I was working with a client the other day, a relatively new one when an employee piped up and said, “You know Fred, these aren’t NEW programs, I have tried these before and they didn’t work.”
Instead of responding to the specifics, I merely said, “You know Will, people are creatures of habit. Many of us do the same thing when we wake up and when we go to bed. We all have a routine and getting people to make a massive u turn in their routines is damn hard.”
I kept going. I said, “Have you thought about the brands you buy, the stores you go to, and the products and services you have just come to avoid?” “You have a routine and you rarely change it, right?”
He kind of shrugged at me and said, “Yeah, that’s right, so what does that mean?”
I said, “Will, here’s what it means. It means that you believe that the bowling center’s success is dependent upon your one flyer to convince people to change their story.
The chances of getting someone, out of the blue, to come in for Pizza Pins N Pepsi are slim to none.
Your program, sitting out on the settee area, didn’t change anyone’s version of the truth. In fact the flyer had no benefits. “It didn’t even say ‘great family fun, super value, makes memories or any other benefits families might want”.
It merely said, “Get 2 hours of bowling, a large cheese pizza and a pitcher of Pop. $59 for up to 6 people. Shoes included.”
If you wanted people to buy that program, shouldn’t you have had real benefits aimed at a more specific target market?
Since you were running it on weekend days, shouldn’t you have been targeting parents with kids under the age of 14 in households within a 5 or 7 mile radius of the center having household incomes of $XX,XXX?
Shouldn’t you have given the parent a special onetime try it offer? Or a bounce back coupon to get them to come back?
Maybe you did not communicate frequently enough to your target to get them to get them to try it?
What if people came in, tried it and the product wasn’t delivered right; the pizza came out late and cold? Do you think those people will come back?
What if your price did not represent a good value?
Maybe you had too many restrictions on when you could use it?
Did you gather testimonials for the product?
Did you have a face book schedule and “boost budget” as well as a targeted email plan for the product?
Just sayin’
All good points. You need to look at who your target is first, see if the day and time fits them and then develop a product that would benefit them. The key word is them and not you. Quality time with the family, making memories, remember when your parents took you bowling for the first time (invite them too), let us do the cooking, a great night of fun rolled into one low cost high value package…..