(Source: Everyone’s Blog Posts – Bowling Industry)
My recent Face book posts have been harping on the need for the “back-to-
basics- old- school- real- and- relevant- marketing- strategies”  that
direct the execution of specific tactics to  reach our goals.

I wrote these posts in the face of 50 to 100 posts I receive daily from
proprietors about being invited to this event, that tournament or to take
part in a special offer or two.  Mostly, I read them for content and then
go to the next post.

Now I am not saying that new media is all wrong, nor am I saying to not use
it. I would be the first one to stand up and say, “embrace it, understand
it and master it.”

But let me give you an example of what I mean.  Recently, I saw a series of
communications from a noted proprietor where he sent out great emails, Face
book posts, ramped up his mobile marketing and invited people to consider
his center for a Holiday party.

So I called and asked about some information. NO ONE in the center knew
anything about it and the owner was not in.  Three hours later I called
back…and got the same answer, “Gee, the owner isn’t in, could you call
back later?”

But maybe, just maybe if Mr. Owner would have spent the same amount of
time on a customer response strategy as he did on his Face book strategy,
he would have made another sale and dazzled the potential customer.

Because even with all of us using the new media, our business is still off;
our open play on weekends is hurting and our league play is flat to down.

Why?  Perhaps, it is because we have lost site of developing and tactically
implementing the basic strategies of our business.

Getting back to basics and developing relevant marketing strategies that
have to be implemented with real tactics, not just inbound marketing
communications, is something we all need to do…and do it quickly.

What do you think?
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(Source: Everyone’s Blog Posts – Bowling Industry)

Pink is the new “In” color. It can be seen everywhere, from pink ribbons on the lapels of dainty ladies to pink gloves and tape on rough and tumbling football players. Pink represents a commitment to Breast Cancer Awareness and Education.

When Holiday Lanes in Bossier City, LA held a Bowl for the Cure in 2010, we decided to hold a silent auction. Pink items were an obvious choice, but something special would be needed to make the auction unique. After researching thousands of web pages and magazine articles, one idea stood out. In our manager’s office, on a top shelf I had seen a bowing pin that was decorated as Santa. I had also found several websites that had decorated pins into a variety of people and creative art. That was it – Pink Ladies! I thought . . . what if we had a few people decorate bowling pins in honor or memory of someone who had battled breast cancer? Not only decorate a pin, but also write a short synopsis of the person that it was honoring and include a photo. The Pink Lady could be representative of the struggles and survivals of those who have dealt with this disease. What I didn’t know at the time was how therapeutic it might be. I decorated a pin that first year and asked my aunt to provide her story of detection and survival. It became a great way to raise awareness not only to myself, but others who read the story. In that first year, seven Pink Ladies were submitted for the auction and raised $370 for the Northwest Louisiana Susan G Komen for the Cure affiliate.

Let me just say, 2011 has become a banner year for Pink Ladies/Pin Art. The Bowl for the Cure auction, which will be held on Saturday, October 15 from 11 am – 2 pm, is still days away and I’m overwhelmed by the imaginative people in our community. As I write this piece, I already have received 38 decorated pins and still have pins coming in daily. When the time came to start promoting the auction, I wasn’t sure that I’d be able to get many to participate. Boy, was I wrong. In fact, Ms. Holoman from the Bossier Parish Schools Talented Program stepped up and got her classes on the project. Participating schools were Carrie Martin Elementary, LA New Tech School at Plain Dealing and Benton High School. The group of very talented students provided 15 pieces of art. The fun thing about it is that no two pins are alike. All are quite unique and each has great style. In addition, the Bossier Arts Council provided six very distinctive pins. It would be wrong of me to point out my favorite, but maybe it’s ok to say my fav is in this group of art. It amazes me to see the creativity and imagination used. I love the pin created by 7th grader, Gavin Jones. His design is called “Hot Stuff”. The pin is dressed in an animal print bikini with a sun hat. He dedicated the pin to his sister and said: “In honor of and as a reminder to my sister, Megan. I love her and want her around for a long time. I want her to be sure to get checked for Breast Cancer”. Megan does not have breast cancer, but her brother wants to make sure she stays that way. What a great brother!

Breast Cancer is so wide spread and affects many of us in one way or another. We all know someone who has survived or perished from this terrible disease. Instead of calling the art “Pink Ladies”, I should have called it “Pink Pin Art”, so that I wasn’t just focused on women. As you might know breast cancer affects men too. According to komen.org, Breast cancer in men is rare, but it does happen. In 2011, it is estimated that among U.S. men there will be 2,140 new cases of breast cancer and 450 breast cancer deaths in men. The creativity has been abundant and I’m hoping that we are able to make a sizable contribution to the Northwest Louisiana Susan G Komen for the Cure affiliate again this year. All of the Pink Pin Art will be on a special sneak peak preview from 3:00 to 6:00 pm on Friday, October 14 at Holiday Lanes in Bossier City. You may also view the pins on Facebook by going to http://on.fb.me/cureauction. The silent auction begins at 11:00 am on Saturday, October 15. Final bids will end at 2:00 pm. Come by, take a look at the artwork on display. Hey, you can even Bowl for the Cure while you are there. It’s all for a good cause. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/pinklanes

See ya around Bossier,

Robin Williams,
Bossier Chamber of Commerce Diplomat & Marketing Maven at Holiday Lanes

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(Source: Everyone’s Blog Posts – Bowling Industry)
I have watched many a proprietor try to build an on line marketing
campaign, only to get tripped up on some key points. So I thought I would
assemble my “7 pillars of success to market your business on
line” for you.  Here they are.

Pillar 1: A Website You Control
You must operate your own website, which enables you to make basic changes
to it yourself, preferably right through your web browser. Waiting for a
“webmaster” to update text and pictures does not qualify as a smart use of
your time or money. WordPress, an open-source (free) publishing platform,
makes an excellent choice for managing and organizing virtually any size
website.

Pillar 2: Google Maps
Google now stands alone as the “900 lb. Gorilla” of the on-line search
world. However, most don’t realize that “Google Maps” is the most basic
component of local on-line marketing with Google. Get all the details at
Google.com/places/. This tool is one of the fastest ways to get found in
Google and, best of all, it’s free!

Pillar 3: Basic SEO
SEO stands for “search engine optimization,” which means making your
website relevant when someone searches for your business name or terms
related to what you sell. Building all the content, information, and text
on your site around a central theme is the No. 1 thing you can do to
increase your chances of ranking well in Google and other search engines.

Pillar 4: Make Value-Added Offers
Most people don’t make offers on their websites. Their web pages look like
everyone else’s and say basically the same things. You must make offers on
your site that spur people to action. Offer a discount or faster service.
Give an incentive to come in today. Most important: Make your offers big,
bold and obvious on your site while giving people a reason to do business
with you right now!

Pillar 5: Drive Traffic
You won’t make a dime with your website if the right people don’t see it.
The fastest way to drive traffic is to buy it, specifically with the Google
AdWords pay-per-click program. Pay-per-click means you only pay when
someone clicks your “sponsored” ad on the search engine listings, and
Google’s AdWords is the largest pay-per-click advertising network. However,
make sure you set up a “geo-targeted” campaign when starting out so only
people in your local area see your ads (instead of wasting time and money
showing your ads to people who could never patronize your local business).

Pillar #6: Local List Building
Building up a local following that you communicate with using on-line tools
rates as one of the smartest and most cost-effective things every local
business can do. Whether through email, text, Twitter or Facebook (or some
new tool), communicating with a targeted group and providing value-added
information and offers can bring huge rewards. One coupon with the right
offer to the right audience can turn a ho-hum Thursday into a blockbuster
sales day.

Pillar #7: Consistent Follow-Up
The biggest on-line marketing mistake I see people make is NOT following up
with prospects and customers. Use email and other communication tools to
keep in contact with your prospects and customers and give them reasons to
do business with you (by making offers) while providing useful information
they want. As a wise man once said, “The fortune is always made in the
repeat business.”
Good luck and good hunting.
Go to Source

(Source: Everyone’s Blog Posts – Bowling Industry)
Raising prices is one of the best ways to double your profits – because all
the extra money goes straight into your pocket. Yet, isn’t our greatest
fear that if we raise prices we will lose customers – or that our new
customers will go somewhere else that’s cheaper?

Price is determined by the amount of value that your customers see in your
product or service. Simply, if they see lots of value they will be willing
to pay a higher price. What if you could quickly boost the value in your
customers eyes, enough so that they will be willing to pay more for it?

That’s where the bonus comes in. A bonus is something that you add to your
product or service – that is highly valuable in the customer’s eyes, but is
very inexpensive for you to provide.  here are 7 ways to raise prices and
have your customers thank you.

1.Special free gift.
Try to get a vendor to give you product for free or sell it to you at cost
(one man’s trash is another man’s treasure) – and then give it to your
customer with their purchase.  (what do the beer or liquor distributors
give away that you can add to the purchase?)

2. Add a service to a product.
Provide consultation services that only costs you time, but that the
customer values greatly. (offer FREE coaching with an open play special.)

3. Add a product to a service.
Find a product that your customer needs with your service. Partner with a
vendor to provide it and share the profits.  (have a ball, bag or shoes
anyone?)

4. Bundle items together.
Put products or services together, that your customer values – but that
cost you close to nothing to provide. (offer a slice of pizza and a soft
drink or an alcoholic beverage with a late night mid week open play
special.)

5. Convenience.
Provide more convenience for your customers  without utilizing a lot of
time or money.(open earlier, stay open later for kids camps, company
parties, fund raisers?)

6. Special arrangement.
Provide the product or service in a more beneficial format for the customer
( Pizza pins n pop, burgers n bowl, chicken wings n bowl?)

7. Value pricing.
Add more bonuses for customers that will pay more, less for those who will
not (my favorite). bonuses could be a free game with a red head pins trike
or a 2 liter bottle of a soft drink or a pizza for bringing 5 people to
your cosmic show.

Once you find the bonus that works and provide it as an incentive for
raising prices – you will be able to raise prices and your customers will
thank you for it.

Good luck and good hunting
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(Source: Everyone’s Blog Posts – Bowling Industry)
Steve Jobs died yesterday.

Accolades from President Obama to the man in the street flooded the
internet. People tweeted, facebooked and emailed their feelings about Steve
Jobs.  I  re-read his speech  from his 2005 Stanford University
Commencement speech His insights about life, death and making a difference
through your work came through.

Here it is.  I hope it inspires you as much as it has inspired me.

      “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.
        Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner
                                     voice.
      You have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.

        You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma,
                                    whatever.
          This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the
                             difference in my life.

              The only way to do great work is to love what you do.
            If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking.  Don’t settle.

           Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me.
       Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful, that’s
                              what matters to me.”

What are your thoughts about Steve Jobs?

Good luck and good hunting
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(Source: Everyone’s Blog Posts – Bowling Industry)
My daughter is getting married in six weeks.

And while almost all of the details have been taken care of, it seems that
Internet communications are about a solid two to three months behind my
planning and buying process. I am still getting information about dresses,
invitations, DJ’s, bands, and flowers; not to mention information about
tuxedos (which we won’t be wearing!).

The web has discovered that I am a target for wedding stuff and because of
that discovery, various companies out there have cranked up their automated
marketing machines, Facebook ads, and Google ad words to consistently and
unrelenting send information to either my Inbox, Spam box and Boxbe filter
folder.

No matter how frequently I delete, unsubscribe or just ignore, more keep
coming.  Sometimes the companies will go away, only to come back 30, 60
days or 90 days later. (Hey, it’s all programmed).

And there is the flaw.
These companies don’t know when to turn it off.

I posted an email to over twenty of these companies (in the bcc box)
writing that our family’s arrangements for this event are DONE; marriage
essentials are done, done and done,

And to, please, not send me any more information!  For every “unsubscribe”
i post, i get two NEW ones.

As time went by, I started to not open some companies’ emails and then,
after a while, not open them at all. B-Bye.

These companies who only utilize email as their one hit pony media strategy
and view email as an inexpensive way to reach customers (i.e. a substitute
for direct mail) will note in the long run, it is neither inexpensive nor
the only one trick pony.
Things change.

No wonder fewer than 15% of all emails are opened; some estimates even peg
it 12% or lower.

And that’s one reason Facebook is killing E-Mail as the social media of
choice.

People are using Facebook, to talk about themselves, to stay connected, to
maintain and build on existing relationships to exchange information, to
solve a problem, check a fact, research a topic, etc.  And , of course, to
just talk about their lives and things they are doing, or
contemplating…which includes, sometimes, pretty personal stuff.

On the Facebook side, the information I received from my Facebook Friends
were more credible and I opened them more often than email  from a company
always trying to “tell me and sell me.”

Because customers want valuable information from a company they can use or
at least appreciate.
      First, so they can  trust  if their information is genuine and
      credible.
      Second, to give you permission to send them either information,
      coupons and deals” or a combination of both.
      Third, so they can decide if you have any product or service that
      would either make them money, save them money, free up time, make
      them feel good.

Ask yourself this, please?
What is Your Social Media Strategy?

Good luck and good hunting
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