Black and White

“He sees everything as black and white”, said one of my colleagues and I immediately understood what he meant; that the person he was talking about was “Yes or No, Right or Wrong, Good or Bad – no shades of gray here. Just absolutes.  Lots of folks judge that way.  doesnt make them bad people, just a little bit narrow

But yes there are shades of gray, almost an infinite number of shades for that matter and for those of us who are inclined to see the world greater degrees of shades of gray, we probably have more choices. but, I think, a more complicated psyche.

So if you own a bowling enter or an FEC, you have the choice to see things as black and white or in various shades of gray.

For example, if you run a promotion, let’s call it "bowl your brains out" – you know x hours of bowling for $y dollars at a specific time – you have choices to add more or less hours, raise or lower prices, add more options like food and beverage and various prizes and surprises when people bowl and even add music or keep it quiet.  Lots of choices, if you see it that way.  Much, much fewer choices if you  see it as just bowling, rental shoes, time and price.

The real question is how does your potential customer and existing customer want to see it and are you offering that.  Oh, you don't know?  That's cool. here;s what you do: ASK THEM.

Sometimes we even do the black and white thing with employees. We see them as good or bad, positive or negative, friendly or unfriendly or energetic or lazy.  Unfortunately, when we do this, we have unfairly judged someone; simply because no one is just one thing.

And if you judge employees as having ONLY positive attitudes OR negative attitudes, you also do a disservice to them...and to you and your business, simply because your communication to these folks will be biased one way or the other

Maybe if you reinforced the positive while explaining how the negative hurts them from being happier, you could break through their narrow band of gray.  But, candidly, I doubt it.

They’re the ones you need to beware of; those folks who use words like “all”, never” “always” “none”, “everyone” and similar absolutes. They are the black and white types; they are the ones with the least amount of flexibility. So please watch for these words when you hire people, promoting people, giving them assignments and when you are making decisions that involve their participation.

Because to play the music, you need the black and white piano keys, but there are many shades of sound within that black and white band...to make REALLY beautiful music.

Every Time I Put My Shoes On...

I have written about emailing for some time now; trying to prevail upon you, dear reader, to use email to build relationships, tell stories and softly, softly sell your center or yourself as being part of the community. There's a reason it is called "Social Media" and not "Cheap Substitute for Direct Mail.

With "open" rates plunging to about 10% to 12%, you need to get better at having people (your TARGET) open your emails. The example you will see in this blog achieved that...and a whole lot more.  It added tot he value of the center's brand immensely

Futilely, I have looked for an email from proprietors to showcase an example of what I have been talking about. Instead I get appeals for “need two teams for Monday Mixers, Call Dale at happy Lanes (of course no phone number).

Or worse, someone sends me their flier for late night, great night cosmic fun starting at 11pm. Now I like cosmic as much as the next guy, but am I really the ideal target for that product?  Haven't been 18 to 34 for a few years now :).

Rarely do I ever get some “social media communique” that smacks of realism, emotion and a good story…until the other day when my great client Alley Katz sent me one that I just had to share with you.  Wood Foss and his family own and operate a bowling center in Westerly RI. It’s a beautiful beach town that like much of RI still suffers from high unemployment (I think it’s still in double digits).

 

Yet Wood and his wife Kathy and their sons David and Joe will tell you straight up that Alley Katz has been getting better and better because they “get it.” They understand how to be part of the community.  They understand the importance of planning and speaking to the customer from the heart. 

When their Westerly beach was almost wiped out by Hurricane Sandy or when a flood occurred and put the down town area in jeopardy, they were right there to lend a hand, run fund raisers, lay sandbags along with their fellow citizens and express their feelings about “their town” and emailed to their list a post that basically said, "please stop by for some coffee and donuts and a warm place to rest before going back out." 

Their results have been nothing short of extraordinary. And they didn't do it thru cheap, cheap pricing. They did it, the old fashioned way with family friendly, passionate service backed up by emails like this. Emails that puts the humanity of the moment into a business transaction.

So here is their beautiful and touching email that you need to read. Please  print and put on your office computer.  And every time you write an email think about this.  What emotions am I touching?  What human characteristic can I imbue my communication with and finally how can I stop selling and still sell?

The subject line was this: EVERY TIME I PUT MY SHOES ON..

I have 3 beautiful kids.  My youngest, Riley is almost 2. Every time I put my shoes on she says, "You going work Daddy??''  It's cute but kinda breaks my heart at the same time.  She is very young still but is also very aware of the fact that Daddy works A LOT.  I would love to spend some quality time with her and the rest of my kids for that matter. 

My parents and family that have had their kids already grow up before them always say, "it flies by"... "Enjoy them while you have them"...

NOW IS THE TIME.

ENJOY THEM WHILE YOU HAVE THEM.

SPEND QUALITY TIME WITH THEM.

Are You Ignoring Certain Market Segments?

In the city where I live, just outside of NYC, I am pleased to notice a cornucopia of different races, ethnic groups and nationalities. The friends that we have made, many who are “new immigrants” bring unique perspectives to our conversations, whether about sports, politics economics or other subjects.

So I wondered just how these groups affect our bowling and entertainment businesses.

After doing some research, I noted that the US Census reports of 2012 indicated that there are 53 million Hispanics and 42 million “African Americans”, add in another 13 million Asian people and you have about 103 million “non white” Americans.  No doubt there are many other nationalities that live here, but these three main groups represent 33% (1 out of 3 of all Americans (319 million).

My conclusion is that if you own a bowling center, there is a pretty good chance that your market area includes members of these ethnic groups.

And I’m sitting here scratching my head why I haven’t gotten ONE question about how to market o these folks?  Are you ignoring them? Are you concerned about your market mix? Or do you just not know how to motivate them to go bowling.

It’s probably all of the above.  Just like your existing customers, ethnic groups have the same physiological and psychological needs, but thank goodness they have their own ways of expressing their identity.

Rule #1.  Don’t talk at them.  Learn their preferences, their “cultural nuances, food tastes, and what they do in their spare time.

Rule #2.  Find key leaders in the groups whether it be religious, business or political figures. Ask them for advice.  Ask them about their constituency and what they think would get them to bowl.

Rule #3.   Never forget the power of the free game or of two free games and the opportunity to get people into your center and, oh, make sure that you print your free game cards in at least two or even three languages. and your signage should also be “culturally” appropriate.  In California, where “Whites” are in a slight minority, many California proprietors have, for years, learned and practiced Hispanic and Asian marketing.

Rule #4.  Do not close your eyes to these groups or ignore them.  In many states they are the fastest growing segments and will portend the future of your business.

So You Want To Be Cool?

“You know Fred”, said my client, the other day, “the problem with bowling is, it just isn't cool. The kids don’t think it’s cool and the older folks don’t even think about it as something to do”.  Now if you can make it cool, you’ll be a miracle man.”

Which got me thinking.

Could we just do this? Could this actually happen? You know make bowling into the next American Idol or Dancing with the Stars?  Wouldn't that be great?  

Sure would…and then I woke up.

The problem isn't about bowling being cool; the problem is much easier to define. 

Its YOUR center that isn't cool.  The center above is cool. It's Brooklyn Bowl that does something no other center in the NY metro area does. It books big name bands. Concert type bands every week. It is an "Honest to God Music Venue" surrounded by bowling and old fashioned comfort food

Oh, maybe your center is cool and you’re doing great because you stand for something and you have a brand identity.

Look at these 25 bowling centers in this link and see why they are cool and why they rated a mention. http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/americas-coolest-bowling-alleys

The answer is because in their market they are different.

It may be because your center is old school and has no automatic scorers, old wood lanes and scoring tables and all the employees wear old funky bowling shirts and everything down to the last detail is “throwback retro cool.”  

But it's real and its honest and that's all that matters for it to be cool. Because being honest and authentic is something, unfortunately, that is all too often uncommon and definitely not cool.

It may be because your center is high tech, high touch, great food and beverage, laser tag and beautiful servers and is just a “WOW” when you walk in.  Your first words are of course “Awesome, Unbelievable.”

Or maybe it’s because you have installed cherry wood lanes in your center and it’s the only center in town that has it.

The point is, if you want to be cool, you have to be different. 

You have to surprise, delight, entertain, amaze, astonish, flabbergast, and startle the imagination of your customer because you have something that no one else has and then you can be cool.

Don’t get me wrong, I love modern new bowling and entertainment centers, but if you look at your center or get a fresh pair of eyes to look at, maybe you can find what you do differently than your competition and if what you do differently, you really do better.

If your center is old school, then keep it old school, but make sure it is “authentic, real and truly a 50’s throwback.”

For those of you that renumber the Old Petersen Classic tournament, you’ll know exactly what I mean.  You’ll know how they made rudeness, bad service a fun time.  It was brilliant!  

And it was cool.

Facebook Changes The Rules..And We Win!

MY good friend, Sheryl Bindelglass, www.Sheryl@Sherylgolf.com sent me this and I wanted to share it with all of you immediately.

BIG NEWS 

 Third-Party Apps No longer required to create Facebook promotions. Sharing this great news with clients, and friends  

 *NEWSFLASH* 

Facebook just updated its Page Terms! You can now run CONTESTS on your Page without a third party app!! This is huge news! Wow. Thousands of companies were already running contests on their Pages that didn't comply with the 3rd party rule. Now, they will be compliant!

You can now run promotions (contests, sweepstakes, competitions or drawings) on your PAGE wall and/or via a third party app on Facebook. Pages can:
* collect entries via users (fans and non-fans) posting on the Page wall
* collect entries by users commenting or liking on a Page post...

* collect votes via likes (new fans, post likes)

This is all great news for increasing ENGAGEMENT! Plus, with the message feature, companies can open up more dialogs with prospects via the Message feature.

There is just one small rule Pages need to comply with now and it’s around accurate tagging. Pages cannot:
*ask users to tag themselves in any images in order to enter contests. (Facebook wants us to use photo tags for when we’re actually in the photo/image. Makes sense.)

See the official announcement here: https://www.facebook.com/facebookforbusiness/news/page-promotions-terms

From a Facebook spokesperson via AllFacebook.com:
"This capability makes it even easier for smaller businesses to help build awareness for a new product, promote the opening of a new location, sell inventory, or advance other business objectives. Say, for instance, a local pizza parlor wants to give away free pizza for a month to the 100th person to like its post. Now the business can do this right on its page (and increase awareness of the post via promoted posts) without needing to work with a third-party to build an app."
http://allfacebook.com/updated-promotions-guidelines_b124179

Third-Party Apps No Longer Required To Create Facebook Promotions

David Cohen on August 27, 2013 6:37 PM

Facebook Tuesday announced updated guidelines for promotions on the social network, and the most prominent change was the removal of the requirement that promotions be administered via applications only.

The changes were detailed in a blog post on the Facebook for Business page:

We’ve removed the requirement that promotions on Facebook only be administered through apps. Now, promotions may be administered on page Timelines and in apps on Facebook. For example, businesses can now:

·         Collect entries by having users post on the page or comment/like a page post.

·         Collect entries by having users message the page.

·         Utilize likes as a voting mechanism.

As before, however, businesses cannot administer promotions on personal Timelines.

Accurate tagging is required in promotions.

In order to maintain the accuracy of page content, our pages terms now prohibit pages from tagging or encouraging people to tag themselves in content that they are not actually depicted in. So, for instance:

·         It’s OK to ask people to submit names of a new product in exchange for a chance to win a prize.

·         It’s not OK to ask people tag themselves in pictures of a new product in exchange for a chance to win a prize.

A Facebook spokesperson said in an email to AllFacebook:

This capability makes it even easier for smaller businesses to help build awareness for a new product, promote the opening of a new location, sell inventory, or advance other business objectives. Say, for instance, a local pizza parlor wants to give away free pizza for a month to the 100th person to like its post. Now the business can do this right on its page (and increase awareness of the post via promoted posts) without needing to work with a third-party to build an app.

ShortStack CEO Jim Belosic weighed in on the impact of Facebook’s announcement in an email to AllFacebook:

"Today’s change will be helpful for small business owners, making it easier for them to host promotions. Is this the end of apps? No, because when you have a large following, getting Facebook likes and comments is only the first step. Savvy marketers know that the real work is done when  you collect and leverage data for ongoing promotions and marketing efforts, and apps make that possible."

Hope this information will help you run fantastic promotions on facebook.

Wishing you Great Sales & Lots of FUN!

A Different POV on Quality

Very often we talk about a quality bowling experience. we talk about high touch points, high tech points and “always going the extra mile” to make sure customers leave our bowling center with happy memories

Every now and then I like to stop and see if we are truly delivering a happy memory so I ask our staff:

“What kind of quality does the customer  want?"  I usually get answers like:

1.   “They perceive us as a good value for the money.”

2.  “They had a good time and their time was well spent; they have no regrets.”

3.  “They forgot about their troubles for a while.”

4.  “The center was neat and clean and everybody smiled and if they had a problem, someone was there to take care of it.”

5.  “We didn't say NO all day to any customer.”

6.  “When people finished bowling, and as they were leaving I said, "Thanks for coming; come back and see us soon”, they said ‘We sure will”... and I think they meant it.

7.  “One lady commented on how clean our bathrooms smelled and another man  told me that his son really enjoys his summer league program and will probably bowl in the fall.”

Gee I thought, these are real great comments, but what if we got it wrong?  Maybe quality was just a clean bowling center, cheap prices, OK food and the fact that nobody at the center hassled them or gave them a hard time.  What if that’s what they wanted and we weren't delivering that?

Has anyone ever asked how the customer defines “a quality bowling experience?”  if you have would you share those answers with us…’cause, who knows, we may have been interpreting  it wrong…and all we have to go on is what WE think, not what the customers think.”

“Aw Fred, that’ just common sense. You have gone overboard on this one.  Really, read the next paragraph...

Reminded me of a story about Kodak, who recently filed bankruptcy, (followed by Polaroid). Their idea of customer quality was to “deliver the highest most professional quality images to the average consumer.”  That is, give the typical shutter-bug consumer the same quality picture that a professional photographer wants.       

                                  

But Kodak, and subsequently Polaroid, got it wrong.

What the customer wanted was cheap film, easy to use and eventually pictures that could be shared with anybody they wanted to and NOT museum quality prints.

And as one marketing executive (Seth Godin) said in a recent article I read: “Quality is not an absolute measure. It doesn't mean 'deluxeness' or 'perfection'. It means keeping the promise the customer wants you to make.

A Word or Two about Technology

I am sitting in the Philadelphia airport American Airlines 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, (and I mean ALL) including me, are plugged into their computers or tablets or smart phones. 

In this information obsessed society, I watch an older well dressed gentleman, as he walks over to get some coffee, opens his “vintage” 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 I Phone 5  (soon to be the 5S and the Samsung Galaxy III...or IV  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. And might be loyal customers or might change. That's why the race for new and more vigorous applications we can instantly plug in and use on our smart phones are so important for the phone manufacturer to grow market share and expand into new markets. (Three times as many smartphones are used in China than in the USA...about 1.BILLION.)  new markets indeed!

It is amazing, to me, how, more so than ever,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 smart phone where they can check email, text messages and retrieve files from anywhere they are on the planet as well as being able to give an instant presentation to an audience of thousands.

We expect them to know the weather, their calendar of meetings, their favorite places to eat and drink in every major and minor city on the eplanete and to have their airline boarding passes on their phone. Anything less than having these items immediately available 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.

Not to mention travel aps, driving aps, and the world at our "always ready to Google fingers" ap.  If you thinks "aps" are appetizers, read this blog several times because aps are applications or mini programs you can use on your smart phone to find anything (and I do mean ANYTHING) in a matter of seconds. Anything longer and your ap is obsolete.

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 not softly enough.

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.   Huh????

What does that say about some of the people who are running bowling centers? Are they so behind the “times?”  Does their bowling center communicate that too? Does their marketing communicate that as well?

For those of you who are more familiar with faxes and land lines then Emails, Facebook, Twitter, Google, LinkedIn 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.

It may be funny, but you are losing business by not knowing how to use these tools more effectively to generate more revenue and more customers.

More importantly, you're missing a lot of usable information to drive your business…and  a bit of fun!