A Client Speaks:

I don't usually post this kind of stuff, but wanted to share this with you.  Wood Foss and his family are wonderful clients, but more importantly have become, dear friends. 

     "I do not attend many Bowling business events.  My wife and I were planning on a major upgrade to our facility.  24 lane center, $500K type money.  We attended a Brunswick presentation in Wichita, KA. and were sitting on a bus next to this little quirky guy.  He was talking bowling in terms I really identified with.  The guy couldn’t just shut up…  But, I am a little taller quirky guy, who also loves to talk about bowling.  And it went on and on.  Fred offered me some very specific ideas and introduced me to some very helpful people on the Brunswick Staff.

        In another month I attended the East Coast Bowl Expo.  Guess who I ran into???  We wanted to truly change our center.  We are a traditional style location with a  healthy restaurant venue.  Bowling was stagnant.  We attended all the presentations about bowling and Fred Kaplowitz was truly on top of the issues that needed to be discussed.

        I engaged Fred in a monthly marketing contract in October of 2008.  He has provided me with help and insight in every department.  We transformed our tired traditional center into an upscale traditional center of which we are very proud. 

If you notice the dates 2008 to 2011.  We have blown through the recession.  Our results have been very satisfactory.  We are growing our league play!  Fred kept nurturing our league business and thank God, we did not fall into the open play boutique trap.

        Fred has been our partner or perhaps mentor is a better word.  He feeds us, but more importantly, listens to us and adjusts to our market.  He has the contacts, knowledge and ideas from all over the bowling universe.  He runs his own center and knows the business inside and out. 

 Hire this man, you will benefit from his ideas and enjoy his company."

Kindly,

D. Wood Foss

Alley Katz, Inc.

116 Granite St.

Westerly, RI 02891

401-741-4503 Cell

401-596-7474 Office

401-596-3655 Fax

dwf1@alleykatz.necoxmail.com

www.alleykatzri.com

What To Do When No One is Buying?

Today, “flat” is the new “up.”  As the economy continues to drag, that new reality is banging into an old reality.

When times are tough, owners and operators take a  cost-cutting knife to Marketing.  However, intuitive these actions might seem, it’s time to spend.  Companies that continued to invest in sales, innovation and marketing during the past 18 years have a  book-to-market value 25% greater than those that “battened down the hatches” (“The Importance of the Customer Experience in a Down Economy – International Thought Leader Report, First Edition,” Customer Futures, 2008).
 
When no one is buying, chasing new business not only demoralizes everyone, it’s a waste of time.  Instead, divert new business development resources to customer retention and concentrate your efforts on meeting the needs of the customers you already have.
 
Perceptive marketing people look “closer to home” will find that they already own the single most effective asset needed to jump start sales.  Buried in your customer list are those new business opportunities you need.  Discovering and closing those opportunities, however, requires a new way of thinking.
 
Customers are in the driver’s seat when it comes to buying decisions.  Customers do more to compel sales than marketers do.  If you doubt that, consider the power of social media, word-of-mouth and referrals in these real world behaviors:
· 87% will stop doing business with a company after a negative experience–up from 80% in 2007 and 68% in 2006
· 84% of those who had suffered a negative experience would tell someone else–up from 74% in 2007 and 67% in 2006 (2008 Customer Experience Report, Harris Interactive)

Don’t throw in the towel just yet.  This same report contained some good news for companies with outstanding service:
· 58% would pay more for a better experience – even now
· 58% credited outstanding service as the number one reason to recommend, outstripping low prices (44%) and product/service quality (43%)

The secret is building loyalty. And to do that you need some information. So how do you do that?

Ask just three simple questions:

1. What do you need/want/desire that we aren't  providing?
2. Will you buy from us again?

3. Will you recommend us to your colleagues? 

(The goal in this question #3) is to register a 9 or 10 on a 10 point scale. Anything that is 8 and under is a “fail”)

Use this free R&D to expand your footprint in existing markets, uncover new business opportunities and find ways to improve your products, services and communications.


When you make those improvements and communicate them back to the customer, not only will you let him know that he was heard, but you will make him part of your success!

Ah, What's One Lost Sale?

My recent Face book posts have been harping on the need for the "back-to- basics- old- school- real- and- relevant- marketing- strategies"  that direct the execution of specific tactics to  reach our goals.

I wrote these posts in the face of 50 to 100 posts I receive daily from proprietors about being invited to this event, that tournament or to take part in a special offer or two.  Mostly, I read them for content and then go to the next post.

Now I am not saying that new media is all wrong, nor am I saying to not use it. I would be the first one to stand up and say, "embrace it, understand it and master it."

But let me give you an example of what I mean.  Recently, I saw a series of communications from a noted proprietor where he sent out great emails, Face book posts, ramped up his mobile marketing and invited people to consider his center for a Holiday party.

So I called and asked about some information. NO ONE in the center knew anything about it and the owner was not in.  Three hours later I called back...and got the same answer, "Gee, the owner isn't in, could you call back later?"

But maybe, just maybe if Mr. Owner would have spent the same amount of time on a customer response strategy as he did on his Face book strategy, he would have made another sale and dazzled the potential customer.

Because even with all of us using the new media, our business is still off; our open play on weekends is hurting and our league play is flat to down.

Why?  Perhaps, it is because we have lost site of developing and tactically implementing the basic strategies of our business.

Getting back to basics and developing relevant marketing strategies that have to be implemented with real tactics, not just inbound marketing communications, is something we all need to do...and do it quickly.

What do you think?

50% of Workers Earned Less Than $26,000 in 2010

If you have been wondering why open play bowling is off (as are restaurants, bars and nightclubs), maybe this article will shed some light on  the issue.

The following article was excerpted from a recent report on payroll taxes.

"1) Half of all workers made less than $26,364, the median wage in 2010. That means the typical wage is at its lowest level since 1999, after adjusting for inflation.

2) The number of millionaires increased by about 20 percent.

3) The size of the missing work force is 10 million. The number of working people fell by 5.2 million since 2007. But that's not the entire job deficit, because, based on population growth estimates, 4.5 million more would have joined the work force between 2007 and 2011. Add it up, and you get a 10-million-worker gap.

 

What you see in the graph above is that median pay took a  nose dive after 2007, effectively wiping out all gains made in the previous eight years. The macro explanation is that the economy shrunk, and middle class jobs disappeared and were replaced with (or outlasted by) lower-paying positions that companies kept on.  But the economy isn't one giant corporation. It's thousands of giant, medium-sized, and small companies in industries that lived through very different recessions.

So to fix our open play, is it an either or situation of having to cut our prices to  get to this market or target a  more affluent  market?  Perhaps a combination of both.

Or do we create a high level bowling loyalty program that encourages repeat business by offering discounts for future business transactions?

What would you do?

The Consumer's Confidence Problem Is Your Open Play Problem

I speak to allot of business people every day.

From bowling and entertainment industry people to automotive dealers to software developers, to restaurant owners to distributors and manufacturers of high tech and low tech products.

Not one of these folks has indicated that business is good or at least improving.  There is almost a quiet (but angry) acceptance, grudgingly so may I add, that this "new normal" is  here to stay and that the future isn't all that bright.

Smarter minds than mine have dissected the reasons for all this, but in my simple point of view. I think its all about housing.  Even when the stock market went into the tank during the "tech crunch"', people still had their housing "asset" and that was continuing to increase. So if we felt less wealthy because our portfolios went down, we secretly knew that our house was "our safe" place; our last bastion of economic solidarity.

With the hosing meltdown of 2008 to present, consumers looked around and found they were naked, out in the cold with no back up asset. Not only did their 401k's take a major hit, but their homes (THEIR HOMES, FOR CRISSAKE!!)  lost value.

In fact, according to a recent Standard & Poor report the ratio of total mortgage debt to property value now stands at 69.8%. In some areas like Las Vegas NV and Orlando, FL this ratio is 119% and 100% respectively.  In Warren MI, its 88.4% in Nassau and Suffolk County NY, it is 45.4%.

Further reports indicate that for every $1,000 lost in property value, each individual consumer cuts back anywhere from $20 to $70 a year in spending. 


Doesn't sound like much, but if you put it all together, from 2005 to 2009, consumer spending decreased by $240 BILLION DOLLARS.  This decrease represents about 1.7% of annual economic activity, enough  to be the difference between mediocre economic growth  and healthy growth.


What has happened is that people have realized that the economy is not going to get better any time soon, so they have stopped spending. Period.

I hear it every day from bowling proprietors. They tell me how their open play and bar business has taken a big hit, especially liquor. Even beer companies like Bud and Miller report very soft sales with some markets being off as much as 50%.

So what are you supposed to do?

In good times and bad, customers are first and foremost people.
And people always want to do business with people they trust and who they believe really care about them. In this economy, your number one job is to prove to your customer that you are a member of the community who cares about the community.  (Why would you not?)

Simply stated. Be their friend and continue to build on the relationships you have with them. Here's seven (7) actions you can take right now

1. Go back to your existing customers and invite them in with your very best offers.  Best beer offers, liquor specials...all within the confines of your state laws of course
2. Communicate with them about ways to save money and live better. Be a resource they can trust for helpful information.
3. Be more visible in the community. sponsor local events, get involved in fund raising, put out the "Christmas Toys for Tots" cans early. 
4. Work with area merchants to co-promote. Distribute other merchants coupons that will save your customers money and time.
5. Give free games away to get people to bowl paid games
6. Create frequency programs where they can get premiums for bowling more.
7. Make sure your people respect and honor the customer and treat him with more dignity than ever.

As people settle into lives of believing they are less prosperous, discretionary income is the first thing to go
But if you show them that having quality family time in a safe and clean environment is something that IS vital to their well being and can prove your center's "value proposition", you can survive this cycle

For more information on what you can do to retain and grow customers, please email me at fredkaplowitz@gmail.com

Lets talk.

Something's Happening Here

"There's something happening here. What it is ain't exactly clear. There's a man with a gun over there. Telling me I got to beware                                                                                                                                                                            Buffalo Springfield

I'm not sure when this song was recorded, but somewhere in my 70's memory I recall it. Now seeing the "Occupied Wall Street" demonstration, (getting bigger every day) I am reminded of this song. Yes, there is something happening here and I am not exactly clear.

But most definitely, it is forming, perhaps not quite like a Tsunami, but definitely a major wave of change to our system is beginning to manifest itself. 

From Wall Street to Los Angeles, sea to shining sea, occupiers are taking to the streets. No longer is it credible to say of protests and massive civil unrest abroad “It will never happen here.” To do so today would be a denial of reality. It is here...wherever that “here” may be for you. And if it is not, it soon will be.

In the 21st century, we use terms like "open source architecture" to define how a group of people build a software program or even an encyclopedia.  

If anyone would have told you back in the early 90's that the Encyclopedia Britannica would be dwarfed by a new encyclopedia called WIKIPEDIA and constructed, added to and modified every day by a bevy of people doing it for FREE, you would have said that is impossible to comprehend.In fact, where is the Encyclopedia Britannica?  Where is Microsoft's encyclopedia, Encarta?  Gone! Even to this day it is impossible to comprehend that millions of people have devoted endless hours to building this "open source" product. And continue to do it even as I write this blog.

What is happening on Wall Street is no less a phenomenon. People are building the "movement" every day. At first it was viewed as another display by malcontents and have-nots.  Some were even referred to as "hippies" Yikes.But then something happened. People from around the country started to show up at Zuccotti Park near Wall Street and the "movement" began to form.  Even the Iranian clerics are posting this as "America's Spring", which they claim, will bring the downfall of American capitalism.  Pretty heady stuff from a world away. 

For many Americans, this is quite a confusing time. Frightening, even. They know something is happening here...but they don’t know what it is. And that includes many of them in the occupying camps themselves. They know they are angry...that they have been dealt a rotten hand...that they are the “have-nots.” But they don’t know why...or who to blame. Then, along comes an “open source” movement. They didn’t even know such a thing existed a few weeks ago. But they are drawn to its energy and their fellow downtrodden within it. The see that it is going somewhere, doing something. It is on all the news channels and in the paper. And now they are neck deep in it, swept along with the tides of change, resistance and revolution. 

Lets keep an eye on this; who knows what effect it will have on our lives, our families or our business. What do you think?  What kind of effect do you think this "movement" could have? 

I will keep you posted from "something happening here land."

Yikes! Find Out Why Facebook is Killing Conventional E mail

My daughter is getting married in six weeks.

And while almost all of the details have been taken care of, it seems that Internet communications are about a solid two to three months behind my planning and buying process. I am still getting information about catering halls, hotels, car rentals and even dresses, invitations, DJ's, bands, and flowers; not to mention information about tuxedos (which we won't be wearing!).

The web has discovered that I am a target for wedding stuff and because of that discovery, various companies out there have cranked up their automated marketing machines, Facebook ads, and Google ad words to consistently and unrelenting send information to either my Inbox, Spam box and Boxbe filter folder. 

No matter how frequently I delete, unsubscribe or just ignore, more keep coming.  Sometimes the companies will go away, only to come back 30, 60 days or 90 days later. (Hey, it's all programmed).

And there is the flaw. 

These companies don't know when to turn it off.  

I posted an email to over twenty of these companies (in the bcc box) writing that our family's arrangements for this event are DONE; marriage essentials are done, done done,

And to, please, not send me any more information! For every "unsubscribe" I post, I get two NEW ones.

As time went by, I started to not open some companies' emails and then, after a while, not open them at all. B-Bye.

These companies who only utilize email as their one hit pony media strategy and view email as an inexpensive way to reach customers (i.e. a substitute for direct mail) will note in the long run, it is neither inexpensive nor the only one trick pony around. There's always a new one coming. Things change.

No wonder fewer than 15% of all emails are opened; some estimates even peg it 12% or lower.

And that's one reason Facebook is killing E-Mail as the social media of choice.

People are using Facebook, to talk about themselves, to stay connected, to maintain and build on existing relationships to exchange information, to solve a problem, check a fact, research a topic, etc. And , of course, to just talk about their lives and things they are doing, or contemplating...which includes, sometimes, pretty personal stuff.

On the Facebook side, the information I received from my Facebook Friends were more credible and I opened them more often than email  from a company always trying to "tell me and sell me."

Because customers want valuable information from a company they can use or at least appreciate.

• First, so they can  trust  if their information is genuine and credible.
• Second, to give you permission to send them either information, coupons and deals" or a combination of both.
• Third, so they can decide if you have any product or service that would either make them money, save them money, free up time, make them feel good.

Ask yourself this, please?

What is Your Social Media Strategy?