Grow Bowling 365: Recent Episodes

Mark Bares

GROW BOWLING 365, hosted by Mark Bares, is your number one go-to podcast to discover what you need to do right now to grow your bowling center's profits.

Mark is a third-generation bowling proprietor, author, and founder of the Summer BowlPass program shares what he's doing right now to not just grow revenue but focus on profit. All while finding enough time to be a good husband and father to his wife, Laura, and their nine kids.

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If you want your business to grow, you have to make sure it is built on a solid foundation. The experiences your guests have in your center are key to your growth and success.

In episode #11, host Mark Bares shares the first step you need to take to create Disney-like experiences in your center to keep your guests coming back again and again.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

  • [02:58] How an angry customer transformed my bowling center
  • [04:15] Marketing is a complete waste of money if you don’t do this one thing
  • [07:07] What is the real reason you open your doors every day?
  • [10:05] Why creating a web of friendships is so important to your center
  • [12:22] The next step

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • GrowBowling365.com
  • Summer BowlPass

Thanks so much for joining me this week. Want to subscribe to the Grow Bowling 365 podcast? Have some feedback you’d like to share? Connect with us on Apple Podcasts and leave a review!

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As our workforce gets younger, problems with staffing are becoming more complicated. Not only do most young employees not know how to communicate with customers and other staff members, but they are also constantly glued to their cell phones.

So what is a bowling proprietor to do?

In episode #10, host Mark Bares shares what he is doing in his bowling center to get his employees off their phones so they can create amazing experiences for their guests.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

  • [01:45] When your employees are on stage and off stage and how it affect your guest’s experience
  • [04:30] When your employees should be allowed to use their cell phones while working
  • [04:55] Why our society is struggling with cell phone addiction
  • [05:32] What to do when your employees break the rules
  • [07:01] Your employees will rule the roost if you don’t enforce your policies
  • [10:30] It’s a bad idea to let your employees keep their phones in their pockets while working

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • GrowBowling365.com

Thanks so much for joining me this week. Want to subscribe to the Grow Bowling 365 podcast? Have some feedback you’d like to share? Connect with us on Apple Podcasts and leave a review!

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There are three ways to grow your bowling center’s revenue. You can find new customers, raise prices, or get people to come in more often buying more. But before any of that happens, you need to understand who your competition is so you can create guest experiences that will allow you to do all three of those daunting tasks.

In episode #9, host Mark Bares takes a deep dive into who you are really competing against and how understanding these fundamental principles are the beginning of training your staff to create amazing guest experiences.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

  • [01:45] Who is your bowling center’s direct competition
  • [02:43] How do you define your bowling center’s indirect competition
  • [05:18] Are your potential customers entertaining themselves at home
  • [07:32] How to compete for your customer’s attention
  • [09:07] Get your employees to show your guests gratitude

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • GrowBowling365.com

Thanks so much for joining me this week. Want to subscribe to the Grow Bowling 365 podcast? Have some feedback you’d like to share? Connect with us on Apple Podcasts and leave a review!

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The Bowling Proprietors Guide to Price Strategy

For a lot of business, pricing products involves either charging what everyone else is charging or taking a wild guess. But if you want to grow your bowling center’s profit, you need to take a systemized approach to pricing

In episode #8, host Mark Bares shares the good, the bad, and the ugly of pricing and what you should be doing in your bowling center to make the most on everything you sell

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

  • [01:05] Stop giving everything away for free
  • [02:10] How to “buy” a customer’s information
  • [03:38] Discounting 101 – why and how you should discount
  • [05:19] The strategy of stacking value
  • [06:28] How much are your customers willing to pay?
  • [08:09] Working your numbers backward
  • [09:20] The 2 most important numbers to pay attention to when setting prices

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • GrowBowling365.com
  • Summer BowlPass

Thanks so much for joining me this week. Want to subscribe to the Grow Bowling 365 podcast? Have some feedback you’d like to share? Connect with us on Apple Podcasts and leave a review!

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Running a bowling center may be a lot of work, but that doesn't mean we can't have some fun once in a while.

In episode #7, host Mark Bares shares how a YouTube prank he played on one of his employees back in 2013 almost ended up landing his bowling center in a reality tv show about a bowling center in small-town America.

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • GrowBowling365.com
  • Mark’s “Haunted Bowling Alley” prank on YouTube

Thanks so much for joining me this week. Want to subscribe to the Grow Bowling 365 podcast? Have some feedback you’d like to share? Connect with us on Apple Podcasts and leave a review!

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Creating amazing guest experiences is what keeps your customers coming back week after week. But sometimes we forget to apply this important principle to our league bowlers.

In episode #6, host Mark Bares shares a fun side game he calls Bowling Bingo that he uses in his bowling center to help his league bowlers have even more fun while bowling. Click here to download Mark’s bowling bingo program for free.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

  • [01:04] What keeps league bowlers coming back week after week, year after year
  • [02:30] What is Bowling Bingo
  • [04:20] How do bowlers score a bingo and how much do they win
  • [05:50] Why some bowlers cheat and how to stop them
  • [07:45] It’s not just bowlers who can cash in on bowling bingo – discover how you can make money too
  • [09:00] Give your bowlers a big-money end of year tournament
  • [10:40] How to get Bowling Bingo started in your center right now

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • GrowBowling365.com
  • Click here to download Mark’s bowling bingo scorecard.

Thanks so much for joining me this week. Want to subscribe to the Grow Bowling 365 podcast? Have some feedback you’d like to share? Connect with us on Apple Podcasts and leave a review!

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Have you noticed it’s getting harder and harder to communicate with your employees? Sure they are busy with family, other jobs, and school, but it seems like attention spans are getting shorter while their comprehension is severely diminished. So how do you build an effective staff when it seems like no one is listening?

In episode #5, host Mark Bares shares the secret, free tool he has been using for the past 7 years to get employees to not only pay attention but take ownership in their jobs and start solving problems on their own. Slack is an app that has transformed how Mark communicates with his employees and allows him to spend time away from his bowling center without the proverbial wheels falling off.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

  • [02:10] You can’t be in your center 24/7, but you CAN keep your finger on the pulse in real-time.
  • [02:45] Communication solutions that are destined to fail
  • [03:42] Why it’s a really bad idea to use Facebook to communicate with your employees
  • [05:45] A free app that will transform how you do business in your bowling center
  • [06:51] An overview of how the Slack app works
  • [08:42] The difference between public and private channels
  • [12:00] How to easily and quickly solve problems in your center when you’re not there
  • [13:48] How to fill open shifts in a matter of minutes

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • GrowBowling365.com
  • Mark’s Summer BowlPass program
  • https://slack.com

Thanks so much for joining me this week. Want to subscribe to the Grow Bowling 365 podcast? Have some feedback you’d like to share? Connect with us on Apple Podcasts and leave a review!

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Ever want to buy something new for your bowling center but you just don’t want to pay for it? There is a way to (legally) get stuff for free. All you need to do is get someone else to pay for it!

In episode #4, host Mark Bares shares how 10 of his overhead monitors needed to be replaced and he funded the entire project be sending a two-page letter to local businesses. If you don’t offer advertising opportunities in your center, Mark walks you through the entire process from finding businesses to advertise to, to creating digital displays in your center. And if you do offer advertising, Mark shares the same sales letter that landed 14 new advertisers in his center with one single mailing.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

  • [02:00] The best place to buy TVs, monitors, and other electronics for your center
  • [02:47] How to get other people to pay for your upgrades
  • [03:45] The steps you need to take to sell advertising in your center
  • [05:43] The most important word in marketing
  • [07:55] Why the fortune is in the follow-up
  • [09:05] The easy way to create stunning advertising in your center
  • [10:50] The secret software I use to create digital message boards for FREE
  • [14:03] How to create passive income in your bowling center

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • GrowBowling365.com
  • Mark’s Summer BowlPass program
  • https://www.posterbooking.com
  • Download Mark's advertising sales letter

Thanks so much for joining me this week. Want to subscribe to the Grow Bowling 365 podcast? Have some feedback you’d like to share? Connect with us on Apple Podcasts and leave a review!

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Most bowling centers waste thousands of dollars in marketing every year because they do what just about every other business owner does – shotgun marketing.

In episode #3, host Mark Bares shares his process that will transform the way you create leagues, promotions, and marketing. You’ll discover how to laser focus on who you want as a customer and create offers that they simply can’t resist.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

  • [01:15] Who your customers are is a choice. Why not choose the most profitable customers?
  • [01:42] What hunting has to do with the bowling business
  • [04:20] Why you must start with the who
  • [06:29] Can you have more than one who
  • [07:31] What are you going to sell to your newly discovered who?
  • [08:35] You don’t need to discount to get people to buy
  • [11:00] The best way to reach your who
  • [12:41] Mark’s secret formula for creating profitable promotions

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • GrowBowling365.com
  • Mark’s Summer BowlPass program

Thanks so much for joining me this week. Want to subscribe to the Grow Bowling 365 podcast? Have some feedback you’d like to share? Connect with us on Apple Podcasts and leave a review!

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If you’re like most bowling proprietors, you’ve had a bad experience with Yelp. There’s no doubt online reviews are important, but there are some easy ways to get your customers to share their love for your bowling center (and stop bad reviews before they hit social media).

In episode #2, host Mark Bares explains what happened to create his deep distain for Yelp and how he channeled that angst into creating a process that almost guarantees a positive online presence.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

  • [01:00] Why online reviews are the life blood of your bowling center’s marketing efforts
  • [02:46] Where to find all of your good reviews that Yelp hides
  • [05:22] The right way to collect online reviews
  • [07:02] How to turn a bad revies into a transformational event in your center
  • [09:35] Why it’s more important for your website to be effective than pretty
  • [10:42] How to use QR codes to gather customer reviews

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • GrowBowling365.com
  • Mark’s Summer BowlPass program

Thanks so much for joining me this week. Want to subscribe to the Grow Bowling 365 podcast? Have some feedback you’d like to share? Connect with us on Apple Podcasts and leave a review!

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Are you working yourself do death doing everything in your bowling center? Most bowling center proprietors and managers think the best way to make money is to do everything yourself. But the truth is the less you work, the more money you’ll make.

In episode #1, host Mark Bares explains why you need to fire yourself and what to do with all your newly found free time to drive new revenue and create massive profits in your bowling center. In addition to making a lot more money, you’ll be able to finally spend quality time away from your center with family and friends.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

  • [01:05] How I got started in the bowling business
  • [03:06] Why the less you work in your bowling center, the more money you’ll make
  • [05:24] How to create more personal time with your family and friends
  • [06:59] Where to find top notch staff
  • [07:52] Acquiring knowledge grows revenue
  • [09:56] Turning your staff into a fine tuned machine
  • [11:29] How do you fire yourself?
  • [12:58] When it comes to staff, let the cream rise to the top

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • GrowBowling365.com
  • Mark’s Summer BowlPass program

Thanks so much for joining me this week. Want to subscribe to the Grow Bowling 365 podcast? Have some feedback you’d like to share? Connect with us on Apple Podcasts and leave a review!