms were not much better. Since when is a mid size sedan a Chevy Spark?  Ina ddition to me, my rollerboard, briefcase and my nose barely fit in there; (I do, however; kind of undersatnd about the nose. :)

And why does my gold status in your hotel rate a handicap room next to the elevator? And oh yes, why does your FULL service restaurant close at 9pm with the nearest eating establishment being a McDonald one half mile away that also closes at 930pm?

More importantly when I visit bowling centers and a few FEC’s why are you all complaining that the programs didn’t get done because your “help couldn’t get to it.  Didn’t you write it down? Didn’t you check off the “to do list” and timeline I sent you? Didn’t you hold meetings to see what the progress was on these important projects? 

You mean you really couldn’t get together an MLK lockin program when I gave you the letter, telephone script, flier and press release as well as all the contacts to all the kid’s organizations, schools and clubs in your town last month?

And you didn’t get the email campaign content and Facebook campaign copy we did and just follow the schedule?  Copy, paste, click.

Fortunately, this was only a few instances, but still…why not?

Perhaps, it is just easier to count money, do the receipts, go to the bank and fill vending machines, (the easy tasks that don't challenge you, but it sure takes up time), rather than do the hard work of bringing in new customers and retaining others. That's your choice. But its not a very good one and I say that kindly of course.

It's four basic steps. Plan. Delegate. Monitor. Modify. Repeat.  

Look at the debacle in Atlanta, caused by two inches of snow, if you really want to see what happens when you don't plan, delegate, monitor and modify?  You get a "Holy S^*T."

Some centers claim they don’t have a marketing person on staff, but then again when that person comes on board, she is, all of a sudden a pizza maker, hamburger flipper and desk person more than a marketing person.

Why?

So here’s what I am suggesting:

1.     Find someone you respect in your town who can hold you accountable for hitting deadlines, doing the tasks you agreed to and measuring the results. I’ll do it, but I won’t be gentle about it because I care, passionately, about your business and don’t want to see you fail. Ever!

2.     Train your employees better than you trained your new puppy. In many instances, I’ll bet your dog is better trained and listens to your commands better than your employees.  Do your employees really know how to approach a customer? To do lane to lane solicitation? To implement a “90 second sign up” process. To collect data on a busy Saturday night without begging or pleading?  To instantly identify a prospect's demographic profile and match the prospect to the program. That's how they were designed, right?

3.     Are you constantly providing your employees with feedback and coaching tips to get them to be better at their jobs.  Professional and collegiate football teams practice, practice and practice again.  After you hire someone, do you retrain, reinvigorate and re-energize him every few weeks?  Do you formally review that person’s performance after three months, six months?  See, if you don’t care, why should they?  And do they know how to deliver great customer service?

4.     And finally, is marketing and selling the number one priority for everyone inside your building. Have you established a culture of “business growth” or just mere survival?

5.     Promise me you’ll put this sign up over the time clock in your office and wherever else your employees congregate:

“I Will Do Today What Other Cannot Do So Tomorrow I Can Do What Others Can’t”

And that’s my rant for the month.  

Call me if you need me to fire you up. No fees. No bills. Just because I care…alot