Opportunities Are Everywhere
Do you have more business than you need? Most of you would agree that there is ALWAYS room for more business AND more money. With summer in full swing and our last couple of posts having to do with opportunities, I felt it was appropriate to remind everyone about the opportunities that exist when we have a full house of kids and families.
Many of you participate in the Kids Bowl Free Program and as a result have many kids and families that are brand new to the center, and quite honestly, are only there to take advantage of their FREE games. However, this is the perfect opportunity to pull out all the stops and convert them into a long-term, paying customer. Here are a few ideas to consider doing this summer to better your chances of converting your “freebie” customers into “paying” customers.
• Make sure staff is welcoming each and every customer to your center as if they are the most important customer you have…even if their experience is free. If these customers are coming in routinely to enjoy their free games, it’s easy to get to know them. Encourage your staff to do just that. Taking a personal interest in getting to know the customers makes them feel special and they will want to return because they feel like you are friends. Sometimes we find our customer service representatives tend to appear put out with customers that are getting the experience for free…sometimes without even being aware of it. If this is the case with some of your employees…call them out and help them understand the importance of making every customer feel special. Believe me, if you notice they are treating KBF or other free customers differently so will the customers.
• Are you simply turning on your lanes and letting the customer bowl or are you leveraging BES X to create an experience? Use your games and other features to generate additional excitement and fun.
o An easy game to execute that is a huge crowd pleaser is Lucky Train. Consider running it once an hour during peak family times and you’ll be surprised how engaged the customers become. In fact, you can build the excitement by announcing the arrival of Lucky Train. Bowling Music Network also has several train related songs in their repository and I’ve found when you play your specific train song and then launch Lucky Train that customers get conditioned to the routine and get excited before Lucky Train even starts. If you really want to kick the enthusiasm up a notch, try announcing “rumor has it that the louder you are, the better your chances of having Lucky Train stop on you as a winner”. OMG…you would think you were at a theme park full of roller coasters. The kids love it. Plus, you would be surprised at the number of times I have witnessed guests actually staying in the center longer anticipating that the Lucky Train was getting ready to run again. Another fun game based on luck is Lane Lotto. After all, who doesn’t like getting lucky?
o Utilize Monster Factory or Character Factory to run an ongoing Match My Monster or Match my Character Contest.
o What is your default environment during peak kids and family time? Kids LOVE taking their pictures so a great default is YouToons. Remember that when you are setting up your lane option set, YouToons can be set for the appropriate audience; Kids & Families, Corporate or Spicy.
o Use scrolling messages to send out trivia questions.
o Have a Name That Tune contest with Lane Chatter and watch as customers have fun trying to find someone to guess the name of their song.
• Are camps and daycare groups being given bounce back vouchers to return? Are you offering themed field trips? By offering a themed field trip such as Oceano or Prehistorica you can actually suggest to the organizers to use the field trip as a learning opportunity to learn about ocean animals or dinosaurs. It’s also a lot of fun to come up with fun food options like goldfish and ocean water for a snack option or fish and chips for lunch. Plus, you can provide a fun, bounce back certificate that recognizes the child’s achievements. This bounce back certificates serves so many purposes. First of all, the child will be so excited that they got it, it will be the first thing they show the parent when they are picked up that day and they will keep reminding the parent to use the offers until they give in. PLUS, normally the certificates get a prime spot on the refrigerator which serves as a constant reminder to GO BOWLING! Don’t be afraid to have a little fun with field trips. Sound like something you’re ready to start? Here’s a PREHISTORICA CERTIFICATE that you can customize with your center and start using right away!
• Make sure the center has all your programs and promotions on display so these “summer only” customers will see what all you offer. Perhaps they don’t even realize you have birthday parties, or programs rewarding their kids for good grades or other great programs you offer.
• The more fun the customer has, the better the chances are that they will return. Honestly, the same thing goes for the employees. Encourage your staff to engage and enjoy serving the customers.
• When Mom’s happy, everyone’s happy, right? Right! Be sure the facility is clean, especially the restrooms and the music is appropriate for the crowd.
• Thank the customers for their business and invite them back, whether they are only there for their free games or not. You can really impress a customer if you address them by name when thanking them or welcoming them.
Opportunities are all around us but so often we are so busy, we fail to see them. Find the time to explore the opportunities you have this summer to turn your infrequent Kids Bowl Free customers into loyal repeat customers that will spread great word of mouth advertising for your center.
Got something special you do during the summer? We’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment below or write us at BESXtras@QubicaAMF.com.
GOOD READ
I encourage you to take a few minutes to read the article below
I like the Name That Tune with Lane Chatter.
Thanks Joey. Name That Tune is one of the many programs available through the QubicaAMF Virtual Marketing Manager program.