Did Your Guy Win?

No matter who wins tonight, think about how many homeless people, how many hurricane victims could have benefited from the ungodly amount of advertising spent to sway opinions and ultimately votes for "their guy." 

Estimates in Ohio alone were that combined advertising by both parties exceeded $20 million.  

Yikes.

Yes, I know there is a great deal at stake, but there's something about that level of expenditure, (and I'm a marketing guy) that almost, almost seems sinful (IMO)!!.

But now you have the opportunity to give back to some folks and transform your bowling center into a fund raising machine where your tribe of followers can raise money for their causes and you can raise a little revenue for your cause.J

What about an adult child league for the local school that needs to raise money for their band?  Every team pays (I.E.) $20. On a two game program, you keep $10 and the school keeps $10. They bowl for 6 weeks or 8 week. 

Based on 12 teams, that’s $120 per week for the school. Multiply that times 8 weeks and it’s almost a cool $1,000 bucks you have helped them raise. What about churches and Kiwanis groups? How about softball teams, little league groups, hospitals, businesses who sponsor charities?

You get it, right?

Do that a couple of times starting ASAP and you could be looking at several thousand dollars in new revenue each month.

It’s not a grand slam. But it’s not chicken feed either.

Are You There Yet?

Creativity comes from the strangest places and from the strangest circumstances.

Or as the old saying goes, “Necessity is the mother of invention.”

In lower Manhattan as residents found themselves in the dark, they all found that they were without their mandatory issued Android or Apple cell phones, iPods, iPads, and laptops, which of course need power.

Some hiked uptown with their electronic gear to find a friend with power, a Starbucks, a restaurant or even a bank to plug into. 

One guy, probably an engineer type (with a marketing mind), figured out how to hook up a bicycle to power a generator to drive a bunch of extension cords which people could use to power up their devices.

One woman, probably a strategic thinker (with a marketing mind) brought her grill down to the streets. Others followed suit and pretty soon a line of people were cooking food for the neighborhood they would have had to throw out.

It’s amazing what we can do when we have to.

Are you at that point yet?

Because if you are then you are one step closer to your best innovation and creative idea. Yes!

On one other note, please run a fundraiser for the folks living in Staten Island, Long island and the Jersey Shore. Contribute it to the American Red Cross.  Your customers will applaud you and enhance your brand.

Besides, giving back is what its about isn't it?

Five Social Media Trends That Will Rock Your Business

In the aftermath of Sandy and among the many images I have been absorbing for the past 48 hours, I have to get away from it and get back to my marketing.  It’s what you read this blog for and I promise to give you some valuable information.

So I thought that today, I would delve a little deeper into some social media statistics that are shaping your business.

When the web was new it was about information; then it was about overthrowing Arab dictators.  Now it’s about you. It’s about the collection of information about you, your purchasing patterns, what you eat, when you go out, what foods you like, what movies you see, what clothes, cars and vacations you buy.

The end result is an Orwellian look at what businesses know about you. As one digital maven said, “Personal data is the oil of the new digital marketing age.”  

And while you might not think this is relevant to you, it is very relevant to your business because if you are not getting more data about customers, you will fall behind in this new “Hyper – Personalization -Era” of marketing.”

Here are a few numbers that depict the impact, Facebook in particular, are already having on your world:

3 Billion:  That’s the number of Google searches every day.  Compare that with 7 billion people in the world and Google has more information about you every day than it had the day before, whether you like it or not.

12 to 18:  The number of months it takes for the amount of online sharing to double. Sharing content is now on the same growth curve as processing power.

1500:  the number of new retailers, per week, that join Pavment, Facebook’s social commerce site that allows users to set up stores on Facebook. And this week, Facebook set up “Facebook gifts” which will allow users to send gifts over Facebook. Get used to “F-Commerce.”

3.3 Million:  The number of Tyra Banks Twitter followers and the reason why her new book skyrocketed to #1 on the Amazon and Barnes and Nobles site after ONE week!!

48 hours:  This is the number of hours of video that is uploaded on YouTube every minute. Stop. Reread that.  This is where the communication trend is going and you need to be in a YouTube mode to reach your customer.

Get to know these numbers. Get to know your customers better. Get better data. 

Because if you don't,  your competition will!

The Story of The Hurricane

Hurricane Sandy is a heartbeat away from hitting NYC; a heartbeat away from making fools out of the people who have chosen to stay in areas that have been identified as “mandatory evacuation areas.”

Is it the spirit of the hearty individual or is it pure ego that people think they can survive anything?  Haven't they learned from Katrina and other disasters?  Didn't the Tsunami teach them anything?

Obviously not. 

A good friend of mine lives on one of the barrier islands off the coast and he is refusing to leave; even though he is in grave danger; apparently he doesn't think so.  In fact, he is planning a hurricane party.  I can't talk him out. I have tried. He says, “ I'm not leaving the castle.”

Strong positions create strong emotions. 

So do brands. Brands like Apple, Microsoft, Pepsi, McDonalds; Chevy, etc create strong emotions.

How about your brand, your bowling center, your mini golf course or family entertainment center? 

Does it create a strong emotion and if not how can your business create a strong emotion?

By being more human.  By being involved in your community.  By giving back to your city.  By creating value.

And most importantly by telling the truth.

"Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda"

The man who could, usually does.                                                                                                                                          The man who would, usually doesn’t.                                                                                                                              The man who should has let the opportunity pass.

If you are letting seasonal opportunities pass you by, you might be in the “shoulda” category. 

On the other hand if you're in the “coulda” category, here’s some things you could do that you might not have thought of.  (hopefully you have and this is just a checklist.)

1.     List your top 25 league bowler friends who work at big companies and ask them who their HR person is and if they know if the company has planned, usually plans or has not planned a holiday party.  Then ask if you can contact the HR person and use the bowler’s name as a way to get past
the gatekeeper.”

2.    Use an oversized postcard and send it to the HR people on your business data base.  If you do not have a business data base, buy one from INFOUSA.COM. on the postcard, do NOT list you prices, just say something like “Great Holiday Parties Starting At $X.XX Per Person.

3.    Make sure you create an offer on the postcard.  For example, bring 25 people and save $50; bring 50 people and save $100; bring 100 people and save $200.

4.    Start your follow up calls after your mailing and invite the HR person into your center. Show him/here the product. No need for you to go to them.

5.    Make sure you have testimonials about your holiday parties or any parties on your website. Put a “party video clip” up on the site if you have it too!

6.    Use your Face book to set up a sweepstakes by offering a free holiday party.  Get people to give you the 5 best reasons why a holiday bowling party is better than any other party

7.    Make sure you have a “Twelve Days of Christmas Program” in Place that offers school kids the opportunity to get a free game a day from December 26^th thru January 6^th.

8.    Have all of your fliers for new league formation in January up and available right before the Thanksgiving holiday and train your staff to solicit for league sign ups based upon the demography of the people who come to the customer service/welcome desk.

9.    When you have your company parties, make sure to get the email addresses of all people at the party. You can do this by offering them the opportunity to win a _______.

10.   Use a “robo call service” to contact your Kids Bowl Free Moms about your New Years Eve parties. 

Be the “coulda” person this holiday season and win at the cash register.

What? You Don't Know How To Do That?

I am sitting in airport lounge waiting for my connection and reading USA Today on the internet. As I lift my eyes from my computer, I gaze at my fellow travelers and notice, not unexpectedly, that all of them, including me, are plugged into their computers or tablets or smart phones.  

In this information crazed society, I watch one older well dressed gentleman, as he walks over to get some coffee, open his Motorola flip phone and begins to talk into it. I also watch people look at him as if he just crawled out from under a rock.  

If you haven't seen how fast technology is moving check out the recent battles between the Apple IPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy III.  It is almost hard to believe what these phones can do.  It’s Big Brother in the palm of your hand…whenever you want it.  And the people who have opted for one brand or the other have done so for their own very unique and special reasons.

It is amazing, to me, how we now seem to judge people by the technology they have? We expect our clients, peers and colleagues to have an up to the minute laptop or tablet; perhaps both. We expect them to have a smartphone where they can check email, text messages and retrieve files from anywhere on the planet.  

We expect them to know the weather, their calendar of meetings, how to create a 3 way phone call, how to even accept credit cards, how to access their favorite places to eat and drink, to be able to get sports scores and to have their airline boarding passes on their phone. and to do this seamlessly and instantly. Anything less plants a “negative” about them into our very judgmental psyche,

We also expect them to have Email, Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin accounts; perhaps even a Pinterest account and a YouTube account so we can access them and they can access us in a multitude of ways.

And when they are unable to perform any electronic or digital task, our frustration meter skyrockets. “What you don't have or use this tool,” we say. “What are you, a  Neanderthal? C'mon man, get with the program; you're getting left behind,” we mutter under our breath...sometimes a little too loudly

But what is weird to me when I send emails to people in the industry I get x% to respond. When I send faxes, I get X% PLUS. 

This is equally true in other industries. I work with hardware stores, beverage outlets, and even restaurants who haven't quite caught up either and the percentage increases in responding to certain "old school" communication is almost identical

But what does that say about some of the people who are running these businesses? Are they so behind the "times?” Does their business and staff and service communicate that too? Does their marketing communicate that as well?

The answer, at least in my experience, is a resounding YES!

For those of you who are more familiar with faxes and landlines then emails, google and smart phones, stop what you are doing NOW and go find someone or some educational institution who can get you up and into the 21^st century as quickly as possible.  You may never know all the technical stuff and thats OK, but you must be able to ask intelligent questions about what particular aspects of this new media will do for you business.

It may be funny, but you are losing business by not knowing how to use these tools more effectively, especially if your competition is getting more and more knowledgeable about this every day.

More importantly, you're missing a lot of information for making better decisions.

Because today Marketing  IS Internet Marketing!!

What Are You Doing Now?

1.     Catching your breath?

2.    Thinking about thanksgiving promotions

3.    Working on company holiday parties?

4.    Thinking about fundraisers?   

5.    Paying back summer loans?

6.    Getting your staff in shape?

All good activities, but not farsighted enough.

Need to start looking at the most important flooring season of the year (January and February) and the most influential.

The January time period is kind of a lull between baseball and football. Basketball is running and probably Hockey will be up, but for the most part, we have less competition than in any other time periods and more advantages.

1.     For most of the country, fewer people are taking advantage of outdoor activities.

2.    People are tired of being home so much; they NEED to get out.

3.    More rain and snow force people indoors to find fun.

4.    After the holidays, a kind of post holiday blues set in and we can be the activity that breaks through the customers’ “blues.”

5.    Kids don't have many options. No football, no soccer and maybe a little basketball. Maybe some indoor soccer, but still more kids with less options.

With this being said, NOW is the time to start developing your January league programs.

Here is a 10 point checklist for summer planning

1.     What are your goals for

a.    League lineage

2.    What day parts are available?

3.    What targets are available?

4.    What programs will match the day parts to the targets?

5.    What programs will be a set up for summer leagues?

6.    What programs will be two games or three games?

7.    What programs will be every week or every other week?

8.    How many new leagues do you feel comfortable trying to floor?

9.    When will you schedule your 1^st staff meeting to discuss your plan?

10.  Lists of people to call back

a.    Last two years summer league bowlers

b.    Summer league dropouts

c.    Businesses you have had parties with in the past year

d.    Winter league dropouts

 Ok, break time is over.