Running To Daylight

With the July 4^th weekend now over, many of us are still working our centers,  hoping for a little rain and  some open play bowling gains. Yet, some of us have closed based upon past results. Whichever category you fall, the hard truth is  "NOW" starts the “fall league flooring season.” 

From here to the start of the season is about 6 to 8 weeks (42 to 56 days); not a lot of time to do all that needs to be done

I’m not going to dwell on all you need to do starting with:  (just some examples) but want to talk about some new methods you can think about which have borne fruit in the past:

·      calling last season’s league bowlers

·      calling secretaries

·      contacting dropouts

·      holding league meetings

·      establishing league benefits

·      speaking to summer bowlers

·      selling open play summer bowlers

·      selling Kids Bowl Fee parents and kids

·      making sure you have short season leagues in place

·      emailing, Facebook, twitter – the whole social media campaign

·      referral programs

·      employee incentives

·      direct mail

Here are a couple of ideas to think about right now and implement tomorrow:

1.       Invite those corporate party people you last saw in December for a FREE awesome August bowling party. Send emails, text messages and then direct mail. And finally call them. You will get lots of food and beverage income plus the opportunity to talk with them about 8 or 10 week or an every other week bowling party league. Remind them that it doesn’t have to be the same people on each team every night.

2.      Do a sales blitz against local stores in your market and invite them in on one or two available nights of free bowling from 6pm to midnight.  Just bring in their coupon that you delivered or get their email and send it that way.  This sets up a selling situation to sell a short have a ball league for 8 or 10 weeks either at 630pm or 930pm depending on their hours. Hit at least 100 stores.

3.      Set up a few band nights the last two weekends in August and invite appropriate age demos (that match the band’s music) to come into the center for $5.  Bowling is extra.  Have a great short season league ready to sell these folks that include music, bowling equipment and maybe tickets to a concert in your home town or close to your town.

4.     Host a fund raiser with the animal shelter and use your venue to raise money for the shelter. Advertise this on local radio and or cable TV. Have the animal shelter email their “donors” and let people bring their dogs to the center and host a dog contest OUTSIDE OF THE CENTER. Have a fund raiser league for the animal shelter for 10 to 12 weeks or every other week or even once a month

Keep thinking about new ideas.  Because in today’s environment you have to exceed the  customer's expectation…every time.

Did You Know?

1- Did you know that with all the hoopla about the new digital world we live in, people are still spending more time watching Television than they
spend on the internet and most of the time they spend on the internet is...watching television?!?!?

2- Did you know that it is more important to ask an employee "what did you learn" than to find out if he was successful.  Focusing on winning, accountability and all that good stuff is certainly important, but it is even more important that you find out what the employee learned while doing her assignment so you can document and share that with other employees.

The Six Essential Questions Every Marketer Needs To Ask

It’s been more than three months since I last posted any content on “Fredquarters' Marketing” blog.  

After having dealt with some physical issues, my only regret now is that I won’t be able to attend Bowl Expo next week in Las Vegas. This will be only the second one I will have missed in a very long time. I will miss my friends, colleagues and business partners. And you, if you are going.

In any case, I wanted to send you off to BOWL EXPO with some thoughts about Marketing; after all that’s what this blog is about!!

No doubt your business is facing marketing challenges on all fronts; new competition; new kinds of customers with different tastes; different family structures; different payment options; customer service changes and higher expectations; the newer ways of communicating and learning something new every day; what’s a hardworking proprietor to do?

Here Are Six Questions You Have To Answer When Facing Your Marketing Challenge?

1.       WHO are you trying to reach?  If you say everybody, you better start over and laser focus in on who is going to buy the specific product you want to offer?

2.      HOW will this specific group become aware of your product?  Nope a flier on the counter or even a few emails and Facebook posts won’t cut it either. You need a battle tested rock solid campaign, ( and we have lots of campaign options we can share with you; just give us a buzz)

3.      WHAT story are you telling, spreading or living or are you still selling 99 cent bowling?

4.     DOES your story resonate with the world view people have about your center, your bowling products, your food and beverage products or arcade products? What do they want? What do they believe?

5.      WHAT is preventing them from taking action?  Fear? Not knowing about it? Product doesn’t turn them on enough to take action?

6.     WHEN do you expect them to take action?  If the answer is now, then why are they saying “later” or “never?”  Why?  What are they telling their friends?

Have a great BOWL EXPO and please look for two of our newer consultants; Dave Patz and Steve Sempeck.

They will be in the exhibit areas, so please stop by either the KIDS BOWL FREE 

BOOTH and ask my partner, Bruce Davis where you can find one of these two Kaploe Consultants 

Or stop by the MOBILYTIX BOOTH and speak with Kris Brus, (our newest relationship partner bringing mobile apps to life just for you), about Dave or Steve’s location. 

Or contact Dave via cell @ 216 409 4416 or Steve via cell @ 402 253 4371