The overwhelming dichotomy of our society is that, on one hand we have this immense need for connectivity; that being the need to twitter, facebook, text, email and even phone someone just to say "Hi what are you doing?" On the other hand, we work so hard to be different(like every one else) and establish our individuality that we sometimes are annoyed if another person "groups us or stereotypes us.
It is the balance of this tension, this see saw of a rhythmic marketing pulse that we have to bear in mind whenever we create strategies. Keeping a steady pulse between connectivity and individuality has never been more demonstrative than in the new age of "Millennium Moms"; those women born between 1977 and 1986. These 40 million women, as big as the baby boomer generation of 1946 to 1964, are the key to your next parent child league, your next youth program and even your next new mixed league.
What do you know about her?
Did you know that Millennium Moms...
Adopt technology that allows them to manage home life more efficiently. Their primary objective in utilizing technology is for scheduling and to stay in touch with their busy families. In fact, 65% of moms utilize five or more separate technologies each day including video, blogs and wireless devices to multi-task
Turn to social networks, blogs and forums to access new support systems to help them raise their children instead of looking for “expert” books and advice that promote a singular way of thinking.
Usage patterns are a major driving force for why women’s online communities are the most visited and fastest growing internet category.
For 4 out of 10 (44%)use social media for word-of-mouth recommendations on products. 73% feel they find trustworthy information about products and services through online communities.
Bottom line: get to these Moms on line via local Moms groups. Do you know a local Mom who believes in your product and loves your center to talk about it on line?
You must be authentic, relevant and provide information that pertains to their job as MOM!
The email stop's here.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
United Breaks My Guitar
Want to know the real power of the internet?
Here is a perfect example. This one video was seen by over 7,000,000 million people. Seven million! It was brought to my attention by Bart Burger of Brunswick who, during one of his recent presentations at a Brunswick showcase, demonstrated some interesting social media statistics.
http://www.davecarrollmusic.com/ubg/song1/
Paste this into your browser. Look to the left side of the page, click on VIDEO 1 and get ready for an amazing story. It's about how United Airlines broke Dave Carroll's guitar and in their stumbling, bumbling bureaucratic way was unable and unwilling to fix it. In the interim, it gave Dave's career a jump start...and ingratiated him to millions of people
Now they have seven million people who saw how inflexible they are.
What do you think that cost them in lost sales? And after you see it, do you think you just might pick another airline for your next travel experience?
It's the same thing in our entertainment centers.
The customer doesn't care who is right or who is wrong. Please don't let one damaged bowling ball or one bad birthday party put your center on You Tube.
Just do the right thing and fix the damn problem.
Here is a perfect example. This one video was seen by over 7,000,000 million people. Seven million! It was brought to my attention by Bart Burger of Brunswick who, during one of his recent presentations at a Brunswick showcase, demonstrated some interesting social media statistics.
http://www.davecarrollmusic.com/ubg/song1/
Paste this into your browser. Look to the left side of the page, click on VIDEO 1 and get ready for an amazing story. It's about how United Airlines broke Dave Carroll's guitar and in their stumbling, bumbling bureaucratic way was unable and unwilling to fix it. In the interim, it gave Dave's career a jump start...and ingratiated him to millions of people
Now they have seven million people who saw how inflexible they are.
What do you think that cost them in lost sales? And after you see it, do you think you just might pick another airline for your next travel experience?
It's the same thing in our entertainment centers.
The customer doesn't care who is right or who is wrong. Please don't let one damaged bowling ball or one bad birthday party put your center on You Tube.
Just do the right thing and fix the damn problem.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Target Practice
It’s an early Friday morning...and I find myself taking a train to visit a client in New England. The Acela train whisks me thru the Northeast corridor at 150mph amidst a blanket of white; our first real snowstorm, some 12 inches of the white stuff having fallen so far.
As I sit and gaze out the window, I am also watching my fellow passengers, many older dudes sitting and staring at the pure whiteness of the moment, listening to their Ipods and strumming their air guitars. It is absolutely great to see. Guys buttoned up to the top, their wingtips shining, blue suits glistening and their stainless steel bracelet watches with the black face shining, digging some music and “chillin”. What are they listening to? Maybe its from Lady Gaga or the Black Eyed Peas or the Beach Boys or Bruce Springsteen or ZZTop. Maybe even a little Mozart or John Coltrane. Or Taylor Swift. Who really knows?
Not only are they listening to their music, many are working on their laptops, as am I, talking on the phone and playing solitaire. What a great time we live in! What great communication options we have. We just have to learn how to use the NEW tools or we will get left out in the wood shed with a Remington electric typewriter and no carbon paper!
So with that in mind, I want to pass along a communications tip to help you reach your target audiences with your message VERY efficiently. It’s a Facebook tip. Do you know how to place a facebook ad for your center? If you don’t, please read on. Well, first you need a facebook page for your center. Ok, go to Google, plug in facebook and set up your page. Got it? Cool.
Once you get that done, go back to Google and plug in facebook.com/ads. It will take you to a page where you can absolutely target any demographic group you want in any city you want. Plug in the key words “bowling”, your city or suburb or multiple cities. You can even experiment and plug in league bowling (if that’s your message) or cosmic bowling, if that’s your message. Or whatever message you want. The broader you make the key words, the more eyeballs will see the message. The narrower the target, the fewer eyeballs.
At the bottom of the page you can select married, male female, none of the above or single. Experiment with your target, because after you complete that task, Google will tell you how many facebook people in your city, within your target demographic will see this advertisement. All for $50 a day plus a pay per click (.25 to .75 cents). If it sounds expensive, think again. You are getting a measurable, definable audience that is highly targeted for your message. And you don’t have to do it for a long time. Maybe 5 to 7 days. Maybe 10 days. The beauty of this stuff is that you can test it and change it up…and get results in a heart beat. Once the respondent sees your ad, he or she will click on it and be automatically directed to your “landing page.” Drop me an email or text me @ 516 359 4874 if you need some assistance with setting this page up.
Go for it…and rock on!
As I sit and gaze out the window, I am also watching my fellow passengers, many older dudes sitting and staring at the pure whiteness of the moment, listening to their Ipods and strumming their air guitars. It is absolutely great to see. Guys buttoned up to the top, their wingtips shining, blue suits glistening and their stainless steel bracelet watches with the black face shining, digging some music and “chillin”. What are they listening to? Maybe its from Lady Gaga or the Black Eyed Peas or the Beach Boys or Bruce Springsteen or ZZTop. Maybe even a little Mozart or John Coltrane. Or Taylor Swift. Who really knows?
Not only are they listening to their music, many are working on their laptops, as am I, talking on the phone and playing solitaire. What a great time we live in! What great communication options we have. We just have to learn how to use the NEW tools or we will get left out in the wood shed with a Remington electric typewriter and no carbon paper!
So with that in mind, I want to pass along a communications tip to help you reach your target audiences with your message VERY efficiently. It’s a Facebook tip. Do you know how to place a facebook ad for your center? If you don’t, please read on. Well, first you need a facebook page for your center. Ok, go to Google, plug in facebook and set up your page. Got it? Cool.
Once you get that done, go back to Google and plug in facebook.com/ads. It will take you to a page where you can absolutely target any demographic group you want in any city you want. Plug in the key words “bowling”, your city or suburb or multiple cities. You can even experiment and plug in league bowling (if that’s your message) or cosmic bowling, if that’s your message. Or whatever message you want. The broader you make the key words, the more eyeballs will see the message. The narrower the target, the fewer eyeballs.
At the bottom of the page you can select married, male female, none of the above or single. Experiment with your target, because after you complete that task, Google will tell you how many facebook people in your city, within your target demographic will see this advertisement. All for $50 a day plus a pay per click (.25 to .75 cents). If it sounds expensive, think again. You are getting a measurable, definable audience that is highly targeted for your message. And you don’t have to do it for a long time. Maybe 5 to 7 days. Maybe 10 days. The beauty of this stuff is that you can test it and change it up…and get results in a heart beat. Once the respondent sees your ad, he or she will click on it and be automatically directed to your “landing page.” Drop me an email or text me @ 516 359 4874 if you need some assistance with setting this page up.
Go for it…and rock on!
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Profitability
Some business owners lead their team in the wrong direction. Other leaders lead their team in any direction. Both of these types of leaders are wrong.
Similarly, some proprietors believe that the only way to greater profitability is to turn the microscope on every single cost. They're so busy picking up dimes, that they step over dollars at every turn. Then there are those proprietors that focus only on getting new business; whether it be from the center down the street or from a consistent .99 cent bowling price.
What is the right way? Is there a right way?
Logic would say that you need a combination of both controlling expenses AND
increasing sales.
My logic says that if you consistently do the unexpected, become an amazing remarkable seller of bowling, you'll figure out the costs.
And the profitability will follow.
Similarly, some proprietors believe that the only way to greater profitability is to turn the microscope on every single cost. They're so busy picking up dimes, that they step over dollars at every turn. Then there are those proprietors that focus only on getting new business; whether it be from the center down the street or from a consistent .99 cent bowling price.
What is the right way? Is there a right way?
Logic would say that you need a combination of both controlling expenses AND
increasing sales.
My logic says that if you consistently do the unexpected, become an amazing remarkable seller of bowling, you'll figure out the costs.
And the profitability will follow.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Defining Ourselves
Every now and then I like to go back and look at old advertising posters. Its what i do when I can't/won't sleep and what I find makes me happy. It's a way of getting my head into simpler times and a way to unclutter my thought process. I look at these old ads to see how advertising agencies and marketing people reinterpreted the motivations for certain products or, in the case of bowling, which advertisers associated bowling with their products.
Not surprising it was the beer, booze and cigarette guys that helped to define bowling's image in the 50's, 60's and 70's. Every now and then Coke, Pepsi or Seven Up jumped in and associated their product with bowling which gave us a more family style image. But it was too little and sometimes too late.
And we are still fighting that image today, although much less so. Yet, we are STILL letting the beer, beverage and chicken people define us. For the 240 million people who do not bowl, but may buy beer, frozen pizza and frozen chicken products, this is WHO we are. We are beer, frozen pizza and chicken wings. Its OK, but it isn't what I would call "cool" or a motivationally inspiring reason to go bowling.
Somehow we need to begin associating ourselves with cooler products. Products that say we are modern, cool, hip and something "desirable."
Why not Apple I Pods or I Phones or Levi Jeans or Nike sneakers? Who wears more jeans than bowlers?!?
It isn't that hard to do. We need to march up and down Madison Avenue and tell these agencies about our demographics; show them how much product bowlers buy and why a bowling motif for their product makes sense on cable TV, network TV, in print, on radio and of course, of course, on line!
At a recently attended seminar, I heard my favorite ex-Coach of the NY Knicks say, "Don't let anybody tell you who you are." He was talking about being in control, of being the master of our own destinies. So why are we still asking people to control us?
Isn't it time WE told people who we are.
Not surprising it was the beer, booze and cigarette guys that helped to define bowling's image in the 50's, 60's and 70's. Every now and then Coke, Pepsi or Seven Up jumped in and associated their product with bowling which gave us a more family style image. But it was too little and sometimes too late.
And we are still fighting that image today, although much less so. Yet, we are STILL letting the beer, beverage and chicken people define us. For the 240 million people who do not bowl, but may buy beer, frozen pizza and frozen chicken products, this is WHO we are. We are beer, frozen pizza and chicken wings. Its OK, but it isn't what I would call "cool" or a motivationally inspiring reason to go bowling.
Somehow we need to begin associating ourselves with cooler products. Products that say we are modern, cool, hip and something "desirable."
Why not Apple I Pods or I Phones or Levi Jeans or Nike sneakers? Who wears more jeans than bowlers?!?
It isn't that hard to do. We need to march up and down Madison Avenue and tell these agencies about our demographics; show them how much product bowlers buy and why a bowling motif for their product makes sense on cable TV, network TV, in print, on radio and of course, of course, on line!
At a recently attended seminar, I heard my favorite ex-Coach of the NY Knicks say, "Don't let anybody tell you who you are." He was talking about being in control, of being the master of our own destinies. So why are we still asking people to control us?
Isn't it time WE told people who we are.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
A Bowling Holiday
35% of all people go to dinner on Valentines Day. What a home run for the restaurant industry, the flower industry and the chocolate industry. Oh did I forget the greeting card industry!
Now if we can just go about finding a holiday for the bowling industry. I nominate the NFL Super Bowl as the bowling industry's holiday. We could celebrate it by placing a commercial inside the game itself. And it would be worth it. Some 108 million people saw the Super Bowl this year. At a cost of $3 million per spot, that's just $3 per thousand set of eyeballs. Cheap by today's standards!
After all, we would only need one "fantasmagoric" 30 second spot and we would have a PR buzz for a week before and after that. Maybe a month.
People would talk about it. Advertising agencies and media people would look at us and discuss our strategy at their cocktail parties.
Tennis and golf people would be apoplectic. How could bowling do that?
Easy. We thought about it first.
Now if we can just go about finding a holiday for the bowling industry. I nominate the NFL Super Bowl as the bowling industry's holiday. We could celebrate it by placing a commercial inside the game itself. And it would be worth it. Some 108 million people saw the Super Bowl this year. At a cost of $3 million per spot, that's just $3 per thousand set of eyeballs. Cheap by today's standards!
After all, we would only need one "fantasmagoric" 30 second spot and we would have a PR buzz for a week before and after that. Maybe a month.
People would talk about it. Advertising agencies and media people would look at us and discuss our strategy at their cocktail parties.
Tennis and golf people would be apoplectic. How could bowling do that?
Easy. We thought about it first.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Recessions and Tuxedos
Yesterday, I gave a seminar to some 40 or 50 bowling proprietors in Seattle WA. on "Marketing In and After a Recession." While there are many similarities in the strategies that should be utilized in both of these scenarios, two specific strategies are noteworthy.
The first strategy is to go after your existing customers. Sure, its more fun to go get new customers, but in times of economic strife, customers will gravitate towards and buy from people they trust. And if your customers trust you to provide a consistently good entertainment experience, then they are more likely to frequent your bowling center then to go experiment at some other center in town.
The second strategy is to make a concerted effort to find those existing customers that fall into the "high potential for purchase" segment. What does this really mean? It means that these high potential customers are people with more discretionary income, people who have been far less affected by the recession than the rest of us and people who will not be as concerned about spending their discretionary income on "a good time" or a "good cause"
Now if your data base lets you sort these kinds of people (zip codes will help to define those areas where these high net worth people live),then you have an opportunity to attract them with a great offer. If your data base does not allow you to do this, then work with those companies and executives that have had company parties in your center. if that fails, go to the charity and ask them to help you to communicate with their bigger donors.
Then, send these folks an engraved invitation offering them the opportunity to bowl for a noteworthy, high profile charity. Choose one that has some local community appeal, a noted local spokesman and one that is willing to work with you. These folks may not come bowling very frequently, but they will come if it is for a good cause and it is where "they can see and be seen."
Then when the event happens, be remarkable. Get your people dressed in tuxedos, serve upscale food, and let them know that while bowling spans all age groups, demographics and social strata, this night is especially for them!
OK, so bag the tuxedos if you don't like it.
Just remember to create a memorable experience...an experience where you can demonstrate trust, concern, community involvement and a high degree of professionalism.
And you can do that by doing the unexpected.
Here are 9 ways to do that:
1. Valet park their cars.
2. Have special bowling shirts made with the charity's name on it.
3. Offer lane service and serve your food on silver trays.
Use great glass ware. You can rent this stuff. Really
4. Hire a bathroom attendant.
5. Train a personal escort to take them down to the lanes
to assist them in getting their shoes and house balls
and enter their names in the scorers.
6. Provide them with free socks for their rental shoes.
7. Hire some entertainment; a DJ, Karaoke, Magician, etc.
8. Get a quality hand held microphone.
9. Be the MC or find someone who knows HOW to be an MC.
I still like the tuxedos.
The first strategy is to go after your existing customers. Sure, its more fun to go get new customers, but in times of economic strife, customers will gravitate towards and buy from people they trust. And if your customers trust you to provide a consistently good entertainment experience, then they are more likely to frequent your bowling center then to go experiment at some other center in town.
The second strategy is to make a concerted effort to find those existing customers that fall into the "high potential for purchase" segment. What does this really mean? It means that these high potential customers are people with more discretionary income, people who have been far less affected by the recession than the rest of us and people who will not be as concerned about spending their discretionary income on "a good time" or a "good cause"
Now if your data base lets you sort these kinds of people (zip codes will help to define those areas where these high net worth people live),then you have an opportunity to attract them with a great offer. If your data base does not allow you to do this, then work with those companies and executives that have had company parties in your center. if that fails, go to the charity and ask them to help you to communicate with their bigger donors.
Then, send these folks an engraved invitation offering them the opportunity to bowl for a noteworthy, high profile charity. Choose one that has some local community appeal, a noted local spokesman and one that is willing to work with you. These folks may not come bowling very frequently, but they will come if it is for a good cause and it is where "they can see and be seen."
Then when the event happens, be remarkable. Get your people dressed in tuxedos, serve upscale food, and let them know that while bowling spans all age groups, demographics and social strata, this night is especially for them!
OK, so bag the tuxedos if you don't like it.
Just remember to create a memorable experience...an experience where you can demonstrate trust, concern, community involvement and a high degree of professionalism.
And you can do that by doing the unexpected.
Here are 9 ways to do that:
1. Valet park their cars.
2. Have special bowling shirts made with the charity's name on it.
3. Offer lane service and serve your food on silver trays.
Use great glass ware. You can rent this stuff. Really
4. Hire a bathroom attendant.
5. Train a personal escort to take them down to the lanes
to assist them in getting their shoes and house balls
and enter their names in the scorers.
6. Provide them with free socks for their rental shoes.
7. Hire some entertainment; a DJ, Karaoke, Magician, etc.
8. Get a quality hand held microphone.
9. Be the MC or find someone who knows HOW to be an MC.
I still like the tuxedos.
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