Feeling Uncomfortable Yet?

We tend to pay attention to the things we can relate to, things we can see and things that are familiar to us.
These "attention" triggers get us going.  We know our frame of reference, know how to solve the problem; or address the situation that has arisen.

We either judge it, try to fix it, take pride in it or ignore it.

We do this all in a blink of an eye.  We know what to do with these triggers. We do what we have always done; we take some action within the confines of what we know.

But what about those triggers that are unfamiliar?

Those that we cannot see or those to which we cannot relate to; those that are new and provide us with very little frame of reference to find a solution.

What do we do with these?  Over a period of time, we have no choice but to step back from them and try to find a more familiar angle from which to view the situation.

When we are unable to do this we get uncomfortable; feel a bit worn down and may even question our own problem solving ability.  The desire to "get out of there" also starts to resonate in our brain.

But if we don't let you out and force you to deal with this uncomfortable situation, then you have to come up with a new way of looking at the situation.

This causes you to start eliminating what you have always thought, believed or felt.

Not surprisingly, this automatically puts you into a new way of thinking, of looking at problems, of examining potential solutions to the situation and being more creative then you ever have before.

What would happen if you made your employees uncomfortable by challenging them to think of new solutions to new problems?

You might just be able to come up with some ideas for new products and services which will create new revenue streams.Wouldn't that be cool?

Now go make somebody uncomfortable.

The Value of The Experience

Sometimes we wait and an idea comes to us.

At first, we may think it is a good idea and then after careful examination we decide that it is not so good after all and decide to discard it.

Our customers, too, may stop and think, "hey lets go bowling tonight", but upon examination they too may decide to do something else or nothing at all.

What is the dynamic that changes them from an initially positive idea to deciding not to go forward?  Very simply they dialed into their value set and decided one of the following:

-  I don't value it the experience that much to go do it NOW. (other options sound better).

-  I don't have the time to do it NOW.

-  I don't have the money to do it NOW.

- I don't have my friends or family to do it NOW.


Of these "obstacles", the only one you can really control is the first one: the value of the experience.

So how has your customers' experience been these days?  if you don't know then ask our customers this question (in writing) and let them drop it into a box.

On a scale of 1 to 10 would you recommend this bowling center to a friend. 10 is the best and 1 is the worst.

Anything other than a "9 or higher" and you have the answer to the only question you can control.

Maybe its time your center takes a test.

10 Trustees

This is the time of the year you should be developing and introducing new products to your prospective NEW league bowlers...for introduction in late September or early October. 

Get 5 of your best ideas, send it to 10 of your must trusted people. See what they think of it. See which ones scale to more people.

If it doesn't scale to more people, start over because  you have the wrong product offerings.

Here's are two things you can do to improve your odds and see if your ideas scale:

1. Use your Kids Bowl free list and send out a survey, maybe 5 or 6 questions; give them the 4 or 5 ideas and ask how interested they would be (very interested, somewhat interested, neither interested or disinterested, somewhat disinterested, not at all interested.).  Ask them to check the box that most applies.Use the software called www.surveymonkey.com. It's inexpensive and easy to work with.

2. Speak with 10 or 15 open play bowlers and administer the same questionnaire to them.Same rules apply.

The process is simple. Develop. Test. Measure. Repeat. Rinse.

Now you are ready to send the winning ideas to your 10 Trustees

Time to rinse.

Your Product is Your Marketing

In 1994, I attended a company meeting where I boldly made a presentation and declared that “everything we do is marketing.” 

The more paranoid in the room immediately thought, ”uh oh, this looks like a power grab.”  What they didn’t get was, “Hey guys, if the customer has a bad experience because the lanes break down or the food is of poor quality or the bathrooms are dirty, then that PRODUCT experience is our MARKETING.  

What our customers would leave with, I said, is the experience of the product and what they will say to their friends is our marketing.   

They never got it. Two years later they sold the company.

Years later we face the same issue about marketing where many proprietors think that our marketing is about the Internet.

With all due respect, let me set the record straight.

If you think the Internet is about how many clicks you got on your offer or Facebook ad, you’re missing the point.

If you think the Internet is about how far up on Google search’s first page you achieved you’re missing the point.

If you think the Internet is just inexpensive advertising or a substitute for direct mail, you’re really missing the point.

If you think the Kids Bowl Free program, which was "birthed and nurtured"  in conjunction with the people on our BBBI team, is about two free games a day, you also miss the point. KBF,  THE PRODUCT, was the marketing.

Our product is the delivery of coupons via the Internet to an audience that gave us permission to send it to them and it scaled to over 1.4 million kids this year and over 4 million kids since inception.

When TV and radio and newspapers were king, all advertisers had to do was come up with a product that satisfied people’s needs and spend, spend, spend as much as they could afford on advertising. Those with the most money usually won.

Today marketing is about the product. Truth be told, YOUR PRODUCT IS YOUR MARKETING

What do you think?

4 Reasons Why Running Contests Is An Important Part Of Your Social Media Strategy

While contests and sweepstakes have been around for a long time, they have taken on a new life with the growth of the social web. Contests are certainly not the answer to every marketing challenge, but they should be part of every social media marketer’s toolkit. Here are four reasons why.

1. Contests Are a Great Tool for Building Your Fan Base.   Whether you are starting with 100 or 100,000 likes on your Facebook Page, contests offer a proven way to increase that number. I’ve seen clients go from 50 to 1,000 and from 15,000 to 30,000 likes in a matter of days or weeks when running a contest. Of course this is not the only metric to think about, but it is one measure of the power of a promotion. A basic enter-to-win sweepstakes with a lower barrier to entry often provides the best option for those just starting out with social media contests or without a large base of fans in place.

2. Contests Enable You to Engage Your Audience. In addition to increasing the sheer number of people who interact with your brand, a contest provides a means to deepen the connection as well. A user-generated content (UGC) promotion such as a photo or video contest is a great way to do just that. UGC contests tap in to the human drive to compete, and they provide an opportunity for everyone to experience their 15 minutes of fame. Most importantly, when participants upload their personal content (e.g., a photo or story) to your promotion, they are naturally invested in your brand. 

3. Contests Are a Rich Source of Data. With the lure of a prize; many people are prepared to share information with you as part of the entry process. You don’t want to introduce too many barriers, but don’t miss the opportunity to learn a bit more about your consumers (i.e., how they heard about your promotion, what their favorite product of yours is, etc.). Remember that what you ask should be commensurate with what you offer in return. In addition to collecting data as part of the entry process, you can also learn a great deal from the interaction and conversation that takes place around your contest, so be sure to listen in.

4. Contests Empower Consumers to Do Your Marketing for You. How would you like to have hundreds or thousands of your fans helping to spread the word about your campaign? It is important to have a promotional plan that encompasses multiple marketing channels, but thanks to sharing via social media, contests today enable an amplification of your marketing message that was not previously possible.

Like other tools, contests can be extremely effective when used as part of a comprehensive social media strategy. Any consumer facing organization, as well as many business-to-business enterprises, can take advantage of contests to realize the four benefits highlighted above.

Before you start a contest, though, be sure to familiarize yourself with local regulations. Every state has its own contest laws — and some can be tricky — so do some research to make sure your promotion is legal.

What has been your experience with running online contests? Let us know in the comments.

REPYOUTATION

"Repyoutation" is not a typo. In fact, it probably is a better way to spell "reputation", because your business and you are inextricably intertwined.

The community has a hard time separating the owner of a store and the store itself.

If your business is known for being a clean friendly place, it is because YOU have made it that way.

If, on the other hand, it is known for being dirty, unfriendly and uncaring, it is also because of your efforts (or lack thereof).

You are the one that leads the troops, sets the stage and makes sure that all the nooks and crannies, all the details are attended to; all the while stressing that the business is an extension of your personality and your "repyoutation".

With the fall season upon you, now is the time to shine up your "repyoutation."  Here are some tips.

1.  If you are setting about to hire new people, hire friendly people, hire people that smile, hire people that want to serve. If an applicant can't look you in the eye when answering a question, do NOT hire that person.

2. If your flyers or website look like Mickey Mouse did them, hire a professional artist or web designer to make your center look good on paper, on your website and in any media you might use.

3.  If you don't like going to your bathroom, then clean them, paint them and get rid of the graffiti. And oh yeah, get better toilet paper!

4. If your machines are running at less than 80 games per stop, get your mechanic to bring them up to standard as quickly and as economically as possible.

5. If the entrance to your building is in need of paint or patch, do it and then hang a big sign that says "Welcome". On the way out a sign should read "Thank You for visiting us. Please come again."

6.If your employees do not have a dress code or name badges, get them shirts, enforce a dress code and do it NOW!

So what do you think your "repYOUtation" in the community is?

Acorns Into Chestnuts

There were 3,000,000 advertised jobs in June and according to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget,  4.7 people were  available for each job opening.

Quick math tells me that is about 15 million unemployed people.

They are in our cities, towns and villages..

We frequently talk about adapting to change and rising from it.
After all, change is supposed to make us better, isn't it?


So what are we doing to help change these folks lives?
Or maybe change just one person's life or one family's lives.

Why not volunteer our centers as a job fair site...every other Monday night or so?

Let's encourage business people we know to schedule job notices in our centers.



We'll feel better because we are doing something positive and the community will look up to us.
And our businesses will become even more respected than it already is.

From little acorns mighty chestnut trees grow.




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