9.7%

9.7% unemployment is the new number.

Is it just a number? Or does it mean that some 13mm people are out of work (based on 132mm in the workforce)? Or does it mean that another 5mm have basically stopped looking? Who knows what the real numbers are or for that matter who is really helping your local customers to find jobs?

The people who got hurt the most are in the manufacturing and construction industries; however, there are thousands of white collar employees, especially between the ages of 35 to 54, who got bumped also. They are the "forgotten people", inside the unemployment number, currently in the news.

For those of you in hard hit communities, why not establish a "network night" and see if you can get local employers to set up a few tables on your concourse, at 930pm, and interview locals for jobs. Or can you get with some local politicos and ask for their help to establish a support group where locals can come and speak to other people who are in the same boat?

You can do something. And when the economy picks up, the community will remember what you did and reward you with loyalty and business.

If you care, do something. Just be authentic.

The New "Multi Minded" Women

"Forget multi tasking - women like Varma - are 'multi minding', a newly coined phrase that describes the process of simultaneously thinking about various concepts."
Gogoi in Business Week - online


Pallavi Gogoi, for Business Week, wrote that "multitasking is passe and that multi minding- not tasking but MINDING - is the new process that today's women use to manage the complex aspects of mixing family, career, and decisions about self and the ability to switch from concept to concept without missing a beat".

Women now account for $3.3 trillion dollars in consumer spending (that's three times our current national debt!!!) and are responsible for 85% of ALL purchase decisions. They also take 50% of all business trips.

Women also account for 1 in 10 motorcycle riders and make up 1 in 8 Harley Davidson purchases. Are we breaking down the old stereotypes? We're talking purchasing power and decision making!

The Business Week reporter continues: "Today's woman may be appearing to relax in front of late night television, or reading a magazine at a pediatrician's office or tackling a complicated analytical project at work, but she could just as easily be thinking about the other dimensions of her life like her 401k program; plotting a garden, clipping coupons, working on an analytical problem and also thinking about a neck massage."

As Tom Peters and Marti Belleta say in their book "Re - Imagine!", "...we must wake up and smell the truth; women are the primary purchasers of...damn near everything."

So what is the secret ingredient that will motivate women to buy your product? There is no silver bullet or a one stop answer about how to more effectively engage women. But one hint to this answer is to read a great book called "Too Busy To Shop", marketing to multi minding women by Kelley Murray Skoloda.

You can choose to dwell on old stereotypes about today's women or you can choose to honestly try to connect and engage this powerful economic force that influences birthday party decisions, youth bowling, mixed league bowling,food purchases and even bar sales. Read the Book!

p.s. Hint, hint, hint: Think connection, networking, social networks and social issue marketing.

Getting To Yes

Why is it when I go to some big box retailers and ask for some help in my buying decision there is nary a sales person present? And if I want an item gift wrapped after 6pm, the wrapping department is closed. Why is that? Is it because there are not enough "Yes Men" or Yes Women"? Have these people been trained to say, "we cannot solve this issue" as sweetly as possible; always smiling and saying "I wish I could help you, but the company says blah, blah, blah". Why is that?

Because they have no incentive to get to Yes.

In over 85% of the cases, they just don't care. The remaining 15% will try to help you, even working to gift wrap the packages themselves...under penalty of Big Brother and The Holding Company (Sorry Janis)

On the other hand, when I go to my local mom and pop retailer, they are almost killing themselves to wait on me, to sell me something, to gift wrap it,to thank me profusely for my business and to ask me to join their E-mailing list. Some will even deliver it to my home if it is too heavy. They get it. They get to Yes quickly and consistently.

If you find your employees are too busy apologizing to customers for lack of service or just lack the service skills they need to get to Yes, then send them to one of these big box retailers and let them ask for something out of the ordinary. They will soon understand the frustration your customer feels when your employees cannot get them to Yes.

If you find them saying that "the task is impossible or we don't do that here", ask them to go to the DMV or the Post office for a wonderful experience. "Can't mail that package; too heavy; box is too big; needs more wrapping and so on might be just some of the things they will hear at Uncle Sam's post office. UPS, Fed Ex and any of the "for profit" companies will gladly take your package and give you whatever you need to ship that puppy.

It doesn't matter if you are a small company, a big company, a government bureaucracy or a family entertainment center, ALL of your people need to get to Yes every time they interact with a customer. Every single time. With no exceptions.

If they don't believe how important this is or don't understand your insiistence on this issue, give them this sticker to put up on their refrigerator door: "Dear Customer; Thanks for the Food".

Maybe that will get them to Yes and get you to greater profitability.

The Labor Day Question

For the past 30 years, Labor day has always signaled the kick off of the league season. It was, and is, a time of wonderment. "Will our leagues fill in as they have in the past? What will my season look like? Can I fill those holes that I ended up with last year?"

With today's technological advances in data base marketing, the use of social media networking, emailing and IM'ing, you should have those answers now, before Labor day.

You do have them don't you?

If you do not have those answers, it's just another reason to get your data base tuned up and optimized to bring in new customers and to get existing customers to come back .

Speak to the experts at www.bowlingrewards.com
or the folks at www.kidsbowlfree.com

Otherwise, there will be surprises.
And surprises are only appreciated at Birthdays.

Compared to Who?

It is that time of year again, when many entertainment venues, especially bowling centers, are working over time to make sure their league customers are coming back, that their centers are in the best possible shape and that their staffs are trained and ready to go.

At the same time this full court press on league development is occurring, these same venues also make critical decisions on open play pricing; new league and casual play product offerings as well as how to best communicate these offers to their customers. Too often, these decisions are based on what other bowling centers are doing. The comparison is usually only made between one center and neighboring centers.

Now, if there are similar centers with similar services and similar price/value products, how will the customer choose? What will make one center stand out over others? What benefit, or set of benefits that you can implement, will persuade the customer to choose your center instead of "the other guy"?

The problem is in the comparison.
You're measuring yourself against the wrong matrix.

Compare your entertainment center to Disney or Nordstrom or Zappos.com or any of the great service providers. These providers are your benchmarks, not the center down the street, around the corner or across town.

When I was a high school basketball player and wanted to improve my basketball game, I had to play against better players to learn better moves and to to have my skills challenged. It didn't do me any good to play against players of similar skill levels or lesser levels; after all what could I learn?

If you continue to measure yourself similar centers, you are comparing yourself to businesses with similar skill levels. What will you learn? What can you improve? What benefits and attributes can you take away from these other great providers and apply to your center?

Raise the measurement bar, compare yourself to better service providers and you will raise your customer awareness, initial attendance and repeat business.

So when you say your center is "better" or gives "great customer service", ask one more question, "compared to who?"

Good to Great

In his new book, "Outliers", author Malcolm Gladwell claims that the difference between good and great is about 10,000 hours. In studying great musicians, artists, business people and other creative types who practice their trade, he noted that the "great" performers, those who are truly outstanding, have devoted 10,000 hours or more to their endeavors. These are the few who are truly great.

In real terms, that means if you had spent 20 hours a week at your chosen profession or craft for 10 years you would have put in over 10,000 hours, and because of that, you should be a great performer; a truly "world class" performer.

Being "good" at what we do makes us just average, but being "great" requires that we hone our marketing and management skills to a fine edge over a 10,000 hour period; that what we do every day is being done with a surgeon's skill. "Precision Marketing" as I call it means that we understand the problem definition process, understand strategy, tactics and implementation time lines. The great ones know how to get it done and how to get it done right. There is no room in today's brutally competitive environment to miss a note, to play off key or to miss a stroke. The great ones always perform.

For those of us in the entertainment business who have put in this kind of time, how many of us feel we are truly great? How many of us can look at issues and quickly, with precision accuracy, define the issues as well as developing potential solutions?

If you haven't put in your time and spent the 10,000 required hours, what would you do now to become great at what you do?

The Good. The Bad. And The Ugly

This is the story about a good customer service experience and a bad customer service experience from the same company, all in about a space of 37 minutes.

On a recent business trip, I was slowly making my way from Toronto to NYC, when a severe thunderstorm interrupted those plans and caused me to get canceled out of a connecting flight from Philadelphia to NYC. I quickly jumped on my cell phone and within a pretty short time was able to get a hotel room at the local airport as well as make train reservations to see a client in Annapolis the following day


In a fairly agitated state of mind, I told the Fairfield INN reservation lady my plight and asked for a room at the Inn. She proceeded to give me all the guarantee information and "if I should cancel I would be charged". She paid absolutely no attention to the fact that it was 1235am and I needed a room NOW; not after 6pm on the same day. When she made the reservation for me, she again repeated the corporate policy. I interrupted her and said, "thank you but I know all that". Her reaction? A very curt good bye accompanied by a very abrupt "hang up". Click and she was gone.

At that point, I did not know where to catch the shuttle bus to the hotel, what terminal I was at or when the driver would be coming to pick me up. A quick call to the Inn and they reassured me where to get picked up and that the driver would be on his way.

Once at the hotel, check in proceeded . As I inserted my key into the room and opened the door I saw two people were "kind of" sleeping there. After the appropriate screams, I went back to the desk manager and told him what had just occurred. The manager was mortified and immediately called the room, personally apologized to the people and told them he would give them a remunerative credit. He offered me an upgraded room at the same cost, apologized profusely and gave me a credit for a future stay.

Great service and bad service from the same company in one short period. The "good" was negated by "The bad". How often does that happen in your business?

To be remarkable, you have to be consistently consistent.