Cartoon Happiness

In NYC, in the Times Square tourist area, a recent phenomenon of “cartoon characters” grabbing tourists to have their pictures taken with them and then asking  for tips has been taking place with great frequency. 

There are literally 50 or so “characters” that wander the area everyday, 24 hours a day,  looking for tourists.

Some “characters" such as Sponge Bar Square Pants, Elmo, Superman and even Batman actually have gotten into fisticuffs over protecting “their” staked out territories and street corners which they claim as their own.

These “cartoon characters”, frequently recent immigrants, can make between $50 and $200 per day on tips from posing with tourists.

When reporters from the New York Times asked them why they decided to get into this business instead of other vocations they could pursue, most of them, in one form or the other said:

“American people like to be entertained…to feel like children playing with  friends. Since they were little, they had friends who were cartoon characters. Makes them feel good.  We make money making them feel good. It’s easy.”

So tell me again, why more bowling centers don’t have cartoon characters or mascots to entertain customers?

Do People Even Know You Have Something To Sell?

Most of us will do the things we are good at, or at least think we are good at,  so it’s easy for us to do the books, stock the vending machines, fix a machine or two, check the inventory and schmooze with the customers; the latter being something we are really good at!

But we don’t do the hard things.  For one, we don’t sell. Forget about creating a marketing strategy and tactics and social media campaigns and program content and all those really hard things, I’m talking about plain old fashioned- get- out- the- door-selling.  When was the last time you got out into the community; yes you, not a hired hand, you?)

I have had more owner operators and managers tell me they don’t “like to sell”; that they are “not good at it” so they just don’t do it. Oh, they can talk to people inside the center or answer the phone and sell a birthday party like a champ, but get her outside of that comfort zone and, oh well; it often isn't a pretty site. 

Now I’m not saying that this malady afflicts ALL bowling center owner operator and managers, but I am saying that based upon the amount of outside selling I see, and I’m in a lot of centers in a lot of cities, the percentage of bowling center management teams that have a cogent selling plan is probably less than 15%.

And I always ask myself the same question, “Why are we the only industry where our individual retail establishments do NOT have a dedicated sales person on premise working our market?”

WHY? The shoe store has a sales person. The clothing store has a sales person. The car dealer has a sales person. The hotel has a sales person.

What do we have? A “desk person/customer service/crew member/team member, etc.” who sprays shoes!

What don’t we understand that in order to make money, you, the owner must take responsibility for selling something?

Everybody has to sell something!!

Why do you think you are exempt from that fact? And when I ask you why you don’t hire someone to sell for you; you say you can’t afford it. You can no longer afford not to have someone to sell. Whether it’s you or someone else, you have to do it.

If you really don’t like selling or feel that you’re not good at it, do something about it. Take a course, read a book, hire a sales person, but don’t just sit back and tell me business “aint so good.”

Because in order to get something positive to happen to your revenue line, you will have to sell more product, It's just that simple. You need to sell more product and while the thought of outside selling leaves you feeling a bit queasy, the harsh reality is you no longer have a choice.

You can only pave over the hard things for so long before people forget you even have anything to sell.

Some folks in the industry, and wiser than I, might say that we are very close to or have approached that point already. I certainly hope not.

Because before you can work smarter, you have to work harder. It’s just the way the world works.

Sorry,

But I Don't Have Any New Ideas

Almost on a daily basis I get calls from proprietors asking me if I have any good ideas. And this time of the year, I get lots more inquiries.

I kind of laugh to myself and think, “C’mon you’re not asking me if I have any good ideas; you’re asking me if I have any new ideas that are so good that they are guaranteed to work.” 

 The reality is the caller wants something that wont fail because that would cost him money or erode his self esteem and that’s a bad thing, they think.

I think not. There is nothing wrong with failing. In fact I recommend you fail at least once a day so you have a BASIS from which to learn.

If you never fail, it means that you are never doing anything.

You see, pretty good ideas are easy to come up with. It's the really great idea that takes blood sweat and tears and that's what some of us are not willing to do; to stick it out; to refine; to test and make it work.

Yet its easier than ever to come up with that great idea. With so much information available in cyber land, all you have to do is start asking questions about how to solve your particular marketing problem and you’ll get clues or even cookie crumbs that will lead you to alternative solutions.

Years ago I took an advanced economics class with a dude named John Kenneth Galbraith who taught the Harvard case study method in how to solve problems and come up with new ideas/solutions. 

It sounds impressive, but was pretty simple. It went like this (in its much abbreviated version. of course).

Step 1. Define the problem so clearly that it is singularly focuses on just one element.

Step 2. Do enough research that you can come up with at least three idea solutions to solve that specific problem?

Step 3. Choose the solution you are most passionate about and present it to a group of No BS people in and out of the industry. Then prove why that particular is the best solution by comparing its advantages and disadvantages to the other two solutions.

See, you can develop new ideas.  But you'll have to break a sweat too

"The Doctor Said I Had To Go To Rehab. I Said No, No , No."

You probably recognize the title of this blog as being the title of an Amy Winehouse song. Amy was a troubled, drug addicted, alcohol dependent singer with a beautiful voice who never did work the rehab successfully and eventually died by sabotaging her tortured mind and body, even in rehab, with even more drugs and alcohol.  

She just didn't want to get positive measurements that might have reinforced the process and motivated her to battle onward. So sad to see someone so self destructive.

Now As I go thru this rehabilitation process to build up my legs, a result of a hip replacement surgery, I realize that measurement of the “progress” of the process is more important than the process itself.  And it is the measurement and documentation of the process that motivates me to be better tomorrow. And the day after that. And the day after that.

How many reps did you do today? What number of leg lifts (using 5 lb. weights) did you achieve vs. today’s goal, weekly goal, and program goal?  How fast did you walk? How far did you go? How much further can you go tomorrow?

During a normal course of my business day, I would never think about measuring how many steps I took, how far I walked or how fast I walked. (although I understand that that “Fitbit” a new fitness measurement gadget that you can synch to your computer will tell you all those measurements and more.  For those who want this data, it’s all there for you!)

But when we are injured or trying to recover or trying to bring a business back from death’s door, more often than not, we become obsessed with our progress. We just want to measure everything to see if we are getting better. 

Yet I have met many proprietors who only measure their total revenue, their bowling revenue, and their food and beverage revenue. Not revenue per lane, not food and beverage revenue per game or shoe rental revenue per game, just revenue and certainly not lineage measurements. (“I can’t take lineage to the bank,” they say).

And then there are other proprietors who measure almost everything. From shoe rental income per lane to price per game, to yield per lane to number of beers per lane to, well…you name it and they measure it.

The real question is, “what are you doing with your measurement data?Are you using it to set goals, strategies and tactics? 

For example, if you knew that your revenue per game was $5.12, you might want to compare that to revenue per game for the industry. If that number was much higher than your number, you might establish an objective”to increase revenue per game by 10%.”  

Your strategy would then be to offer more packaged food and beverage items with bowling on an hourly basis. Tactically, you could introduce a program like “Wing It N Fling It”, where you offer two hours of bowling, shoe rental and a 20 piece chicken wing platter for $54.95 for up to 5 people.  

If those people bowled 10 games, your revenue in this deal would be $5.49 per game. Add in two pitchers of beer at $8 each and your revenue per game goes to $7.10 per game.

So the real question is not so much what you are measuring, but rather are you measuring the right stuff that will give you actionable programs to meet your goals?

Think of it as your rehab work before the season starts!!

The 4th of July

Do you read self help books? Do you read books about marketing? Or management? Or motivation? Or innovation?

When I pose this question (and I do it frequently) to friends, business associates and people I meet on planes, trains and buses, I am very often amazed at how many people proudly admit that those types of books are a “bunch of BS and are nothing more than plain common sense” and they don’t need a self help book for that.

“Nope”, they say, “I don’t read these types of books.” Rather they state they are content in “being who they are” and “knowing themselves” well enough that they “don’t need any help.” 

Or the best excuse is, "I'm too busy to read and learn anything new."  Boy, wouldn't you hate for your heart surgeon to tell you that?

Is it the fear that holds them back from finding out that if they read these types of books and have to admit that they don’t know something they would get lost in the void?

Better to go on doing what they are doing and continue flailing round waiting for the “business to come back” then learn some new ideas, implement suggestions from experts, take some courses and get better at running their business? 

Maybe self help isn’t comfortable and maybe it is even a little painful, but don’t you owe it to yourself and the people that work with you and for you to get them to reach for a higher bar; to achieve more than they ever thought they could and be the best they can be?

Please, on this 4^th of July, declare your independence from the status quo, from business as usual and head to a new landing spot, away from the stagnant waters in which you may very well be swimming.

Managing Word of Mouth Advertising Because Hope Is Not a Strategy

I recently finished a book by Jonah Berger, “Contagious: Why Things Catch On” and wanted to share some of his insights with you.

Mr. Berger is a Wharton Business School professor and has, for the last ten years, been studying why some products and ideas take off and why others will wither and die.

According to Mr. Berger, “Word of mouth is not random, it is not luck and there is a science behind it.” 

As I read the book, I noted several important statistics, one of which is that “just 7% of all word of mouth takes place on line.”  

That’s because people trust recommendations from their friends more than they do from an organization. (Remember how frequently we talk about the importance of testimonials; so few organizations are disciplined enough to use that strategy consistently.

We have to really understand how things catch on and how ideas spread. Most of us think that ideas just start to spread; that it is kind of a random thing; almost a lucky thing.

That is really not the case at all.

Here are six basic principles why ideas and products take off.

1.    Make your customers feel like “insiders.”  If you write a newsletter about your open play programs, make sure that it is for “The Happy Lanes Insider Club; Special programs for Special Customers.” Exclusive accessibility creates a certain kind of buzz which people want to share.  Think of your friend that goes to Vegas and tells you how “He Always Gets Comped.”  And of course he shares his exclusivity status, which makes him feel good and makes you think that you MAY want that status too.

2.   Try to associate your product with something familiar to all customers. For example, if you run a Pizza, Pins N Pepsi program, try to associate your program with something that shows, via digital media, how people eat pizza in the form of some quick vignettes.  You can then create a YouTube video to post on your Facebook page or on your website. Show little scenes of people and their pizza; folding it into pieces, cutting it into squares, eating from the crust first, cutting their slice into smaller triangles, or putting a ton of garlic, o pepper,  oregano or French dressing on their pizza. Your objective is to show the fun of eating pizza…and bowling at “Happy lanes.” Maybe even create a funny postcard and send it to 1,000 people at the same time your Facebook campaign is going on.

3.   Tug at someone’s emotion. Anybody remember Coca Cola’s famous TV commercial about “Buying the world a Coke™.” Think about how you can make an adult child video that shows a Dad and his daughter, hugging and laughing at the lanes, rather than showing a great pin splash. Maybe even do the hug in slow motion and then just splash a couple of words on the screen like “It doesn’t get any better than this.” Adult child programs start at Happy Lanes on day and date.  Come for the bowling, Stay for the love.”

4.   Knowledge. Your word of mouth campaign won’t become anything if people don’t have knowledge of what you do. It does you little good if you run a great Boys N Girls Club fundraiser in the community and no one knows about it.  You can stimulate that by inviting people from the media, issuing press releases to various public TV and radio sites as well as to other fund raising organizations so they know what your center has achieved.  You could also place some information on your website and in the center advising people that “Happy Lanes puts The Fun in Fund raising.” You wouldn't believe how many centers I go into that have no information about available fund raising options…or on their website.

5.   Share information that is useful.  Make a video about how pigs use old bowling balls to exercise.  Who knows, it just might go “viral.”

6.   At the recent Bowl Expo, attendees listened to George Bush, the 43^rd; tell stories to make his points about strategy, tactics, and brinkmanship. Abe Lincoln, Mark Twain and Will Rogers were some of the greatest story tellers ever and people would flock to them, take their stories and repeat them.  If you can tell a story about an 85 year old Grandma who has not only bowled for 63 years, but also climbed Mt Everest (I’m exaggerating here, of course) at the age of 77; you would have a heck of a story.  Try to find miraculous things that your customers or employees have done and publicize them.

If you want your word of mouth to be successful, practice the art and science of making your “members” advocates for your product.  

And like anything else out there in “media-land,” it doesn’t happen unless you manage it…

Because Hope Is Not A Strategy.

Being Average is Officially Over

In between seminars at Bowl expo I struck up a conversation with a gentleman at the same hotel who was attending a convention of the Society for Human Resource Management.”  We exchanged pleasantries and, after a while and to my surprise, he invited me to attend a seminar being given by the noted author, NY Times columnist, Middle East authority and advisor to Presidents, Thomas Friedman

It was an offer I couldn’t refuse. It was a little out of the bowling world, or so I thought, but afterwards I realized how much of it was appropriate to our industry and therefore I wanted to share it with all of you.

The main theme throughout his presentation was “It’s really going to be difficult to be a worker or own a business in this hyper connected world because the single most important fact that it created was that average is officially over.”

It is no longer acceptable to say we’re good enough, we’re routine.  According to Freidman you have to be non routine, highly adaptable and present a highly unique value. Whether you are an individual or a business, you have to justify why someone will hire you or buy your products and why you should either be promoted or be worthy of loyal followers.

No doubt this may create some anxiety (as if we need more!) amongst my fellow proprietors even if they haven’t spoken about it in this way before.  And because every available piece of information about you, your company, your employees is now available on the Internet, anyone can check you out before buying your product or even coming to work in your center.

So what’s going to set you apart?  Here are some ideas/recommendations:

First, you better be innovation ready. You have to foster a culture of creativity, communication, collaboration and critical thinking by instilling motivation in your new hires as well as existing employees.

Second, you must, absolutely must hire self motivated employees. the best employees you can hire are former HS or College athletes. They understand team work; they understand winning; they understand competing; they understand discipline and of course their DNA is wrapped up in self motivation.

Third, think like my grandfather or your grandfather; like an immigrant who came here hungry and was eternally optimistic. They came from somewhere so bad, that it could ONLY be better here so they were always afraid it whatever they got could be taken away in an instant. Some paranoia, I believe, is actually healthy. (Who said that!?)

Fourth, you’re a work in progress. ALWAYS having to learn something new or relearn or re engineer your business. Complacency is a killer and can be one of the leading causes of health issues. Fat, dumb and happy is no match today for a lean, mean driving machine.

Fifth, be entrepreneurial every day. A waitress in the hotel gave me an extra large serving of a fruit cup and a refill.  Guess who got a big tip from me today? You betcha, the waitress! She didn’t control much, but she sure controlled the ladle for the fruit cup. 

Now go to the center and look at everything you do and see if what you do is average.  If it is, put a stamp on it that says, “Average" - It's Over!