37 results for author: Jim Nyhan

Happy Thanksgiving from the Ten Pin Marketing Team

Thanksgiving Day is about more than turkey and pumpkin pie. It’s also a wonderful time to reflect on everything — and everyone — we are grateful for — and that includes each of you. From all of us at Ten Pin Marketing, thank you for all you do to make our work so fun and interesting. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! The Entire Ten Pin Marketing Team

An Interview with Pat Ciniello

Continuing our discussion on how bowling centers can help veterans this month, I had the opportunity to speak with Pat Ciniello, chairman of QubicaAMF Worldwide, Inc. Pat has spent more than 48 years in the bowling industry, beginning with Nationwide Bowling & Brunswick. He later served as director of operations for Treadway Companies, where he oversaw twenty-six bowling centers in the United States. He serves on numerous boards of directors and executive committees, including Strike Ten Entertainment and was also Chairman of the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame and President of MUBIG (Multi Unit Bowling Information Group).  Jim: ...

The Bowling Industry’s Veterans Charity: The Bowlers to Veterans Link

Today I had the pleasure to speak with Mary Harrar, the executive director of The Bowlers to Veterans Link. Jim Nyhan (JN): Mary, thanks for speaking with me today about your work with BVL. JN: I want to first start with a simple overview of BVL and the organization’s wonderful mission. BVL was founded in 1942 to help support America’s heroes in uniform. Since then, the organization has raised more than $50 million to provide recreational and therapeutic programs and services. These programs and services will help boost their morale and brighten spirits. Through funding and support, these veterans recuperating at VA Medical facilities across ...

Keeping Your Employees Engaged

Keeping employees engaged these days seems to be a huge problem in our industry (as well as in other industries). Many of our jobs start at minimum-wage pay and include only part-time work.  Finding employees who will work either part-time or will start at minimum wage is becoming more and more difficult. On the other hand, some of our full-time, higher-paying positions may be lacking people who are both skilled and engaged. Becoming a better leader will help us engage all of our employees, and help with employee retention. I recently read an article about the top seven ways mangers can keep employees engaged -- and each one is worth ...

Developing Programs and Packages

With Labor Day in the rearview mirror, league season is officially upon us! If you are like most bowling center proprietors, you find yourself falling behind each year in the league market, and you may even wonder why you have open lanes this year that were filled last year. You may even be wondering what, exactly, you are doing wrong. In most cases, you are not doing anything wrong. But you will need to refine your approach to filling lanes. The reason is that our league base customers are becoming older and are dropping out of league play faster than the younger generations are signing up.  Our league product involves a commitment of time, ...

An Interview with Fred Kaplowitz

Jim: Today I am speaking with Fred Kaplowitz, president and CEO of The Kaploe Marketing Group. Fred is one of the co-founders of Kids Bowl Free, which has registered more than 17 million kids – usually 14 years old and younger – at more than 1,400 bowling centers in the United States and Canada. Fred, before we discuss some of the specific marketing opportunities for bowling center proprietors, could you share a bit about your background in this industry? Fred: My career started in the financial and banking industry. After graduate school, I secured a job with a local Baltimore credit card company that was bought by City Bank who owned BankAm...

Forming leagues – a Yearlong Project

Running a league-based house can be extremely difficult at this time of the year. Time never seems to be on your side, and decisions are often made slowly by returning teams. Back in the day, leagues accounted for a full 90% of my revenue.  In fact, due to the industry where I live, we had leagues bowling after work – 8am, 4pm, and midnight were very popular start times.  We also enjoyed 9am, noon,6pm and 9pm leagues on top of the industrial leagues – this was a typical daily schedule with little time for open play, but we did well with it on the weekends. Those days are gone in most markets, and today being “full” means you might only ...

Get Started Now for Fall

Most of us have leagues starting in the fall, and now that we are already halfway through July, we should be in “full fall league” mode! A lot of centers have the traditional 32-36 week leagues. Although it seems like the bowlers just finished their league from last season – and they told you how long the season was – they are more likely to be your most loyal customers, and they will be ready to come back. Those same bowlers can be your best salesmen when you communicate to them and involve them as VIB (Very Important Bowlers). If you have not yet started to prepare for the autumn schedule, it’s time to kick into high-gear! Here are a ...

It’s been a while

My last blog post was April 24th, so we have a lot of catching up to do. This post will be of a more personal nature. The reason for the blog hiatus is that my son, Jimmy, who is severely autistic, broke his leg in late April. And, as you can imagine, with a special-needs child, adding a broken leg to the mix meant that my family’s routine was turned upside down for a while. Jimmy is non-verbal and is high on the Autism spectrum. He is 24 years old, full of life, and always has a smile for everyone. Jimmy’s broken leg over the past two months has been a reminder that the doctors told us when he was very little that he would never walk. The ...

A Conversation with the Founder of Kids Bowl Free

Over the past few months, we have explored different promotion ideas to attract more customers to your bowling center. Today, I sat down with the founder and creator of Kids Bowl Free, Bruce Davis. Bruce is one of my close friends, and I am also fortunate to have had him as a career mentor for many years. His energy has no end, and his lifelong passion for bowling has fueled some of the industry’s most innovative approaches to inspiring future generations of bowlers. Jim: Tell us a bit about your background in the industry. Bruce: I grew up around my family’s bowling center in Toledo, Ohio. I had always wanted to help improve and develop ...