Ordinary to Glamorous

I had an opportunity, today, to speak before a group of New Jersey bowling proprietors; a savvy group of proprietors that are withstanding the economic woes of the Northeast corridor. With NYC unemployment approaching 11% and parts of New Jersey facing similar woes, these proprietors are finding ways, as a group, to meet these challenges head on.

In fact their Associations won the BPAA award for Best Promotions by a local proprietor group. One promotion was for a company party program that the Associations rallied behind in early October to generate leads for Holiday parties. The other promotion was a summer program that drove traffic into the centers in non peak times.

In both instances the key to success was the ability to take the ordinary and make it glamorous I spoke about this today at the seminar.

If you look at some of the successes in our industry, over the years, think about the ordinary items that have been glamorized. here are just a few:

1. Moonlight bowl became cosmic bowl
2. Bowling balls became Vis A Balls
3. Rent a lane became hours of fun bowling
4. Pizza and bowling became Pizza Pins N Pop (Pepsi or Coke)
5. Company parties became team building events
6. Bowling alleys became Lucky Strikes, Dave and Busters, BowlMors and a host of
other upscale venues
7. Settee areas became soft luxurious sofas
8. Bars became themed venues
9. Birthday parties became themed parties and party rooms
10. Silence in bowling centers became super sound systems with choices of music.(see
Bowlingmusic.com )
11. Carpeted sidewalls became graphic panels
12 Masking units became movie screens
13. Snack bars became food delights
14. Mass marketing became niche marketing
15. Knowing our customers became data base marketing and mining
16. Video games became redemption centers

Like the Jersey proprietors, many of us have taken the ordinary and made it glamorous. The corporate party program they did in October became a little more glamorous because of the communication that was professionally done and delivered to the recipient; how it was followed up and what party offerings were constructed. Some proprietors even offered magicians, karaoke, face painters, limo rides; all options available for potential company parties.

As always, the question is what can you do NOW, in your center to make an ordinary promotion glamorous; to give it a perspective from which your customers can only say "Wow?"

Because at the end of the day, to be truly successful at marketing, you have to know how to get positive results under negative circumstances (i,e, a hold n save economy vs. a get n spend economy. Which one do you think we are in now?

Exactly my point.

p.s. Stacy Karten and Fred Kaplowitz are the E.D.'s for the two New Jersey Proprietor Associations.

The Real Social Network

New York City was bundled up last night wearing its finest scarf, gloves and coat. It was really cold. Wind chill of minus one degree and getting colder. Newscasters telling people not to go out unless they had something they MUST do. Great for business right?

But yet, as I was walking home from a movie, I noticed that the bars, the restaurants, the clubs...they were pretty crowded. Why was that? Did not these people know that they weren't supposed to go out. And yet they did. Why?

Because the need to be social was greater than the need to avoid the cold. Sociability always wins. The need to be with friends and families much greater than the pain of being cold.

So how can your bowling center prove that it is the place to be with friends and families? Think about it. It just may be the key to growing your business

The Reset Button

Maybe its time to hit the reset button.

All the scurrying around and around for the newest promotion or the newest techno marketing tactic makes me dizzy. For what? Because we have been brainwashed into thinking that we can be better if we do the latest and the greatest; sort of like the flavor of the week; Its "Moreitis" the thought that we have been trained to hear - work hard and you'll reach your goals

Who told us that? Your fourth grade teacher? My Junior High school baseball coach? Who?

You know what? it might have been true than, but its not so true now. In fact the opposite is true. Its not ONLY about working hard. Its about being more creative; about examining some things that you have always done and seeing how to change it by just trying something different that you believe in, and then just doing it. Your customers may love it, laugh at you or jut shake their heads. One thing, however; is that they'll remember the event and that you really wanted them to have fun,

So are you ready to take a bit of a risk and try something different.

Just think; the more creative you can be, the more you will be able to capture market share. Why do you think Apple consistently brings out innovative high quality products always at the high end of the price curve? Because Apple believes in high quality innovative products. That is its Mantra. It is in their DNA.

This is an honest strategy; a strategy that has the potential to be a game changer. Because it is not a manipulative strategy, it has a greater potential to be virally spread. Your ability to believe is the creative connection that is in all of us is all that matters. I once heard creativity expressed this way and I bought it lock, stock and bagel: "Creativity is about creating the uncreated".. Now that is cool.

Here is an example: a client,a creative talent and a good friend, Peppe Smith from Camelot Lanes in Boardman, Ohio pushed the reset button for Valentine's Day. She is building a giant Valentines Day cake. It's a little country, a little funky but you know what? It is "real" and it says "it aint business as usual at the Double R Bar ranch! It is an event to be remembered!! I just know that this simple gesture will be a WOW factor. The customers will feel like they got a bonus...and that's a good thing. (Now go get a video of it happening in your center; put it up on your website in real time inside of your blog and see what happens.

Now that's pushing the reset button.

It's also about the new environment that Peppe and her Husband Bob must create... "a connected social community of Camelot customers" who will love to spread the word. Just doing the unexpected because you think it would be fun, because you believe in it and because it doesn't scare you to do it is a strategy that will be rewarding. As a small business owner you can make those changes if you believe in them.


And that's A Gold "Reset award".

What do you think of the reset button strategy and what would your reset strategy be?

P.S. We will find or build a giant button award and begin shipping "Reset Awards" to those of you who send in some of your reset strategies that we judge to be really really spectacular. All the other folks who read this blog will be the judges. And that would be cool, right?

3 Easy Changes to Great Sales Success

OK, so you’re not a great sales person. Maybe you don’t even like it. But if your business is becoming more dependent on being “that sales person”, here are a couple of quick ideas, tiny changes if you will, to becoming more successful at sales.

In fact, you might even find it easier to sell, especially when you make these three changes in your approach.

So here’s a 30 second lesson to help you capitalize on those big opportunities and even some smaller ones too!

Ready?

• CHANGE #1: Describe what you’re selling as a “verb” rather than a “noun.” For example, you’re selling bowling. That’s a “noun” Stop! Sell a “verb” (entertaining, team-building, socializing, and partying). If you think that your job is to sell “bowling” (a noun), you’ll talk to the customer about product features. If you think your job is to sell “team-building” (a verb), you will tend to uncover your customer’s team-building needs. Then you can show him/her how your offering can fulfill that need.

• CHANGE #2: Think about selling as helping the customer rather than making a sale. To do this, you simply stop thinking of the sales process as “persuading”, “convincing”, “cajoling”, “B.S.ing”, etc. Wipe these terms out of your mind and start thinking about how you can visualize, with the customer, how (if they had your product) their problems might be solved and their goals achieved.

• CHANGE #3. Consider a sales call successful even when you don’t make a sale. It’s not always about making the sale. It’s not even about “winning”. If you sell something that somebody really doesn’t want, only two (2) things can happen and both of them are bad. One, the customer will gives it back to you and ask for his money back and two; the customer will never buy from you again. Make it clear to yourself and the customer, on your very first contact, that your offering may not be for him/her and, if you really can’t help him solve his problem, you are more than willing to leave.

• And the most important change. You will make more sales…and maybe even get to like it!

What do you think?

Trust

Reading a new book by Chris Brogan called "Trust". It is about the development and importance of trust between a business and its customers as well as its potential customers.

Got me to thinking about the trust between a business and its employees. Often I hear comments such as: "my employees don't implement the programs." "I don't trust them to get it done." "I don't trust them to even try."

Pretty powerful words coming from the heartland of America. Why don't you trust your employees to implement?

Is it because you hired bad employees to start with or that you didn't train them to set goals, decide on strategies, tactics and timetables to get it done?

And then hold them accountable!

Or was it because they violated your trust a long time ago and you're still suspicious or you are convinced they just don't care?

Whatever the reason, you need to build back the trust element between your employees and you. If you cannot accomplish this, either get new employees or sell the business because, long-term, if you can't build trust with your employees, how can you build trust with your customers?

The Value of Value

Some guy bought a new fridge for his house.

To get rid of his old fridge, he put it in his front yard and
hung a sign on it saying: "Free to good home. You want it, you take it."

For three days the fridge sat there without anyone looking twice.

He eventually decided that people were too mistrustful of this deal. So he changed the sign to read: "Fridge for sale $50."

The next day someone stole it!

It's amazing what happens when you place a real value on your product.

All too often, we see promotions that proclaim a price special, a discount or a great offer.

Problem is, with the exception of the customers who are already in your center, no one knows if it is a good value or not.

Better to proclaim the value than not to proclaim it.
Otherwise how does the customer know if he is getting "value"?

Now imagine if inside of your email (where you are delivering your offer), you had several testimonials from customers actually proclaiming what a great value your offer represented...and how satisfied they were for buying your product?

Instant credibility and value. You win. And so does your customer.

What do you think?

Bad Ads

What Makes an Ad Bad?


Bad ads are intrusive.

Used to be that adverting theory said that intrusion is good. Not anymore. Consumers won't stand for it. They want information when they want it. Do you think that TV advertising has been declining for any other reason than the growth of the internet? It is the internet that let's people CHOOSE.

And choice is the operative word in today's marketing. Giving people a choice is what we need to do to market our products.

Where you draw the line is up to you -- but we feel that an ad meeting any one of the following criteria qualifies as intrusive:

1. You can't turn it off. You can close a magazine and turn off the television, but you can't avoid spam.

2. It enters your home without permission. Pardon me, Mr. Telemarketer, may I see your invitation?

3. You're a captive audience. This can be in schools, in movie theaters, at a urinal, or waiting for your receipt at the ATM.

4. It doesn't support anything, or it costs you money. Radio ads support free programming, but you pay, directly or indirectly, for faxed ads and junk e-mail.