Are You There Yet?

Creativity comes from the strangest places and from the strangest circumstances.

Or as the old saying goes, “Necessity is the mother of invention.”

In lower Manhattan as residents found themselves in the dark, they all found that they were without their mandatory issued Android or Apple cell phones, iPods, iPads, and laptops, which of course need power.

Some hiked uptown with their electronic gear to find a friend with power, a Starbucks, a restaurant or even a bank to plug into. 

One guy, probably an engineer type (with a marketing mind), figured out how to hook up a bicycle to power a generator to drive a bunch of extension cords which people could use to power up their devices.

One woman, probably a strategic thinker (with a marketing mind) brought her grill down to the streets. Others followed suit and pretty soon a line of people were cooking food for the neighborhood they would have had to throw out.

It’s amazing what we can do when we have to.

Are you at that point yet?

Because if you are then you are one step closer to your best innovation and creative idea. Yes!

On one other note, please run a fundraiser for the folks living in Staten Island, Long island and the Jersey Shore. Contribute it to the American Red Cross.  Your customers will applaud you and enhance your brand.

Besides, giving back is what its about isn't it?

Five Social Media Trends That Will Rock Your Business

In the aftermath of Sandy and among the many images I have been absorbing for the past 48 hours, I have to get away from it and get back to my marketing.  It’s what you read this blog for and I promise to give you some valuable information.

So I thought that today, I would delve a little deeper into some social media statistics that are shaping your business.

When the web was new it was about information; then it was about overthrowing Arab dictators.  Now it’s about you. It’s about the collection of information about you, your purchasing patterns, what you eat, when you go out, what foods you like, what movies you see, what clothes, cars and vacations you buy.

The end result is an Orwellian look at what businesses know about you. As one digital maven said, “Personal data is the oil of the new digital marketing age.”  

And while you might not think this is relevant to you, it is very relevant to your business because if you are not getting more data about customers, you will fall behind in this new “Hyper – Personalization -Era” of marketing.”

Here are a few numbers that depict the impact, Facebook in particular, are already having on your world:

3 Billion:  That’s the number of Google searches every day.  Compare that with 7 billion people in the world and Google has more information about you every day than it had the day before, whether you like it or not.

12 to 18:  The number of months it takes for the amount of online sharing to double. Sharing content is now on the same growth curve as processing power.

1500:  the number of new retailers, per week, that join Pavment, Facebook’s social commerce site that allows users to set up stores on Facebook. And this week, Facebook set up “Facebook gifts” which will allow users to send gifts over Facebook. Get used to “F-Commerce.”

3.3 Million:  The number of Tyra Banks Twitter followers and the reason why her new book skyrocketed to #1 on the Amazon and Barnes and Nobles site after ONE week!!

48 hours:  This is the number of hours of video that is uploaded on YouTube every minute. Stop. Reread that.  This is where the communication trend is going and you need to be in a YouTube mode to reach your customer.

Get to know these numbers. Get to know your customers better. Get better data. 

Because if you don't,  your competition will!

The Story of The Hurricane

Hurricane Sandy is a heartbeat away from hitting NYC; a heartbeat away from making fools out of the people who have chosen to stay in areas that have been identified as “mandatory evacuation areas.”

Is it the spirit of the hearty individual or is it pure ego that people think they can survive anything?  Haven't they learned from Katrina and other disasters?  Didn't the Tsunami teach them anything?

Obviously not. 

A good friend of mine lives on one of the barrier islands off the coast and he is refusing to leave; even though he is in grave danger; apparently he doesn't think so.  In fact, he is planning a hurricane party.  I can't talk him out. I have tried. He says, “ I'm not leaving the castle.”

Strong positions create strong emotions. 

So do brands. Brands like Apple, Microsoft, Pepsi, McDonalds; Chevy, etc create strong emotions.

How about your brand, your bowling center, your mini golf course or family entertainment center? 

Does it create a strong emotion and if not how can your business create a strong emotion?

By being more human.  By being involved in your community.  By giving back to your city.  By creating value.

And most importantly by telling the truth.

"Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda"

The man who could, usually does.                                                                                                                                          The man who would, usually doesn’t.                                                                                                                              The man who should has let the opportunity pass.

If you are letting seasonal opportunities pass you by, you might be in the “shoulda” category. 

On the other hand if you're in the “coulda” category, here’s some things you could do that you might not have thought of.  (hopefully you have and this is just a checklist.)

1.     List your top 25 league bowler friends who work at big companies and ask them who their HR person is and if they know if the company has planned, usually plans or has not planned a holiday party.  Then ask if you can contact the HR person and use the bowler’s name as a way to get past
the gatekeeper.”

2.    Use an oversized postcard and send it to the HR people on your business data base.  If you do not have a business data base, buy one from INFOUSA.COM. on the postcard, do NOT list you prices, just say something like “Great Holiday Parties Starting At $X.XX Per Person.

3.    Make sure you create an offer on the postcard.  For example, bring 25 people and save $50; bring 50 people and save $100; bring 100 people and save $200.

4.    Start your follow up calls after your mailing and invite the HR person into your center. Show him/here the product. No need for you to go to them.

5.    Make sure you have testimonials about your holiday parties or any parties on your website. Put a “party video clip” up on the site if you have it too!

6.    Use your Face book to set up a sweepstakes by offering a free holiday party.  Get people to give you the 5 best reasons why a holiday bowling party is better than any other party

7.    Make sure you have a “Twelve Days of Christmas Program” in Place that offers school kids the opportunity to get a free game a day from December 26^th thru January 6^th.

8.    Have all of your fliers for new league formation in January up and available right before the Thanksgiving holiday and train your staff to solicit for league sign ups based upon the demography of the people who come to the customer service/welcome desk.

9.    When you have your company parties, make sure to get the email addresses of all people at the party. You can do this by offering them the opportunity to win a _______.

10.   Use a “robo call service” to contact your Kids Bowl Free Moms about your New Years Eve parties. 

Be the “coulda” person this holiday season and win at the cash register.

What? You Don't Know How To Do That?

I am sitting in airport 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, including me, are plugged into their computers or tablets or smart phones.  

In this information crazed society, I watch one older well dressed gentleman, as he walks over to get some coffee, open his 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 IPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy III.  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.

It is amazing, to me, how we now seem to 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 smartphone where they can check email, text messages and retrieve files from anywhere on the planet.  

We expect them to know the weather, their calendar of meetings, how to create a 3 way phone call, how to even accept credit cards, how to access their favorite places to eat and drink, to be able to get sports scores and to have their airline boarding passes on their phone. and to do this seamlessly and instantly. Anything less 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 and a YouTube account so we can access them and they can access us in a multitude of ways.

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 a little too loudly

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. 

This is equally true in other industries. I work with hardware stores, beverage outlets, and even restaurants who haven't quite caught up either and the percentage increases in responding to certain "old school" communication is almost identical

But what does that say about some of the people who are running these businesses? Are they so behind the "times?” Does their business and staff and service communicate that too? Does their marketing communicate that as well?

The answer, at least in my experience, is a resounding YES!

For those of you who are more familiar with faxes and landlines then emails, google 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.  You may never know all the technical stuff and thats OK, but you must be able to ask intelligent questions about what particular aspects of this new media will do for you business.

It may be funny, but you are losing business by not knowing how to use these tools more effectively, especially if your competition is getting more and more knowledgeable about this every day.

More importantly, you're missing a lot of information for making better decisions.

Because today Marketing  IS Internet Marketing!!

What Are You Doing Now?

1.     Catching your breath?

2.    Thinking about thanksgiving promotions

3.    Working on company holiday parties?

4.    Thinking about fundraisers?   

5.    Paying back summer loans?

6.    Getting your staff in shape?

All good activities, but not farsighted enough.

Need to start looking at the most important flooring season of the year (January and February) and the most influential.

The January time period is kind of a lull between baseball and football. Basketball is running and probably Hockey will be up, but for the most part, we have less competition than in any other time periods and more advantages.

1.     For most of the country, fewer people are taking advantage of outdoor activities.

2.    People are tired of being home so much; they NEED to get out.

3.    More rain and snow force people indoors to find fun.

4.    After the holidays, a kind of post holiday blues set in and we can be the activity that breaks through the customers’ “blues.”

5.    Kids don't have many options. No football, no soccer and maybe a little basketball. Maybe some indoor soccer, but still more kids with less options.

With this being said, NOW is the time to start developing your January league programs.

Here is a 10 point checklist for summer planning

1.     What are your goals for

a.    League lineage

2.    What day parts are available?

3.    What targets are available?

4.    What programs will match the day parts to the targets?

5.    What programs will be a set up for summer leagues?

6.    What programs will be two games or three games?

7.    What programs will be every week or every other week?

8.    How many new leagues do you feel comfortable trying to floor?

9.    When will you schedule your 1^st staff meeting to discuss your plan?

10.  Lists of people to call back

a.    Last two years summer league bowlers

b.    Summer league dropouts

c.    Businesses you have had parties with in the past year

d.    Winter league dropouts

 Ok, break time is over.

Another Great Idea

The Bronx Bombers, the NY Yankees bit the dust tonight and lost four straight games to the Detroit Tigers in the American league Championship Series. Did they lose because they missed some opportunities to score or were they just unable to execute?  If you say it is a little of both, that doesn't really answer the question. 

What would you say about your business?  Did you miss the opportunities or did you not execute in a timely fashion?

Oh sure the idea was there. Probably, dozens of them. Probably, good ones too.  But did you guys execute flawlessly?

Great ideas followed by flawless execution with everyone on your team understanding his roles and everyone understanding what is expected from him without you changing the rules all the time is mandatory. So is discipline. And neatness counts.

‘Cause that’s what it takes today.  You’re not going to compete with “A+ businesses” in your entertainment niche with “C” and “D” execution.

So here’s a great idea for Friday nights and Saturday nights. 
It won't be easy. It won't be an instant hit and it will cost you money.  Still want to read this?

Your rock n bowl, cosmic bowl, galaxy bowling – whatever you call it has been dying for 3 to 5 years. I don’t care how many new whiz bang gadgets you put in, the same people who first saw it when they were 13 and 14 years old are now 21 years old or older. It is boring, boring, boring. Trust me, I have interviewed kids that "USTABEE GLOW BOWLERS" and they are just tired of it...and a little jaded. No change that, allot jaded!

Evolve one of these nights into a “Club Night.”  Go get some bands, popular ones. Set up a stage – hey I hear great things about Murray’s Profit Platform – over the lanes and do your best to transform ONE of these nights into a “Club Experience.”  A dynamite club experience. A club experience that really rocks.  An experience YOU created that was the best thing, so to speak,  you ever did. At least in the last couple of years.

Here’s the deal. 

Charge $20 at 9 pm or whenever you start it. The $20 entitles them to stand around or sit in chairs or bowl.  They can watch YOUR concert or Bowl. It cost the same $20 bucks. And don’t worry about charging extra for the shoes. It’s just $20 bucks.  Make it up by having wait staff service - cool wait staff service dressed all in black - along with great food and drink.

Can you get your staff to buy into it and make it cool? Can the young people on your staff design what the music should be and who it would attract? Can you create a "brand" that competes with APPLE for coolness? Can you find great bands that you will pay$5 out of the $20? Can you make a commitment to do a full scale digital campaign and maybe use some traditional media as well?

Or is it just another great idea?