Bowlers Journal Guest Column Joe Schumacker October, 2002 Bridging The Gen 3 Gap Getting from here to there won't be easy, but it has to be done.

Bowling Operations

BOWLING IS AT A CROSSROADS today. If well-designed plans are not formulated and properly executed, bowling will decline as a sport, a recreation and as a business. But first, some ground rules.

Rule # 1 – Assigning blame isn't constructive. We just find ourselves in the situation defined in the Gen 3 model ( Ref: July '01).

Rule # 2 – Relevance to today is a key. Historical positioning is passé. Those with relevant input to the process of building Gen 3 bowling will impact the future. Those who continue to be prisoners of the past will fade into the past.

Rule # 3 – Innovation is a process of testing new concepts. Each failure brings you closer to success. Failures will happen.

Rule # 4 – Progress is not limited as much by a lack of new concepts as it is by our collective inability to stop acting as we have in the past. Learn to forget past (negative) habits.

As we enter the Age of Casual-Dominant Bowling and the Era of Marketing-Driven Bowling, several paradigm shifts must occur. These shifts will cause much discomfort for those making the change, but the status quo risks survival.

All integers will share the burden created by change, but the bowling proprietor must assume the largest role in directing and molding the efforts to create Gen 3 Bowling. Since the primary use of bowling facilities is to house a central commercial activity, their operators do not have the luxury of allocating a smaller budget to bowling when league activity declines, unlike public sector recreation managers. The pressure to meet payrolls and pay the mortgage drives innovation, so the proprietor embraces what appeals to today's (and tomorrow's) consumers.

That drive to succeed has led proprietors to create new traffic in their centers. Programs such as lights and music and enhanced birthday parties continue to attract new customers. At the same time, the membership organizations applaud themselves for holding attrition to a manageable percentage. One is managing for the future. The other is managing the past. Innovation comes from the one managing for the future.

As the primary driver of change, proprietors must understand that growth in casual play, however crucial, is not assured. The bowling environment is now market-driven. The proprietor must forget what they think they know about marketing bowling and begin to learn what they need to know. Current marketing efforts are wholly inadequate for the job ahead. Proprietors must seek the opportunity to gain new expertise in database marketing, price rationalization, community-based marketing ad advertising. The BPAA can and should play a role in all that.

Today's proprietors know how to create excellent service. They may not always do so, but the steps have been defined. The needed equipment is available and there are bowling operations on which models can be built. Proprietors must assure that high quality service standards be met. Why? It's simple. The new casual customer expects excellent service.

Proprietors also need to provide different lane conditions for different lanes at different times. The concept of moving from condition-based scoring to skill-based scoring is necessary as a part of the long-term effort to grow bowling. The effort to develop a new Gen 3 league base gives us an ideal opportunity to introduce skill-based lane conditions, which is a basic requirement for these bowlers. ( Caution: Identifying skill-based scoring as a product feature only serves to highlight a negative issue.)

Manufacturers and suppliers must look to the needs of the innovators for ideas for future products. The difficulty of creating meaningful innovation in an industry as small as bowling is a major challenge. In an age of computer-fast changes, bowling manufacturers have moved at a glacial pace to bring truly innovative bowling computer systems to market. The recent introduction of new ball lines aimed in directions other than high-performance equipment is encouraging. On the retail level, pro shops also must change their view of their potential customer base. The new customers being driven into bowling centers require equipment and skill improvement. A properly focused pro shop can be a great asset to a contemporary bowling center.

Both Pro Tours must continue efforts to reposition their activity. PBA's ESPN alliance is a major step in directing their product toward a new audience. New Gen 3 bowlers will need stars and viable Tours to show that skill-based bowling is rewarding.

The membership groups have the greatest challenge. The ABC, WIBC, and YABA need to find a way to be relevant to Gen 3. The current SMO debate is an indication of the disparity of views across the segments of membership organizations. An aggressive and forward-thinking national organization will conflict with increasingly resistant state and local organizations. The question is not whether an SMO is needed, but how it could be structured to overcome the lack of effectiveness of the current groups. Frankly, there is no value to doing the wrong things better. This internal struggle will need to be resolved before these groups can play a meaningful role.

Proprietors, manufacturers, the Tours and the membership organizations all have their own challenges to face in the future. Now is not the time to sit on the sidelines.

Back to Latest News