Newsletter - 2011 05
May 2011
Business Success
Brought to You By BMA Marketing
INSIDER INTELLIGENCE
National merchants partner with local centers
Chris Swanson, Owner
Founded by Ray Tuttle
Check out these incoming phone call messages from well-known national merchants who responded to our process that partners them with their local bowling center. Click here...
INDUSTRY UPDATE
New Marketing Projects
We are grateful for the opportunity to serve our client centers...
KS... Ranch Bowl
IL... S.I. Bowl, Sunset Lanes
IN... Hi-Way Lanes
KY... Eastland Lanes, Southland Lanes
MI... Northern Lanes, Novi Bowl, Waterford Lanes
MO... Crest Bowl, Oasis Lanes, West Park Lanes
MS... Rebelanes
NC... Country Club Lanes West
NV... Silver Strike Lanes
OK... Playland Lanes, The Lanes At Coffee Creek
PA... Delmor Bowling Lanes, Sproul Lanes
TX... Emerald Bowl
WA... Daffodil Bowl, Paradise Bowl, Spare Time Bowl
WI... Paradise Lanes
WV... Emerson Lanes
ENTREPRENEURS
How the 'Third Mind' Can Help You Achieve Success
Could you benefit from hanging out with other business owners? Maybe you should join a mastermind group.
Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich, defined a mastermind as a "co-ordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose."
Hill believed that a mystical, intangible force was created when a mastermind group came together and that creativity increased through the invisible "third mind" of the mastermind group.
Some mastermind groups engage a facilitator while others are self-directed. Groups can meet in person, via teleconference or online.
The benefits of a supportive mastermind group include:
- Mutual support and encouragement
- Differing perspectives, input and feedback
- Varying resources, skill sets and connections
- Accountability and inspiration that helps maintain a focus on goals
To create a mastermind group that is dedicated to helping you achieve your personal goals, you can simply reach out to people in your network and solicit their input.
You don't have to meet with your entire team in person in a formal setting.
Try to include problem-solvers and people with diverse skill sets in your mastermind group.
MANAGEMENT
Smart Ways to Keep Your Staff on Track
BMA Marketing
Wolcott CT 06716
(800) 603-3985
Outside Sales Promote...
- Company Outings
- New Bowler Visits
- Birthday Sales
Quick Quiz
Each month I’ll give you a new question. Just reply to this email for the answer.
In which city were the "Chariots of Fire" Olympic Games held?
Why Not Pass Me On?
If you've enjoyed this newsletter and found its information useful, please pass it to another business owner or a co-worker.
Worth Reading
Selections from the best articles seen online this month.
5 Things You Should Never Say While Negotiating
Hofman offers practical advice about what not to say when negotiating with customers, suppliers, investors or potential employees. Avoid offering a settlement range in advance or suggesting that an agreement is close, he advises, as these techniques provide opportunities for the other side to negotiate further concessions.
How Great Entrepreneurs Think
Saras Sarasvathy, a professor at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, set out to determine how successful, experienced entrepreneurs think and grapple with business problems. She found that master entrepreneurs rely on effectual reasoning.
BOOK REVIEW
Poke the Box, by Seth Godin
Seth Godin, the marketing guru, famously announced he was abandoning the traditional publishing model a few months ago. No more books for him.
Poke the Box is his first publication since then, and it was promoted to readers primarily as an electronic download.
That's probably why Poke the Box doesn't feel like a book. Instead, it's more of a manifesto.
So what is Godin trying to persuade us of in this work? Simply, that it's time for employees and entrepreneurs to be more brave and actually start something. Just do it.
Godin says that personal or corporate progress comes through people doing something new.
The trouble is, corporate culture and our own beliefs stop us from making this step. We fear failure, and sometimes corporations punish it.
But without just getting out there and doing it, nothing great happens.
Wisdom
Quotes by...John Mackey
"My philosophy is that life is all about learning and growing, and that life can be a real adventure of learning, growing, compassion, and joyfulness."
"For us, our most important stakeholder is not our stockholders, it is our customers."
"There can be little doubt that a certain amount of corporate philanthropy is simply good business and works for the long-term benefit of the investors."
"I do not believe maximizing profits for the investors is the only acceptable justification for all corporate actions. The investors are not the only people who matter. Corporations can exist for purposes other than simply maximizing profits."
"Business social responsibility should not be coerced; it is a voluntary decision that the entrepreneurial leadership of every company must make on its own."
John Mackey founded Whole Foods Market.
What gets measured, gets done - or so the saying goes. By measuring certain specific outcomes, an organization communicates and reinforces its performance objectives and business priorities. However, sometimes there is a disconnect between what gets measured and managed and the organization's overall strategic goals. This occurs when employees' performance goals are not aligned with the company's strategy.
How can business owners make sure employees are doing the right things to contribute to the organization's success? Key performance indicators (KPIs) establish yardsticks for measuring performance at both the organizational and individual levels. KPIs are specific, quantifiable targets that are measurably aligned with the company's stated goals and objectives.
Effective performance management involves setting individual KPIs for every team member. Whether done as part of a formal appraisal process or in a more informal manner, the goals must be clear, measurable and demonstrably aligned with the department's goals, which in turn are aligned with the company's overall strategy.
By setting relevant and effective goals for staff, ensuring that employees know what they need to accomplish in the present and in the future, and measuring their progress and performance, you ensure that employees are contributing directly to business goals.
Moreover, when employees' KPIs are linked to strategic objectives with effective goal setting, their motivation, productivity and performance increase dramatically.
When an employee's goals are defined in terms of an organizational KPI, it ensures what the employee is doing is aligned with the goals of the organization. This is the critical link between employee performance and organizational success.
HUMAN RESOURCES
How Simple Changes Can Cut Workplace Injuries
Is your business losing money because of the tools your staff is using? Ergonomics is the practice of fitting tools and jobs to people to prevent injuries caused by repetitive motion, awkward posture, force or vibration. Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), such as tendonitis, and repetitive stress injuries (RSIs), such as carpal tunnel syndrome, cause aches, pains and distress for workers and employers alike.
For businesses, the costs come in the form of lost productivity and increased healthcare expenses totaling $45 billion a year, according to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) estimates. With proper ergonomic measures, though, businesses can reduce the risk of MSDs and RSIs caused by workplace activities.
On assembly lines and factory floors, problems are often caused by workers' positioning vis-a-vis machinery. In an office environment, MSDs and RSIs are frequently caused by using poorly positioned computer equipment or talking on the phone for extended periods. Typical modifications include adjusting chair or monitor heights or laying out work surfaces differently.
Educating employees about ergonomic risks and best practices and encouraging them to discuss job-related discomforts can help reduce MSDs and RSIs.
For example, business owners can discourage the bad habit of cradling a phone between the head and shoulder. If somebody wears bifocals, lower the monitor so the individual does not have to tip the head. Make sure equipment and furniture are fully adjustable and that employees are empowered to make necessary adjustments.
New regulations make it more important than ever to prevent problems before they occur.
But when problems do occur, fix them quickly. The health of your employees is at stake, along with your company's productivity.
MARKETING
Could Your Business Have a Loyalty Program?
If your small business doesn't have a loyalty program or rewards system, perhaps you should consider the fact that it costs five times as much to attract a new customer as it does to get a current one to come back and do business with you again.
According to recent marketing research, almost 80% of people carry one or more loyalty cards. There are frequent-flier programs, frequent-buyer programs and frequent-dining coupons, as well as prize giveaways and charity donation schemes. They are all designed to get customers to spend more, shop more frequently, increase their purchases or refer other customers to the business.
Basically, there are four types of loyalty programs:
- Membership Programs: Customers get special pricing or other perks for joining a "club."
- Rewards Programs: Customers "earn" gifts, awards, discounts or freebies, according to their volume of business.
- Community Concept: Connections are created through sponsorship of teams or events or by holding classes, trainings, workshops or exchanges.
- Intertwined Business Processes: These involve up-selling, cross-selling and other techniques of locking in repeat business.
Many small businesses offer simple punch or stamp cards that entice customers to pull in for another car wash, stop by for another cup of coffee or schedule an additional massage treatment. Customers accrue points toward free merchandise, discounts, rebates or additional services when they use the cards. Another easy, cost-effective technique is to create a website or develop a mailing/emailing list and provide loyal customers with tips, special information, advance notice of events, coupons or special discounts.
More elaborate loyalty programs offer varying levels of rewards, depending on a customer's purchasing patterns, volume or history. Some programs are structured so that those who spend the most in a certain period or purchase specific high-margin goods or services, receive the largest rewards.
An important benefit of loyalty programs is that they enable businesses to gather real-time data about customers and their purchasing habits. Companies can segment and identify the most valuable customers and target their marketing spend and promotional efforts accordingly. Once a company pinpoints its top 20% or 30% of customers, it can then focus on boosting retention rates, profitability and satisfaction among this top tier.
The typical outlay for a rewards program is between 2% and 10% of each "loyal" customer's total spend. One of the challenges in developing an effective small business rewards program is knowing what drives customer satisfaction and engenders genuine loyalty among these customers.
Customer loyalty is built on brand equity and customer satisfaction, not simply incentives and perks.
Transactional behavior may mirror loyalty, but the key to boosting equity is to increase customer satisfaction, the feeling that drives behavior rather than just the behavior itself.
Fundamentally, loyalty is about building trust and developing long-term relationships based on good service and business integrity.
INDUSTRY PARTNER SPOTLIGHT
Free Trial - 2 months of "how to" center marketing
Most businesses, including bowling centers, need multiple marketing campaigns running at the same time, year round, to generate the sales activity required to maintain and grow profits. While BMA can help generate revenue using merchant coupons, we are glad to discover and share other marketing solutions for you to explore including BowlingMarketing.com's VIP Service.
Do you have a time-tested marketing calendar? What tasks did profitable, marketing savvy centers complete last week that are not on your radar? Don't spend another week alone...tap into a community of proactive center owners and managers who are using VIP Service's customized programs and best practices that are presented in easy-to-digest weekly doses.
Click the link below for a 60 day no-cost trial - no credit card needed. Once you have experienced the value of having an "Off-site Marketing Director" who provides you with timely turn-key event promotions, marketing campaign know-how, operations expertise and monthly phone call and webinar conferences, you can chose to continue receiving the VIP Service for about $2 a day. Current VIP members who take advantage of this offer will receive a 60-day extension on their current subscription.
Use Order Code "IPBMA" on the form at the link below. You will be sent an email notifying you that your no-obligation free trial is underway and get immediate access to seasonal programs.
RESOURCES
BMA's Industry Partners
Contact our Industry Partners for immediate solutions. Also, when you select BMA to assist with filling lanes, you'll receive an exclusive email from us containing gifts and special offers from our partners...
BowlingIndustry.com - an online magazine + social networking community for bowling center owners, operators and professionals in the business of bowling.
BowlingMarketing.com - a complete bowling center marketing system that contains a ready to run Marketing Plan loaded with proven programs, timelines and task dates, customized material and weekly conference calls to drive and manage the process.
BowlingRewards.com - The Bowling Rewards program is a revolution in open play/league marketing and includes comprehensive database building features with electronic gift, cash back rewards and fundraising inside a single card.
Partywirks.com - convert your website visitors into buyers by offering online scheduling and buying capability.
