The Fickle Finger of Fate

I was driving my wonderful SAAB the other day, tooling down the Sawmill Parkway in hilly Westchester County NY, accelerating into turns and just having a blast carving up the roads. As I looked in my rear-view mirror I noticed a car approaching at a rapid rate of speed. 

He slowed enough to get on my a*s. 

Gently tapping the brakes and  thinking that this signal would give him an idea that he was following too closely and hoping he would back off, instead he became enraged, started flashing his lights and honking his horn. He was a maniac. Traffic in the left lane prevented him from passing me, so he just decided that his best effort would be to tailgate. So I did what I could to stop him from his dangerous driving and slowed down. He just stayed on my tail, honking and flashing his lights.

I was getting angry, but at the exact same time that I was about ready to "go nuts", I got a great new product idea that I probably would not have gotten had it not been for the present chaotic situation in which I found myself.

I don’t know where it came from or why: “What if I had an invisible strip on my bumper that was programmed with sign like, “you are too close, please keep your distance” that I could flash at him?

My very next thought was a series of questions such as: “Is there a market for this; how much would it cost to make; who would buy it, how could I sell it, and many other questions that marketing dudes ask.

I became so involved in this mental exercise that I completely ignored the jackass behind me who now, after several miles, decided to pass me, give me the one finger salute and speed off. “Yeah, same to you fella!”

So what’s the point of this story?

Here's what I realized, and was able to articulate; “ Perhaps out of chaos, some anxiety and irrational circumstances, there may be a good idea that is fermenting and then rises to the top of your consciousness."  And all we have to do is be aware of it.

Don’t discount the ideas you get when your business is flat or down, when it seems like the things you have tried just aren't working; when your banker is stopping in more frequently and when the roof starts to leak in a new place.  That’s the place where the breakthrough idea can start. Necessity being the mother of invention.

And maybe, just maybe, there’s an idea there, inside of you, just waiting for the chaos to birth it. 

League Bowling Rant

One of my financial buddies sent me an article about AMF’s recent bankruptcy. 

The article, really a blog by Randy Hutchinson, CEO of White Hutchinson Leisure and Learning Group talks about the implications of AMF’s bankruptcy and its causes.

http://www.whitehutchinson.com/blog/2012/11/is-amc-bowlings-bankruptcy-the-harbinger-of-the-death-of-bowling/?goback=.gde_1841652_member_189846333

While the article made mention of AMF’s financial troubles, it specifically alluded to AMF’s problems with league bowling.  In effect the article stated that AMF’s problems were the result of “league bowling dying; the result of an old product that once catered to “the bored blue collar and factory worker with amusement” in the evening.  

Sure the demographics have changed, the economy has changed and sure there are less blue collar factory workers out there, but does that automatically mean that bowling has less appeal because people work in cubicles, rather than work "on the line?"

I don't think so.

To paraphrase, the article further continued to say …”and since the demographics of America have drastically changed, the league bowling aspect of the business is no longer viable. Bowling centers that have not modernized to appeal to the new open play customer will also eventually die.”

Further, efforts to bring in people to “bowl in shorter league seasons have also met with resistance and, yes, the league product is dead or if not dead yet, will soon be.”

Like Mark Twain who heard of his death, said, “The report of my demise is much too premature.”

And so is league bowling.

If Randy White’s analysis is right, then why do we replace about 20% of our league bowlers every year with NEW people, but somehow still manage to lose $23% to 25% of our existing customers?

Why we are able to interest people in 8 week have a ball programs and have thousands of new people across the country join these programs? Why indeed?

And finally, why do we see, regardless of what Randy White may say, more growth in short season leagues than in the past?

And why, as Randy White says upfront, do 71 million people still go bowling; about 1 out of 4 people age 5 and older?  What other pay for play activity has that kind of following?

C'mon Man!

Maybe we are getting smarter in learning how to utilize social media.  Maybe our skills at inside and outside selling are getting sharper.  Maybe our centers are getting better looking.  Maybe we are hiring better people.  Maybe because league bowling, like many products, is an evolving product?

Maybe because we have no choice but to get better.

Really.

Good Bye Zig

Zig Ziglar promoted himself as the worlds greatest salesman. And he sure as heck was, at least to me.

For over 40 years he traveled the country giving seminars that combined sales techniques, motivational aphorisms, a unique brand of optimism and a whole lot of down home country wisdom.

I had the privilege of seeing him in person twice. I also bought a bunch of his tapes and listened to them so many times that they jammed my "Sony Walkman."

Of his many"driving principles", one, in particular, has stuck with me, lo these many years.

It is this:  "Our whole philosophy is built around the concept that you can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough people get what they want.  It works in business; it works in government and politics; it works in your personal life; it works everywhere."

"Be Grateful. Believe. Try" he would often say.  And no one said it better. Thanks Zig. You will be missed.

Window of Opportunity

There is a little break in the action now.

This assumes that you have your holiday programs and New Year’s Eve programs up and ready to go J.  

Don’t forget to post your holiday hours. Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day.

You can take a deep breath and get ready for the holiday rush, but what if a lot of people come to open play bowl and you have: a) no incentives to get them to come back for a return visit, b) not put a system in place to get their email, c) no programs or leagues available for them to start in January?

Having none of them would be a wasted opportunity wouldn't it? 

No it wouldn't be a wasted opportunity, it would be a fatality!

By offering them an incentive (first game free on next visit, $5 off $20 of bowling, free pizza when you bring 4 people to cosmic bowling, etc) you increase the odds that they will return which will give you another opportunity to get their email address and be able to speak to them about joining a league in January

To get more emails, set up 2 sweepstakes box. One at the desk and one in the snack bar/bar area.  Get them at Staples; they are made out of Lucite and put a sign in the sign holder that says “Enter here to win $100 of free open play bowling” (5 winners chosen each month.”  Use a data base card (3’x 5”) that has the following information: name__________ email ____________ birthday month________ birthday year_________  gender  M_______  F__________  phone # ________.  Don’t forget the pencils.

As far as leagues and programs go, review last year’s league floorings in January and February. What did you put on the floor?  What leagues?  How many bowlers? How many weeks did they bowl?  How many games?  What did you charge?  What was your revenue from these programs?

Now that you have all that information, add 10% to last year's lineage and revenue.  You now have your NEW goal.

Note: now is the time to raise prices on these NEW leagues and set your pricing up for next September.

Here is an example of mandatory offerings that you have to put in place:

·         Adult child league; could be $8 for 8 weeks, Saturdays

·         Pizza and Beer league (2^nd shift)     

·         Retail workers league (2^nd shift)

·         Every other week or once a month couples league (1^st shift

·         League of your own for companies (every other week 1^st shift)           

Now you may not have availabilities during these times and therefore, you will have to develop new programs to meet your goals. 

You have between now and December 16^th (the day kids are out of school for the holiday break) to get this together and plan your January and February.  

Otherwise, you’ll be calling me and saying, “%$#@#%, I missed an opportunity, what do I do now?”

So What's New?

New is eating itself in a never ending race to faster, bigger and shinier. New is changing so fast that Andy Warhol’s famous comment about “everyone having five minutes of fame” seems understated. 

New movies and styles come out and maybe they last three or four weeks and poof, they’re gone. 

News stories like Hurricane Sandy are gone in four days.  Despicable acts of terrorism are here today and in three days are not just on the front page, but they are no longer even making it to the back pages.

We too fall in the trap of looking for a new idea, a new promotion, and a new “silver bullet” to fix what ails us.  But what ails us is the search for new. And is soon as we find that new thing, we know it won’t last and thus we will have to again start the long climb up to find another new thing.

Maybe we should concentrate on improving and perfecting what we have, what works and what is relevant, rather than ALWAYS CHASING the new.

Thoughts for Thanksgiving 2012

This is my 324th   blog since I started writing "Fredquarters Marketing and I am so grateful to all of you for encouraging me and pushing me to write about different topics, different ideas, streams of consciousness and anything else you find relevant.

I get immense joy from this.

Some of the more cynical people out there ask me if I have monetized this site; if I get new clients and why would I give away all this stuff for “FREE?”

Candidly, I never think about that.

Oh sure, I get calls for consulting work, project work and even if I want to manage or buy a couple or three centers.  Mainly I get calls for suggestions, ideas, and maybe even a quick pick me up from a proprietor who has been beaten up by his local economy.

Mostly, I get people who just want some help.  I read somewhere that the more you give away the more you get back. I don’t know for sure if it’s 100% true, but I don’t doubt the assumption.  It’s worked pretty well for me.

Here’s a thought. 

We all give away free games; bonus bowling bucks; discounts and contributions, but sometimes we do it grudgingly.

Suppose we were able to do it with the idea that these free games are making someone’s life happier, even for the hour they are with us or helping them to forget some sad issues, they are dealing with, in their lives, wouldn't we feel better? 

And wouldn't the universe notice that we were giving generously and return good things to us?

What would it feel like if you knew that the free game you were giving away was making someone forget about the hurricane that demolished their house; even for just a brief moment in time?

I know you would feel great because that’s who you are.  I've seen you raise countless dollars in your centers for various charities and organizations. I know. I've seen it up close and personal.

I have gotten so many good things by giving you information, ideas, thoughts and hopefully ways to make money that I have been rewarded in so many other way that’s it’s hard to count.

And for that I am oh so grateful and say, “Thank You All” as we celebrate Thanksgiving 2012.

Go Giants! 

Speak with you Friday.

PS. Here's to a "very revenue Thanksgiving holiday." :) :)

Is Your Marketing Toxic?

Most people think that the purpose of marketing is to sell stuff.  

I hear this frequently from clients who load up their emails and face book content with offers to buy their “stuff”. 

Whether it is bowling, hardware, admission tickets to an entertainment venue, automobiles, auto parts, restaurant meals or computer chips, it happens all the time.

So I ask a lot of questions of my clients; here is just a sample.

Why do you create content that only talks about you and not about your customer?

Why do you use so many registration forms in front of your content; don't you think that discourages people to read further?

Why do you use social media to promote products that very few people want?

Why do you send so many emails to your list as response rates drop and op outs become the norm?

Why do you create little teasers in your blog or newsletter and force the customer to  click to read more which results in, you guessed it, a sales pitch?

The answer I always get is: “Fred, we are in the business of selling stuff. We have to show real results or get real leads or because the Boss told me to do it.”  “We just can’t keep giving stuff away.”

I get it. I know about those pressures.

I also I know that there is a time and a place to us registration forms, a time to place coupons in your email and a time to send a selling email. 

But at what cost?

Bad content and only talking about yourself is simply the biggest mistake of 21^st century marketing.

Don’t take my word for it. Test it. Send some of your paid search to a blog site, and then measure it if they share it.  

Measure the effect of that traffic and the benefits of free traffic and then convert those to leads

Have a great call to action with great content that “Provides Real Information “and “optimize it”. 

Don’t use the registration “gate”; let the content become the lead generation machine for your business.

Because you need to realize that the PURPOSE OF YOUR BUSINESS IS TO SERVE CUSTOMERS and when you stop offending customers and prospects with constant sales messages, your business WILL begin to get many sales. 

Because serving customers, sells.