Avoiding The Problem of TOO LITTLE TOO LATE

Over the years, as I coached and consulted with center operators, one business procedure that I almost always recommended was that management should take the time to conduct regularly scheduled meetings to review every stream of revenue that their business has.

I believe such reviews should be conducted two to three times each year. These sessions, known as Streams Of Revenue Review Sessions (SRRS), are important enough to be put on a calendar and not be postponed for any reason.

Currently, most centers are coming off a great run of profitable months, and taking the time and effort to conduct SRRS meetings may not seem like a top priority. Still, as we all know, things can change quickly, and with the current state of the economy, costs soaring, consumer confidence cooling, and world events in flux, who knows what the future has in store? On top of that, new competition for the entertainment dollar keeps popping up every month. SRRS meetings are as crucial as ever.

It is often noted that when small to medium size businesses adjust prices, they do so “too little too late,” to avoid this problem conducting regular reviews can be an answer.

Centers have multiple revenue streams (some more than others), so it is important to resist the temptation to have yearly meetings to review all revenue streams in one or two settings. You should have individual meetings to discuss only one revenue stream at a time. These essential meetings deserve sufficient time to maximize their purpose. Not only do I recommend that you cover only one stream of revenue at a time (open play, league play, cosmic, birthday business, tournaments, company events, food, beverages, etc.) You should have a separate log book or file for each stream of revenue that is updated from meeting to meeting.

Review each revenue stream two to three times a year without fail.

Instruct attendees to come with notes and ideas.

Management should listen and not dominate sessions.

Cover only one stream of revenue per meeting.

Devote more time to product and service review than pricing; ask about correct pricing when the product and service review is over.

Take good notes at each session. Make decisions at the meeting, not later.

Prepare action plans, duties, and marketing steps.

Management should invite staffers involved directly with the execution of each revenue stream to attend the sessions as their input is often very insightful, plus they are closest to the customer when new plans are rolled out.

From my experience, the most successful SRRSs are

ATTENDEES: To Pose Of Your QUESTIONS

How might we increase the size of our individual transactions?

What new high-margin product or service might we add?

What can we add to our experience to gain more visits?

What is our competition doing that we might learn from?

How can we get happy customers to spread the word for us?

conducted off-premises. Taking a few staffers out for lunch to conduct your SRRS shows those in attendance their importance to your organization. In addition, being in an environment other than the center allows for concentration on one topic, avoids interruptions, and most often acts as a stimulus for open minds and good creative thinking.

Those

For centers with six to eight major revenue streams to deal with, I am confident the return on the investment of time and money will be substantial. Being “too busy” to conduct regular SRRS is a colossal error!

To avoid the “Too Little Too Late” syndrome, conduct your meeting based on the idea that a significant amount of the industry’s current customer base is looking for a bargain that should not be confused with a low price. A deal means

LET’S DO THE MATH!

If two or three SRSS meetings a year result in an average transaction increase of 50¢, it can mean big bucks for your business! Consider a 32-lane center that averages 600 transactions a day:

600 transaction x 50¢ = $300 additional revenue per day the consumer feels that they got more out of their experience with you than they paid, or at least it was a fair trade. While proper pricing is critical, just dealing with the price side of the equation will lead to serious business problems.

Using just 340 days a year of business would be an additional cash flow of $102,000 a year!

By conducting just two or three SRSS meetings a year, most centers will find ways to increase average revenue by 50¢. Remember, this is not 50¢ across the board since some experiences can be increased by more and others, not at all.

? ? ? ? ? ? ?

What service can we add that makes us different?

Should our prices be adjusted with demand?

Try a round of SRRS meetings. The payoff can be huge!•

Bruce Davis is President of Bowling Business Builders International (BBBI) whose flagship program Kids Bowl Free has registered over 35 million children for participating centers.

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