Expert Alley

By Carey Tosello

Once people are allowed to engage socially again, we can expect a bowling boom. Afterall, bowling is close to home, affordable, and fun! Now is the time to carefully examine your website to make sure it will sell all that you have to offer. You should review each of your website pages from the point of view of a first time visitor, and if you don’t think it will motivate a visitor to go bowling, now is the time to change it.

Everything is different post-pandemic – hours, rules, pricing, offerings, etc. Your website now has the opportunity to make a new first impression, so look for these selling points:

SELL FUN

Does your website reach out and grab people? Does it scream fun? If visitors don’t get the fun vibe immediately, they will look elsewhere to spend their entertainment dollars. Your website is your best opportunity to convince people that they should visit your center.

SELL RESERVATIONS

Admit it, we have all made reservations for things during the pandemic that we didn’t do before. It is the new normal to make sure you have a spot at the restaurant, gym, salon, etc. We even order our food ahead of time and some of us have groceries delivered to our home. People expect to be able to reserve a lane in advance now. Plus it provides a better predictor of traffic levels for the center. These systems are affordable and easy to use, so find one that integrates directly into your website to ensure a great customer experience.

SELL PARTIES

After the last big pandemic in 1918 came the Roaring Twenties. We should expect that people will want to get out and socialize big time after this pandemic as well. Make it easy for them to reserve a party or event at your place. And we are not just talking kid birthdays here, but adult events and celebrations as well. Encourage adults to come to your place to celebrate a birthday, anniversary, promotion, or just guys or girls night out. Your website needs to have package options and lots of photos to sell these events.

SELL FOOD & BEVERAGE

There are many bowling centers whose food and beverage sales are higher than their bowling sales. You should maximize your revenues from what is essentially a captive audience by upgrading your food and beverage offerings. Once you give customers what they want, promote those items on your website, as it is part of the overall experience when people come to your place.

SELL CLEAN & SAFE

Even when the pandemic is over, you are still going to want to publicize your cleaning and sanitizing procedures. Airlines are promoting how efficient their air circulation is when flying as a way to make passengers comfortable. So talking about the amount of air your HVAC system circulates each hour will add to the comfort level of visitors to your facility. While some of your regulars won’t care, there are many potential customers that are looking at safety first.

For a review of your current website, and upgrade options, contact Carey Tosello, founder of eBowl.biz andBowlRX websites.