IBI March 2018 Cover Story

COVER STORY

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March 2018

COVER STORY

The cheat-sheet for marketing in 2018.

By Sean Krainert

R

unning a business requires the utilization of a number of systems and tools just to keep the doors open on a daily basis. Add in the factors you’re aware of, then throw in all the other factors that blindside you, and on top of that the evolution of technology, and it can take years of blood, sweat and tears to reach any resemblance of a profitable existence.

Luckily today, for the savvy business owner as well as the overwhelmed one, there are dozens of tools, tactics and tips available that can turn the day-to-day business model into a thriving, lifelong journey of success.

Granted, those undesirable and sometimes unpredictable road blocks will inevitably change the path of a business. But when you equip yourself with relevant knowledge, the road blocks become speedbumps, and the path to success gets a little smoother.

The best way to find solutions is to pinpoint the problem. And one of the biggest problems for any business is, well, business! Foot traffic, that is. While there are so many moving parts to master to run a welloiled machine like an FEC, to keep the doors open, people have to be coming through them. And there’s only one way to do that: marketing.

The good news is that marketing comes in many different forms. Marketing is what brings the business in and keeps it there, builds your brand, attracts the top layer of employees, and keeps you connected to your community. After talking to some of the top marketing businesses in the FEC community as well as wading in oodles of marketing research across sectors, we’ve compiled a Top 10 guide to FEC-specific marketing tips and tools.

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R Focus on What You

Are Selling: Remarkable Experiences.

The experience economy is back, and it is calling the shots. From online, service-oriented businesses, and product-driven brands, to the entertainment industry, every business has been pushed to fully surrender to the customer experience in order to survive. That doesn’t mean as a business you can let go of the focus on creating the best products and services to sell. It means that no matter how good your business is, there are hundreds of other businesses competing for your customer’s attention. As a member of the entertainment industry, putting your heart into generating unforgettable, customized experiences is one of the strongest marketing tools you can possess. So instead of selling your amazing, new virtual gaming arena, state-of-the-art escape room and unique culinary experience, bring it all in! Marketing a bigger picture of your brand means showing them who you are, not telling them. Your captivating activities can lure customers in the door, but remarkable experiences keep them there longer and send them out into the world raving about it.

R Research. Plan.

Execute.

The great thing about a marketing plan is that it comes in every shape and size. Whether you are a family-run, 10-lane center or a mega entertainment chain, without a plan there’s nowhere to go but down.

Marketing plans can be simple or complex depending on your venue, needs, and resources. But they all have a beginning, middle, and end corresponding to: research, plan, execute. And it works best in that order. If you come up a bit short on the marketing expertise, that’s when it is time to tap into the thriving business-to-business relationship world.

You may be looking to weave one or two marketing concepts into your plan, or your business may need a more comprehensive assist. Either way, there are companies like eBowl.biz that can help. This small team of marketing mavens packs a punch when it comes to helping proprietors round out a marketing plan. They offer everything from email and text campaigns, to 30

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Facebook marketing, to website creation, to reputation management. The best part about companies like eBowl.biz is that they offer these services on an a la carte menu. Diving into the world of marketing today can be overwhelming if you don’t possess the savvy, innovative flair you need. By forging new relationships with marketing businesses, the heavy lifting of marketing can be taken off your shoulders, allowing you more time to put your energy Brandon Willey, CEO of Fetch Rev. where it is needed.

R Invest in People.

It can be easy to be swept away by the newest marketing technology or attraction for your venue. But when it comes down to it, the way you invest in your staff is one of the most important and essential building blocks to create a flourishing business. Just like marketing, hiring comes with a number of puzzle pieces that must fit together tightly in order to be the most effective. The entertainment and hospitality industries are well-known for having urgent needs for employees, often motivating quick hires for front-line work. But marketing, at its core, is both internal and external, with the internal factor most often overlooked. In order to strengthen a brand and business from the inside and to attract customers externally, it begins with staffing. Founder and CEO of TrainerTainment, Beth Standlee, lends her expert outlook on the importance of internal marketing: “Decide what your core values are before you hire. You can then market those kinds of things and you can put them in your ad. If you can market to the kind of people who believe what you believe, then your external guests are going to have the experience that is going to make them keep coming back. And this way, internally and externally, you have this place where people want to come and be together.”

And if internal marketing and hiring isn’t your strongest skill, it’s time to reach out and work with the experts to help you efficiently invest in your staff.

R Personalization: Feed into The Need.

It is no secret that the world has become a place that feeds off personalization. The culture has shifted over the last decade, with a flood of technological advances across every industry, reshaping the customer expectation. And when it comes to marketing, every aspect of your business benefits from tapping into your inner customer. After all, we

COVER STORY are all consumers who enjoy our experiences a bit more when they are tailored to our wants and needs.

QubicaAMF picked up on this trend years ago and created a scoring system, a marketing tool made to generate personalized environments.

In order to break the mold of producing just another high-end physical piece of equipment, they took it many steps further and developed an interactive system that lets the customer take part in generating their own experience. If part of your marketing plan overlaps with the need for new updated equipment, why not invest in one that does more than keep score. As the sport of bowling changes, tools like QubicaAMF’s BES X scoring system are taking part in redefining the bowling experience. By tailoring scoring to the recreational bowler, the QubicaAMF system invites every type of bowler to take part and craft a personalized experience.

“BES X capitalizes on the fun, social aspect (of bowling) and marries it with the competitive aspect. The idea is that if we can really engage the customer in the experience, it takes the experience beyond just rolling balls at pins, and it really involves the consumer in what is happening,” says Stephanie Darby, marketing director of QubicaAMF.

R

Details, Details, Details.

Customers are Paying Attention, and So Should You.

You may wonder why details fall under marketing. That’s because everything you do falls under marketing. Every single detail within your facility reflects your brand. And ultimately, it is your brand that you are selling to consumers. You know your job is to create remarkable customer experiences, and that includes the physical appearance of your facility. While that may seem like a no-brainer, it isn’t always. For example, if all your attractions are top-notch and the staff is friendly and interactive, but your bathrooms are dirty with broken hand dryer machines, what does that say about your brand? It says your brand is a little dirty and a little broken.

Building in a section to your marketing plan for upgrading and maintaining your facility is equally Carey Tosello of eBowl.biz. as important as social media marketing and staffing. An overhaul can feel overwhelming, but there are other ways to address much-needed renovations without breaking the budget. For example, among the many products that US Bowling offers is a scoring system rental program. That 32

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means you can start modernizing your facility without decimating the bottom line. No matter where you start, make sure you inspect every nook and cranny of your facility.

R Consumer Data

Matters. Now Go Out There and Get it!

Just like every other company out there, collecting consumer data is a significant part of a marketing plan. Gathering this data is the driving force behind identifying your target market, creating a marketing plan, and executing that plan with customized information.

From small to large business, there are several ways to gather data from your customers. If you are at Ground Zero on this front, the first step may be as simple as putting out a clipboard on your counter and having your staff ask customers to fill out their info in return for coupons and event information.

And if you don’t have time to gather and process consumer data in your spare time, that’s okay too.

Data collection experts like FetchREV can do that legwork for you, while you enjoy the benefits.

Partnering allows you to effortlessly collect data and use it to enforce marketing goals around email and SMS campaigns and promotions which in the end lead to increased revenue.

R Bowling has Officially Gone Mobile. Best You Go with It.

In our October 2017 issue, we highlighted the rise of the mobile platform and its relation to the sport of bowling and BEC proprietors. As the preferred platform for consumers, it is one of the most common ways that customers can interact with your brand. Jim Osdale, president of Steltronic North America explained that they developed two apps: one for the recreational bowler with the ability to interact with other bowlers around the world; and one developed for the league bowler which gives the bowler’s statistics, from high and low games, to which pins the

COVER STORY bowler continues to leave for spares. The apps are free to download.

To take that one step further, the Sports Challenge Network recognizes that the sport of bowling is moving over to the same mobile platform in ways we couldn’t have imagined just 20 years ago.

Alex Kaminsky, president of SCN, confirmed the struggle that the bowling industry has had with thinking about marketing and engaging the way other sports do.

From that, came their X Bowling product. By recognizing and examining how consumer behavior has completely changed in terms of technology, SCN was able to create a mobile app that allows bowlers to virtually compete against other bowlers using real scores while playing for cash prizes. “There are so many basic features within a phone that can make sport experiences better.

Real-time data, geolocation, text, cameras, social platforms. Other Alex Kaminsky like-minded, skill-based sports are creating experiences that are keeping customers on that mobile platform. That is what SCN and our X Bowling platform is trying to do with bowling,” says Kaminsky.

Going mobile deserves a place in every marketing plan. Every proprietor should connect with their customers, where they spend the most time.

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Go All In with Marketing Support.

If after you sit down to draft your marketing plan and you get up before one thought hits the page, you can always opt-out of going back to school for a marketing degree, and opt-in with an all-inclusive marketing company. That is why the business-tobusiness relationship was developed. Businesses need other businesses to get to where they need to be: a printing press couldn’t live without the paper company; Amazon could not exist without delivery companies; and restaurants are learning to thrive with companies like Caviar and UberEats. It is now part of the circle of business.

Brunswick Sync took over two years to research to find out what bowlers really wanted. From here they were able to identify what proprietors needed to do to deliver. Their Sync program, an all-in-one scoring and management system, was created on the foundation of automating and systemizing tasks for the proprietor so they could provide a more enjoyable customer experience while driving their revenue up.

R Do Something.

R Your Reputation is your Brand.

Ignoring your reputation is a common mistake made by businesses both small and large. Energy gets channeled toward big marketing ideas, developing services and products, and using sharp copywriting in an effort to attract flocks of potential consumers. And that’s all a big part of marketing. But if you are really going for the home run and not the show, there needs to be attention to building and maintaining your reputation. The best place to start fostering your reputation is locally. Never underestimate the value of being involved with your community, donating to local events or hosting holiday parties for your area businesses. In the big picture you are always marketing your brand.

And your brand is built on your reputation. So, go ahead and get out there and genuinely sell yourself!

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That’s right. That is the last tip on the Top 10 marketing tools. If you don’t do anything to market yourself, all other efforts become futile. So, while a marketing plan may have been a suggestion in the past, today it is one of the most vital building blocks of a business. Start small if that works for you. Go allin with a premium marketing company if that works for you. Remember, the marketing journey starts with a single, simple, small step. (But it’s better to hit the pavement running!) ❖

Sean Krainert is a freelance copywriter living in the San Francisco Bay Area specializing in real estate, hospitality and mental health writing. He is also an alumni of the Wichita State Shocker bowling program.