SLOWER TIMES in NEW BUSINESS

Put Your Staff’s Creativity to Work!

Center operators often brag about how busy they were over the weekend or during other prime time slots. Spin words like “waiting lists” and “record nights” have been regular conversation topics since the lifting of pandemic restrictions. The problem is that many operations give back some hard-earned revenue each month by failing to make other time segments profitable.

Maximizing revenue for all time slots will put more money toward your bottom line. Specific segments like daytime and weekday evenings aren’t asked to carry their share of the cost of doing business, and total profits suffer. A popular excuse is that people don’t want to participate in certain time slots or during a particular time of year.

On the other hand, operators who take action to fill the more challenging parts of their week without resorting to price marketing develop strong financial statements and gain the balance needed to continue to prosper when challenges from new competition or the economy come into play.

While some very crafty and creative operators might be able to profitably fill a few spots with their ingenuity, they are the minority. More frequently, a team approach is more innovative thinking and can work wonders if appropriately implemented.

Offering fun is hard work! Where do you get exciting new ideas? How do you get the execution from staff to make sure these new ideas are fun for customers?

How do you market your new, fun offerings to grab the attention of those you hope to entertain?

WOW POW NOW™

For many years, I implemented a customer service empowerment program called WOW POW NOW™ for management groups and their staff. The WOW portion works on ways to excite customers — how to wow them — with service and delivery techniques. The POW portion develops specific experiences that leave a strong, positive impression on a guest. The NOW part of the plan gives center staff authority to solve service issues on the spot without waiting for management’s ok. WOW POW NOW™!

The execution of this program includes Pow Wows with the staff. Usually, Pow Wows are managementled, staff-involved creativity sessions. Pow Wows are designed to create and package new offers for specific time segments while getting staff input and buy-in.

How to Pow Wow

To give the Pow Wow approach a try, select a time slot on your underperforming calendar. Next, put together a diverse group of staff members who can commit to attending two paid, one-hour sessions. A group of four to six staff members is sufficient for smaller centers, while a group of eight to 10 is better for larger centers. When building your group, remember to invite members from all areas, including mechanical, office, bar, and food service. I guarantee significant input and ideas will come from people in these areas and front-line folks. Set a time and tell everyone independently to go to the gathering with some thoughts on how you might build a new business without cutting prices. Prepare by having a separate meeting area, notepads and pens, and a whiteboard with markers. It is a good idea to make this meeting fun and relaxed by also providing some beverages and table snacks, and of course, a few ideas of your own that you might plug in as the conversation moves along. Refrain from offering up your ideas first, as that will damper the creativity of many staff members who might feel shy.

TIPS!

• Personally contact attendees to remind them to attend

• Make sure you encourage everyone to provide input

• Avoid letting one or two people dominate the session

When you start the session, state that everyone has been brought together to create a new stream of business for the timeslot you have suggested; tell them that you do not have any specific plan in mind and that all suggestions will be considered. Instruct them to think small about the groups they want to build an offer for. For example, you might be working on a plan for a bar night activity, a bowling league, a tournament, a challenge in your laser tag arena, etc.

Let attendees know that in the first 30 minutes of this session, any ideas — no matter how crazy or impractical — will be considered and put on the whiteboard for discussion. The key is getting a lot of ideas from those gathered before you start to plan. Later, you will find success by hooking several ideas together to build your new offer.

• Provide snacks and drinks during the meeting

• Allow others to develop your ideas and give them credit

• Thank attendees with a personal communication afterward invite a couple of additional new people to attend. For session 2, in the first 30 minutes, review what has taken place and work toward finalizing your offer. Once your plan is put together, give it a good name and properly price it to ensure profitability. Ask everyone to offer suggestions on how to best get the word out to prospective customers. Thank everyone, and make sure you tell each individual how important at least one of their ideas was to the process.

In the second 30 minutes of the session, start to remove from the whiteboard the ideas that don’t fit, are illegal, or are immoral, and try to hook together some of those that remain. IMPORTANT: Do not attempt to complete the new offer in session 1. End session 1 by thanking everyone for their input and ask them to keep their creative juices flowing until the next session, which should be conducted three to four days later.

For the 2nd session, personally contact each attendee to remind them that their attendance is important and

The most profitable segments I have seen developed for this industry were put together using this system. With proper direction, these sessions will blow you away with what is in the minds of your staff; all you have to do is ask.

Contact me at bruce@davisproductions.com if you want more direction on hosting your own WOW POW NOW™ sessions.•

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.

INTERNATIONAL BOWLING INDUSTRY MAGAZINE IS GIVING AWAY $30,000 TO BOWLING OPERATORS… & Writing Checks to Our Advertisers!

As Part Of IBI’s 30-Year Anniversary, We’re Rewarding Our Readers And Advertisers With A Big Money Giveaway

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