BES Xtras Plus

Whether we were ready or not, summer is here!  Attracting kids and families to your center gets easier and easier as temperatures rise and the newness of sleeping in goes away.  Boredom quickly sets in.  As the temperature climbs higher, people will be looking more and more for some sort of reprieve and as we all know, the best place to beat the heat is at the bowling center, where the temperature is always pleasant and there’s always something fun to do.  Your center can be the superhero!  Promote FUN, NOT Boredom this summer as kids and families are trying out new things and looking for the summer hangout.

There’s a good possibility that many of the kids and families coming in this summer will be visiting the center for the first time.  Perhaps they were invited by a friend or neighbor, signed up for the Kids Bowl Free Program or have been wanting to stop in and never had the time with busy school schedules.

This is a time for the entire staff to put their best foot forward and show the guests, it’s all about having a great experience. First impressions are incredibly powerful and they can be nearly impossible to reverse so make it a great one.  A couple of quick and easy things staff members can do to make a good first impression are:

• Smile! Show the customer you a glad they are there.  After all, without the customer there is no reason for staff.
• Establish eye contact. Make it obvious that you are paying attention and are interested in what they are saying.

Continue paying attention to the details that will take the bowling outing to the next level. Create a happy environment.  Have that Mom approved music playing and staff members interacting with customers, both young and old.  Encourage the staff to have some fun.

Capture the audience by routinely running Lucky Train for fun prizes.  As the train travels across the monitors, encourage engagement by leading your guests to believe that the louder you are, the better your chances of having the train choose you as a winner.  You’ll think your guests are on a roller coaster ride.  Another fun addition is Lane Lotto which is also simply based on luck.  After all, who doesn’t love the trill of getting lucky?

Have an ongoing Match My Monster (or Character) contest with the grand prize being something that will appeal to all ages.  Tie in Facebook GameConnect by increasing the prize amount or adding a bonus prize if the Matching Monster is posted on Facebook.

Start the contest by randomly choosing a customer to create the first monster in return for a $20.00 center gift card, or prize of choice.  Have a second chance drawing at the end of the summer for all non-winning monsters which allows you to capture the customer’s data and grow your database.  Click here to download a Second Chance Drawing form.  Second chance prize can be a 1 hour party for up to 6 people, a center gift card, or any other appropriate prize.  Remember, it’s more about the thrill of winning than what the prize is.  Each week choose a customer’s monster to be the monster everyone tries to match the following week.

So as temperatures are rising outdoors, turn up the heat on the customer experience at your center and make sure those new faces turn into regular customers.  Remember, you only get one opportunity to make a first impression…make it count!  Give your customers a reason to choose FUN over Boredom all summer long!  Click here to download Fun NOT Boredom Static Ad.

Be sure to stop by booth #848 at Bowl Expo and say hello!