Spring Issue | April 15, 2015
Debut
ISSUE! OUTDOOR
FURNITURE TRENDS USING INSTAGRAM TO HELP YOUR BUSINESS BCA Insider — A BCA Member Publication Dedicated to Businesses in the Billiard and Home Leisure Industry.
Anthony Stoeckert
Outdoor Furniture Trends
10 IN THIS ISSUE
Expo Preview
14 Kathryn M. D’Imperio
Using Instagram To Help Your Business
16 2 | BCA INSIDER • SPRING 2015
6 22 26 30 36 38
Keith Loria Staying Protected
Charles S. Donnavan Protect Your Cue From Being “Snagged” Keith Loria Dealer Profile: International Billiards Joe Dyton How Stores Work With Instructors Seminar Speaker Lynn Switanowski Improving Stagnating Sales The Retailers Speak
The truest playing products. The truest value.
Founded upon unwavering principles of quality and value, 2013 marked Simonis’ 333rd continuous year in business. We are the oldest company in the billiard industry, but being the oldest doesn’t make us the best... being the best has made us the oldest. Premium brands, premium products, premium value. Iwan Simonis. ®
A u t h e n t i c. A c c u r a t e. A l w a y s. ®
www.simoniscloth.com 800.SIMONIS
w w w . a r a m i t h . c o m 888.ARAMITH
OPENING LETTER ON THE COVER VEGAS model by Mitchell *Exclusive Billiard Designs*
Welcome to the debut issue of BCA Insider, a new membership publication with the goal of furthering the mission of the Billiard Congress of America, which is to enhance the success of our members and promote the game of billiards. We believe a magazine like this fits perfectly with that goal.
This table was delivered by Mitchell’s White Glove Delivery Team to the Four Seasons in St. Kitts/Nevis and featured in their publication. For more information: www.mitchellebd.com
Inside its pages you will find advice on improving your business, learn about trends in the industry, and hear tips from marketing experts on ways to prosper and grow your business. From speaking to our membership through the years, these are all things we believe you want to learn more about in your efforts to continually improve your business.
EDITORIAL
All of us in the billiard and home leisure industry are coming out of a tough few years, but we have weathered the storm and the future looks bright. It’s thanks to savvy and determined retailers like you that our industry not only survived, but will thrive in the years ahead.The content in our publication aims to help with that success.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Keith Loria billiardskeith@gmail.com
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Anthony Stoeckert Kathryn D’Imperio Charles S. Donnavan Joe Dyton Lynn Switanowski
ADVERTISING Shane Tyree shane@bca-pool.com (303) 243-5070 x23
Looking ahead, BCA Insider will offer everything from new product lines to consider adding to your stores, to ways to improve employee morale to the benefits of being a multi-generational business. It’s all about providing tools and information to support you and your business. Also, remember this is a magazine for you, our members, and we want to hear more about what you want to learn or are interested in seeing in the pages of future issues. Feel free to reach out to our editor-in-chief, Keith Loria (billiardskeith@gmail. com) about anything that’s on your mind within the industry. Also, take part in our Retailer’s Speak section in the back of the book and have your voice heard. It’s an exciting time here at the BCA with the launch of the publication and preparing for the Billiard & Home Leisure Expo, set to take place Aug. 5-7 in Las Vegas. Please know we’re as committed as ever to promoting the game and supporting our members! Enjoy!
DESIGN/LAYOUT ART DIRECTOR Julie Snee julie.snee@gmail.com
BCA CHAIRMAN, MIKE SERRA BCA Insider is published by Billiard Congress of America © 2015 bcainsider.com Printing services provided by Dynamic Designs Printing & Marketing ddprints.com 4 | BCA INSIDER • SPRING 2015
PS
– We are also very excited to announce the formation of the Atlantic Cup Challenge, a Mosconi Cup style event for junior players. Coming July 1-4 in Rankweil, Austria, the BCA will send four boys and two girls to represent our country to compete against Europe’s top juniors. In 2016 the event will take place on US soil! Please contact the Billiard Congress of America to learn how you can help support this great event!
STAYING PROTECTED
WHAT A BILLIARD RETAILER NEEDS TO KNOW WHEN IT COMES TO INSURANCE By Keith Loria
When you own your own billiard and home leisure retail store, there are a myriad of things that can go wrong or accidents that can happen, opening you up to exposure and possible lawsuits. Property damage can include snow causing a roof to collapse or water damage from a tropical storm or even a liability claim from someone slipping and falling on a wet surface. And with so much money tied into inventory, the possibility of theft or in-store damages by customers must be factored into the insurance equation. “One of the best things any business owner can do when shopping for insurance is to work with an agent who’s familiar with their type of business,” says Mark Meadows, an agent with Insureon, a leading small-business insurance carrier. “Every industry has its quirks, and agents who have experience finding policies for billiards shop owners tend to have an idea of which risks to be aware of, which carriers offer good policies, and which endorsements are most important.” As a warning, consider what happened to Brenda Sanford, owner of Billiards Plus, Lancaster, Pa. In October of 2013, at approximately 2 a.m., she received a call that the 7,000-square-foot building her store was in was on fire. 6 | BCA INSIDER • SPRING 2015
With Christmas only a couple of months away, the store had stocked up on inventory, but by the time the fire was over, it was all gone. “We had a total loss,” Sanford says. “It was later discovered that it was arson; we had been robbed for over $20,000 worth of cues and then the building was set on fire.” Luckily, Sanford had increased her insurance earlier that year, though she still had a loss of more than $50,000 because the store had ramped up for Christmas sales. What helped was that the store had kept detailed records of all inventory, including having photos and video of almost all the items. Sanford credits an insurance agent with giving her the tip to take photos. “I made it a habit to take pictures of every room once a month, including showrooms, work shops, offices, etc.,” she says. “This was a huge help when making the insurance list up because I could go back and review each room and give a complete inventory, plus it served as proof to the insurance company.” This also allowed Sanford to act as her own adjustor, rather than paying another company nearly $25,000 to come in and help her make her claim.
“It took me three months of intense work but no one knows my business better than me and nobody was going to put as much effort into the necessary work but me,” she says. “Luckily, I did have a great partner in my insurance adjuster and claims rep.”
A SOUND POLICY Meadows notes there’s no one-sizefits all insurance policy, but the following policies work most often for billiards retailers. General Liability Insurance: This is the baseline policy for any business. It’s sometimes called “slip-and-fall insurance” because one of the things it covers is third-party injuries on the business premises. For a retailer with a lot of foot traffic, General Liability is a must. Limits for this policy vary, but the most popular one is around $1 million. Depending on the size of your business (and possibly on the terms of your lease), you may be required to carry more. Let’s say a family comes into your store and buys an imported pool table for their basement. When they get home, their 6-year-old daughter is playing near the table, trips over a cue, and bangs her head on the table. She needs five stitches and the family decides to
ABOVE—When a fire devastated Lancaster, Pa.-based Billiards Plus, owner Brenda Sanford counted on her insurance to get her business back up and running.
sue your business for the medical bills, alleging that there should have been a minimum-age warning on the table. “This lawsuit falls under the product liability portion of your General Liability Policy,” Meadows says. “You file a claim with your insurance provider, which provides a lawyer to negotiate with the family. The lawyers decide it’s best to settle for the amount of the girl’s medical bills ($3,000), which your policy covers. All you have to pay is the deductible on your GL policy.” Slips and falls on the retail premises (and outside in the parking lot) are covered by a GL policy, but should be managed with proper lighting, shoveling/salting when necessary, signage about wet floors, and prompt cleanup of any spills. Property Insurance: This covers your inventory and the physical space where you operate. Depending on the size of your business, you may qualify for a Business Owner’s Policy, which bundles general liability with property for a discount on both. Be sure to consult with an agent about what your property policy covers—most standard policies exclude damage from floods and earthquakes, so if you live in an area prone to either, you may need an endorsement to cover these exposures. Property limit needs vary by business, based on your inventory and location. Cyber Liability: Any business that accepts credit cards or online payments should have Cyber Liability Insurance. Retailers are attractive targets to hack-
ers because they tend to process a high volume of customer information. This policy covers the costs associated with recovering from a data breach (notifying customers, paying for data monitoring, investigating the breach, etc.). This is a newer type of coverage, so consult with your agent about what kind of limit makes sense for your business. Workers’ Compensation: In every state but Texas, any business that has employees is required to have Workers’ Comp Insurance. Requirements are entirely at the state level, so the best place to find out about your requirements is through your state government.
THAT SOMETHING EXTRA For any business, the important extras depend on the specific nature of the work being done. For billiards retailers, that might mean a few extra insurance necessities such as property endorsements for flood, earthquake, and other types of damage. “If you’re importing merchandise internationally, make sure your General Liability policy includes product liability (also called products/completed operations coverage),” Meadows says. “This protects you if something you sell (e.g., chalk) injures a customer after it’s out of your store (e.g., a child eats the chalk and is made sick and the family sues). For domestically manufactured merchandise, the manufacturer usually carries this coverage. When the manu-
facturer is outside the U.S., the retailer needs to carry it.” Don Spence, senior vice president of underwriting with United States Liability Insurance Group, Wayne, Pa., says additionally, it’s good practice to add Excess Liability Insurance, so a store is covered beyond the initial $1 million coverage. “For just a few hundred dollars, they can buy up their liability coverage in increments of a million dollars,” he says. “Insurance for a retail store is all about protecting your assets so if in fact you are negligent for an act, you want to make sure you have enough insurance to take care of what happens.” He also suggests Automobile Liability Insurance for any retail store that has its own movers or company car. “If a pool table is being delivered and it would damage some property in the house it was going to, such as knock over a vase, damage the wall, etc., there needs to be an added layer of property damage coverage,” Spence says. One of the most important extra coverages that Sanford had for Billiards Plus was Lost Income Insurance, which allowed her to survive the eight months that it took to get the business back up and running. So, if you’re worried about not being protected enough, now may be the best time to place a call to your insurance agent.
BCAINSIDER.COM | 7
"Quality and Value…Redefined." Tel: 800-722-0601 • Fax: 800-875-9526 • sales@toltecltg.com • www.toltecltg.com
OUTDOOR GAMEROOMS BY GAMEROOM CONCEPTS UNLIMITED
Outdoor Foozball | Bumper Tables | All Weather Shuffleboard Tables Custom Accessories | Outdoor Dining Tops | Cue Racks
MANUFACTURERS OF QUALITY OUTDOOR GAMEROOM TABLES. OLD WORLD CRAFTSMANSHIP COMBINED WITH THE LATEST TECHNOLOGIES HAVE HELPED TO MAKE US #1 FOR OVER 25 YEARS.
Made in the USA
Visit our factory in Orlando, Florida (888) 683-5999 | outdoorgamerooms.com
THE GREAT OUTDOORS
A LOOK AT THE LATEST TRENDS IN PATIO AND OUTDOOR FURNITURE By Anthony Stoeckert With the growing trend of luxurious, resort-like back yards, patios are becoming much more than a place for some lounge chairs and a grill. Today’s patios feature bars, luxurious cooking stations, fire pits and fire tables, and sometimes even entertainment systems. As such, there is a growing market for high-end patio furniture.
the product line and selling the product. I really feel that if the sales staff is confident in the product, it will sell.”
“Outdoor furniture and fire pits are such a great seasonal product for the billiard/home leisure retailers. I would suggest finding the best manufacturers and to not spread yourself too thin,” says Leisa Rogers McCollister, marketing manager for Ow Lee Co., headquartered in Ontario, Calif. “Partnering with three to four good manufacturers will allow your sales staff to really feel comfortable with understanding
“The outdoor kitchens have just exploded over the last year or two, and they just continue to be on an upward trend,” Auker says. “We are seeing a push for more outdoor seating, particularly cushion seating and specifically in sectionals. We’ve had an increase of customers asking for outdoor sectionals in the last year or two, and we’ve modified our lineup to include more sectionals than we have in the past.”
10 | BCA INSIDER • SPRING 2015
Ann Auker, furniture buyer for Seasonal Specialties, based in Amherst, N.H., says the main trend in patio furniture is bringing the indoors outdoors, and that outdoor kitchens are a big part of that.
Fitting the outdoor kitchen concepts is the Skyline dining set by Breezesta, which is made of recycled milk jugs and water bottles, making it durable, maintenance free and fade resistant. Among the new sectionals the store is offering is the Contempo Sectional by Lloyd Flanders.
pane pits selling well. “They’re definitely on an upward trend,” she says.
When asked what is contributing to the growing popularity of sectionals, Auker points to their versatility.
“If you always think of it along those lines you’ll be able to hit on all those points that are important to a consumer,” Auker says. “The outdoors is just an extension of our indoor houses and that’s where the trend has been going for many years now. The types of products that you would normally find in your dining room and in your living room, you’re now seeing those products moving outdoors, reformatting them to be able to be outdoors in the elements.”
“The whole concept is that indoors is moving outdoors,” she says. “We started out trending with dining, that was always popular outside and there was casual seating with chaise lounges and you added heavier-looking chairs and cushions, and then sofas. I think the sectional is the next progressive step in moving indoors outdoors. “Because they are modular, you can take a big sectional and make it very small. Or you can take a small sectional and make it very big. It’s kind of handy for an outdoor space.You can modify and customize it to your area.” Fire pits are another big draw these days. Auker says fire pits are still “crazy hot,” with both wood-burning and pro-
One of the keys to maximizing sells is to promote the bringing-the-indoors-outside concept.
Seasonal Specialties is a store that prides itself on carrying the best manufacturers, regardless of pricing. Telescope Casual, based in Granville, NY, has more than 100 years of experience and is Seasonal Specialties largest supplier of aluminum-frame casual furniture. Seasonal Specialties has a stock of tables, up to 90 inches, oval as well as 42-inch and 48-inch round, non-glass tables. One feature BCAINSIDER.COM | 11
of Telescope Casual’s furniture is that many of its products are stackable, which helps with storage space. The tables also are ready-to-assemble and will flatten. Auker says Tropitone’s welded aluminum furniture offers fully welded frames, high-quality and oversized cushion sets. For wicker furniture, Seasonal Specialties offers Lloyd Flanders brand of machine-made wicker furniture. Lloyd Flanders’ selection of frame colors and fabrics can fit a modern or traditional look. Because of its heft and durability, Homecrest is the brand Seasonal Specialties suggests for those who live in windy areas or for tall and/or heavy people. That’s because Homecrest is made from steel, which is stronger than aluminum. It does require maintenance, but as an example of Homecrest’s durability, Auker says it has fulfilled orders for cushions for chairs made by Homecrest that are 25 years old. For bargain-hunters, Seasonal Specialties offers furniture from Meadowcraft, based in Wadley, Ala., which is made of mid-priced wrought iron, made in the USA. It offers good quality for its price, and its durable and heavy dining sets are ideal for windy areas. Hammock lovers will be ready to rest in a Hatteras hammock, hand-woven using three-ply cotton robe. Seasonal Specialties also offers cushions from Custom Cushions, made from highquality materials. Matching umbrellas are available for most fabrics. Here’s a look at what some of the outdoor manufacturers are offering in 2015.
GLOSTER FURNITURE Eric Parsons, president of Gloster Furniture, is noticing three trends in 12 | BCA INSIDER • SPRING 2015
the industry that retailers should be keeping an eye on. “One trend is moving toward greater convenience, defined in waterproof fabrics and cushions right now,” he says. “A second trend is the use of mixed materials, especially at the mid- to high-end of the market. Mixing stainless steel and wood, mixing teak and synthetic fiber, mixing aluminum and synthetic fiber, all to create an aesthetic that the affluent consumer is looking for. And a third trend is an increasing lean toward contemporary design.” In keeping with some of these trends, Gloster has recently released the Pepper Marsh collection, which pairs the finest in Ash color synthetic woven fiber with expertly crafted teak arms and legs. The company also introduced its Oyster Reef collection, marrying vintage silhouettes with scalloped shapes, sweeping curves and striking contemporary references.
LEXINGTON Lexington offers a line from Tommy Bahama called Black Sands, which showcases traditional styles with cast aluminum designs, made with hand craftsmanship. The relaxed atmosphere associated with Tommy Bahama is brought to life through umber and soft colors, along with the furniture’s tortoise shell finish. Products in the line include a sofa, loveseat, ottomans, tables, fire pit, dining set and more. Tommy Bahama’s Aviano line is made of all-weather wicker with Weatherstone tops and plush cushions. Highlights of the line include a sofa, an armless sofa sectional, chairs, ottoman, cocktail table bases in different sizes, dining chairs and glass tops. The Blue Olive line also features allweather wicker in a herringbone design made with outdoor entertaining in mind. The aluminum frames of the
Blue Olive line have a textured finish, and tops are made to look like natural slate. The WeatherGuard cushions on Blue Olive furniture offer comfort and are made to last. Furniture in Tommy Bahama’s Ocean Club Resort line is sleek, stylish and comfortable. Inspired by the islands of the South Pacific, the design blends east and west styles. The furniture offers an Asian lattice look with tables that capture the look of crushed bamboo. With lounge chairs, swivel lounge chairs, tables, ottoman, dining chairs, fire pits and more, the Ocean Club Resort line can turn your backyard into a vacation spot. Tommy Bahama also has a line of accessories under its Alfresco Living brand, including pineapple-shaped tables, umbrellas burner covers and a flame guard. Other offerings include a line of pillows and ottomans.
OW LEE At Ow Lee, marketing manager Leisa Rogers McCollister says the company is continuing to see plush deep seating and fire pits as a major trend, as well as more sophisticated fabrics and color used outdoors. “This year we came out with the Cambria collection, which is designed for comfort and features our signature arm pillow pocket design much like our best-selling Monterra group,” McCollister says. “Cambria has been received very well. It is the ultimate in comfort but a little smaller scale.” As far as fire pits, Ow Lee released some new sizes, most notably the 42x72 counter-height fire pit that has been a hit so far this season. Another new fire pit that has been very popular so far is its 30” round chat height fire pit, perfect for balconies or more intimate areas. “OW Lee has been very successful partnering with billiard/home leisure
retailers. Our products are geared towards comfort and leisure and are a natural addition for the consumers interested in home entertainment,” McCollister says. “We are an award winning, family owned and operated, American Made company with one of the best warranties in the industry.”
SEASIDE CASUAL Chris Capone, marketing director for Seaside Casual Furniture, says the company has been trending towards more modern and traditional designs that can fit in a variety of decorative settings. “We introduced a modern Adirondack chair, part of a whole collection based on a modern reimagining of the whole Adirondack style,” he says. “We also added a new pub table and bar stool, which are two-toned and also very modern looking.” Capone says sales of pub tables and stools have been on the rise of late as outdoor entertaining has seen growth over the last two years. “Our furniture is 100 percent recycled material, it’s sustainable and made from milk jugs,” Capone says. “We use a poly-lumber and you end up with a very sturdy and colorfast material, which looks more like indoor furniture.”
TELESCOPE
affordable. The legs are made from tubular aluminum. The tops come in four different styles: A 24-inch square end table; a 22-by44-inch rectangle coffee table; a 48inch round dining table with hole and a 44-by-86-inch oval dining height table with hole. Also new from Telescope this year is the Belle Isle Cushion Collection. These cushions are designed to make outdoor entertaining comfortable and stylish. The furniture combines Marine Grade Polymer with Telescope’s durable, aluminum frame. New pieces include an armchair, swivel rocker, chat-height swivel rocker, two- and three-seat gliders, and an ottoman. Another line of casual furniture is the Ashbee Sectional Cushion Collection. Designed for sophistication, the furniture offers an attachment system for the arms and backs, which allows customers to make sectionals out of five modular pieces. Last year, Telescope introduced the industry’s first Marine Grade Polymer fire tables. These feature an aluminum frame that is enhanced with MGP table surface and side panel. An aluminum cover is included so that the tables can be used as coffee tables.
SHOWN PREVIOUS:
Telescope Casual Furniture, based in Granville, NY, is offering new patio products in 2015, including its Synthestone Table Top Collection. As the newest additions to Telescope’s alternative tabletops, these are made from gelcoat and fiberglass. They are stain-resistant and clean easily.
Gloster Furniture's Wedge Sectional
Tabletops in the line are available in four colors: butternut toffee, cappuccino, caramel and java, and are designed to make the stone look more
MIDDLE—Felescope Casual Furniture's Belle Isle Cushion Collection
SHOWN OPPOSITE: TOP—Lexington's Aviano Curved Sectional Sofa and Cocktail Table
BOTTOM—Seaside Casual's Master Collection BCAINSIDER.COM | 13
BCAExpo PREVIEW social on Wednesday night, Aug. 5 and presenting the first annual BCA Expo 8-Ball Amateur Tournament to be held in conjunction with the event. The tournament is limited to the first 32 registrants and will take place on the exhibit floor during show hours on Wednesday, Aug. 5 and Thursday, Aug. 6. The entry fee to participate in the tournament is $100 with all net proceeds from the tournament donated to the Billiard Education Foundation. To register for the tournament, visit bcaexpo.com.
It’s time once again to start making travel plans and get excited about this year’s Billiard & Home Leisure Expo, scheduled from Aug. 5-7 at the South Point Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The BCA Expo attracts a who’s who of specialty billiard and home recreation retailers, plus manufacturers, installers and billiard room owners, all learning about the products that retail customers will be talking about and purchasing in the year ahead. Whether it’s tables, cues, ping pong, shuffleboard, poker, or casual furniture, there’s something for everyone. The Expo is a business-to-business event, and is open to qualified professionals of the billiard and home leisure industries only. BCA members can register for the BCA Expo for free until May 4, and for $20 after that. Tickets for non-BCA members are
14 | BCA INSIDER • SPRING 2015
$100 until May 4 and $200 after that. For more information about attending, contact Krissy Wolstenholme at krissy@wtglasgow.com. At the show, the Billiard Education Foundation will be presenting the 27th Annual Junior National 9-Ball Championships from Aug. 4-7 at the South Point Hotel & Convention Center alongside the Expo. “We are excited to once again host the Billiard Education Foundation Junior National 9-Ball Championships during the 2015 BCA Billiard & Home Leisure Expo,” says BCA Chairman Mike Serra. “Supporting junior competition via our partnership with the BEF goes hand-inhand with our mission to promote the game of billiards.” Additionally, the BCA will be sponsoring the return of its ever-popular industry
The Expo will feature a number of industry vets leading discussions and seminars to inform about the latest trends affecting business. Lynn Switanowski speaks on “5 Things Your Customers Can Do Better Than You When It Comes to Social Media”; Mary Wise presents “Secrets to Maximizing Retail Success on a Budget”; Brian Offenberger delivers “21 Marketing Actions You Can Take Today to Sell Tomorrow” and there’s a pool room roundtable discussion moderated by Carl Galante on the topic of successful business-building strategies. Rooms at the South Point Hotel and Casino have been put aside at a special rate of $60 for attendees, and that includes free Wi-Fi, free use of the fitness center, and a complimentary airport shuttle. For more information about anything related to the Expo, visit bcaexpo.com.
SUPPORT THE CUP!
The Atlantic Challenge Cup Team USA vs. Team Europe July 1-4 2015 ď‚Ť Rankweil, Austria
Contact the Billiard Congress of America for Details
BILLIARD
AT I O N
FO D AT I O N
8
UC
UN
ED
TIPS AROUND THE TABLE: THE BEST WAYS TO USE INSTAGRAM TO HELP YOUR BUSINESS By Kathryn M. D’Imperio
If a picture speaks a thousand words, then the 30 billion-plus photos posted on Instagram to date would fill at least 29.2 million dictionaries. Many of today’s consumers live and learn visually. They like to see before they buy, and they like to buy from brands they trust. Through outlets like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, social media marketing allows you to connect with prospective customers, engaging them on a more intimate level than most if not all other forms of marketing. Visual marketing through Instagram can give your business and your sales funnel a boost using meaningful images with messaging that is direct and to the point. Instagram reports that it has 300 million monthly active users, who collectively uploaded and shared more than 30 billion photos to date. The social site sees roughly 70 million photos posted per day and Instagram users give out around 2.5 billion daily likes to what they see. Those are numbers that billiard retailers should make note of. Instagram continues to grow full tilt and businesses are wise to jump on board to leverage the visibility and user engagement. According to Jenn’s 16 | BCA INSIDER • SPRING 2015
Trends in Social Media Management (www.jennstrends.com), more than half of Instagram users (57 percent) take the time to access the site on a daily basis. Her data also shows that the average user spends more than four hours per month on Instagram. That’s a lot of time to get your brand and your products in front of the right people. “The traditional sales funnel has evolved over time and consumers are being exposed to products in a completely different, nonlinear way, across multiple touch points, including social media channels,” says Kathleen Loescher, community manager at Ignite Social Media, Cary, N.C. “Since Instagram is one of the fastest-growing, most engaging social platforms, the platform is a huge marketing opportunity for brands and retailers. Sharing visually compelling content is a great way to tap into this audience that’s open and willing to interact.”
INSTAGRAM FOR BUSINESS 101 Backed by countless statistics and analytics, content with visual elements,
such as photos and/or videos, typically performs better than text alone. This is often true for content outside of social media marketing as well—articles, press releases, standalone photos and videos, you name it. Leveraging this knowledge with an Instagram account for your billiards brand or home leisure business can make a real difference in your marketing. “What Instagram brings to the social media world is a singular focus on visual marketing,” says Justin Fishaw, marketing director of DigitalSherpa, Norcross, Ga. “The billiard industry has a unique advantage in that you have products to promote, and those products are somewhat universally known. And, billiards being a ‘game’ opens up the creative content ideas.” Instagram’s two-way customer communication is simple. A business posts photos and then adds captions and hashtags (#billiards) quickly and easily from a smartphone. Customers see the newly uploaded photos instantly and have the ability to add a comment or a “like.” It takes only moments if not seconds for each interaction, to upload the photo or to interact with the content. Marketers and businesses can also apply filters
to the images, modifying the image’s coloring or applying other effects to achieve a certain look or feel. “If I was managing the Instagram marketing (and any social media marketing campaign) for a client in this industry, I’d stick to visuals that excite the audience,” Fishaw says. “Break out your buyer types into personas that you can target with specific types of content. For example: “Professional players: They may be the only ones that appreciate a good, expensive pool cue and/or billiards set. So use this to your advantage by posting detailed product images with accompanying text that speaks to their expertise and knowledge. “General audience: I’d attack this persona by going the entertainment route with my content. Bring in a local billiard pro and set up a day of recording where you capture a few hours of trick shots that you can use as content moving forward. Even better if you can capture this on an iPhone that has a slow motion video feature.”
18 | BCA INSIDER • SPRING 2015
Fishaw reminds that it is always important to add relative hashtags to anything you post, helping to gain maximum exposure for your content. A quick search he ran on the hashtag #billiards returned more than 200K posts. Local brick-and-mortar retail locations should also be sure to insert local hashtags like #philly or #ATL (Atlanta) to “hyper-localize” posts. “A billiard retailer could easily affect the ‘awareness’ portion of the sales process through Instagram by offering up an informative content series, or featuring user-generated content as a way to show some appreciation of engaged fans,” adds Loescher. “Instagram’s mission statement is: To capture and share the world’s moments. Keep that statement in mind when using the platform and share memorable content that’s a natural fit for the channel and your audience. Instagram is probably not the place to share a graphic of your latest sales flyer, but it is a great place to show your fans the amazing detail on a new pool table, or an interesting perspective on the set up of a tricky shot.”
EXAMPLES OF INSTAGRAM SHARKS Manufacturers and retailers in the billiard and home leisure market are no strangers to Instagram and other social media marketing tactics. In fact, a great majority of the staff at Taom Tips all have their own Instagram pages in addition to the company’s corporate page. As the designer and manufacturer of handmade highquality billiard tips, using Instagram gives the company a great means of showing off products, professional players using Taom Tips, and other relevant visuals. “Facebook is no longer ‘social media’ because everything is more or less onedirection marketing from brand to users like the old days,” says Lasse Riitesuo, co-owner and social media manager at Taom Tips. “At Instagram, it’s much easier to engage with your followers and the most important thing— those users create a tribe of their own around your product.”
Taom Tips got started on Instagram when Joonas Ohtonen (a pro pool player) contacted Lasse Riitesuo, who has an extensive background in social media, starting from scratch with such brands as Oxdog (Floorball, a minor sport compared to billiards) and Zero Point (compression products). Riitesuo and the Taom Tips team are looking to generate a strong presence and they are off to a good start. Taom Tips is under a year old and already pulling in sales through social media. “The benefits have been brilliant so far because we don’t have a webshop or webpage ready,” says Riitesuo. “So we have contacts and sales in over 30 countries so far via social media. In the long run, we believe that we will get more and more billiard people follow our channels. It’s a little bit surprising that billiards is not that big a thing in social media and we think that there is huge potential on that.”
Instagram isn’t just for the up and coming generation of brands, though. One with great tenure, Blatt Billiards, New York, N.Y., is also seeing some notable success with the fun social app. “Social media, specifically Instagram, has been a terrific marketing tool for Blatt Billiards,” says Steve Roeder, who owns Blatt Billiard with his brothers Bruce and David. “Instagram has given Blatt Billiards the opportunity to grow our products’ viewing audience on the App to over 2,000 followers in only several months of use. Our followers have the opportunity to view our billiards and gaming products, while having a behind-thescenes view of how these products are handcrafted and manufactured. Our business is 100 years old and Instagram is a wonderful way to show the world that after all this time, our passion has only grown for our craft. We love to share.”
WRAPPING UP Social media efforts such as maintaining a presence on Instagram don’t have to take a lot of time. Fishaw notes that once you have your content strategy down, spending even just 15 minutes per day can give you a successful execution. He suggests spending a few moments searching and reviewing the industry hashtags to “like” visuals and follow more accounts. He recommends issuing five to 10 likes per day and following three to five new accounts per day for the best impact. Doing these extra steps can help to keep your Instagram feed fresh, active, and geared up for growth. “If you’re in the more general ‘home leisure’ category, you can use these same marketing principals,” Fishaw says. “Speak to your audience and wow them with content that’s both visually and mentally stimulating.”
INSTAGRAM WITHIN THE INDUSTRY Blatt Billiards
@blattbilliards
APA (American Poolplayers Association) @poolplayers
Boynton Billiards @boyntonbilliards Century Billiards
@century_billiards
BCAINSIDER.COM | 19
PROTECT YOUR CUE FROM BEING “SNAGGED” By Charles S. Donnavan Do your customers every complain about being victims of their favorite cues being stolen? In the past, if their prized cue was take, odds were slim they were ever going to see it again, but today, thanks to a new product developed by SNAGG, the chances of a stolen cue being recovered has increased by as much as 40 percent. A SNAGG RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) microchip is the size of a grain of rice and is permanently installed inside a cue, with no signs that it’s even there. Once installed, the chip provides a unique 15-digit identification number when scanned by a RFID chip reader. Customers can create an account on the SNAGG website where they will be able to register their cue and SNAGG id number into SNAGG’s state-of-the-art theft prevention and recovery database free of charge. It was Seyberts Billiards owner Sid Kreis who was first introduced to the SNAGG microchip in the fall of 2014. 22 | BCA INSIDER • SPRING 2015
Now, Seyberts Billiards offers them in most cues they sell for $25, or $45 if someone sends a cue in. Once Kreis approached Joe Pechauer, founder of J. Pechauer Custom Cues, Green Bay, Wis., about becoming the first cue maker to install the SNAGG microchip in their cues, it was an easy decision to make. Scott Douglas, national sales director of J. Pechauer Custom Cues, notes the company was approached about the concept last year, and currently installs the chip in its Professional Series Cues and Limited Edition Cues, offering them in its JP Series cues for $25. The company developed the process of installing the chip and shipped cues equipped with the chip beginning Jan. 1, 2015. “It acts as a theft deterrent when it becomes known that Pechauer Cues are equipped with the SNAGG RFID microchip,” Douglas says. “If a cue is lost or stolen the owner informs SNAGG.com and they scan pawnshop records nationwide,
THE RECOVERY PROCESS
1 2 3
The owner of an item protected by a SNAGG microchip files a police report and an officer and case number are assigned. The owner notifies SNAGG and forwards the police report information.
SNAGG releases a complete file on the asset including photos (if provided by owner) to pawnshop associations, all second-hand recovery officers in every major city in the U.S. as well as posting a loss or theft alert on SNAGG.com.
4
When a suspected instrument is located, the police contacts SNAGG and SNAGG immediately sends a scanner (usually via overnight mail) to legally identify the item. RFID identification technology is recognized as unalterable proof of ownership by the U.S. legal system and law enforcement agencies.
5
After ownership is verified, the item is then returned to the legal owner. Court appearance and costly travel are not required to release the asset.
WW.SNAGG.COM 24 | BCA INSIDER • SPRING 2015
FBI databases, eBay, Craigslist, and other online sources. Then if a cue matching the description is located, local law enforcement scans the cue to determine if it is the stolen item. It can then be returned to the rightful owner.” This positive ID will not only help prevent a cue from being stolen, but it will also help in the recovery of a cue if it was actually ever stolen as pawn shops are required by law to report every item they purchase. This includes the make, model, and serial information. Once a SNAGG chip is installed, you simply register your cue on the SNAGG website and you can upload documents, images of the cue and add any pertinent information on the cue. The SNAGG system relies on the power of the World Wide Web to connect owners with their priceless possessions. When an item is reported stolen, SNAGG begins scanning their partner databases for these stolen items based on serial number, model number or other information. According to police reports, 35 percent of items equipped with SNAGG are recovered compared to less than 1 percent that are not. It also acts as a permanent digital record of that cue for the owner, which is beneficial for potential warranty work. Finally, it authenticates the cue as being a Pechauer cue and not a counterfeit. “We have received a lot of positive feedback. Many people are familiar with SNAGG microchips as being used to recover lost pets for many years and are excited for the application to be used in the billiard industry,” Douglas says. “For many pool players, their cue is a very personal and significant possession. This protects against theft and adds some peace of mind.” Most law enforcement systems cover a small geographical region. The SNAGG system overcomes this constraint by immediately informing property and
recovery investigators that your cue or other asset is lost or stolen. If it is found, it can be positively identified as yours because every SNAGG identification number is unique, and imbedded inside your cue. SNAGG uses the power of the Internet and embedded RFID technology to enable more efficient recovery of your lost or stolen asset. “The SNAGG microchip has an estimated shelf life of more than 80 years. This system will not only scan the pawn shop records, but SNAGG will also scan the FBI NCIC database, eBay, Craigslist and other online sources,” Douglas says. “If the item matches SNAGG’s records, a report will go out to local police, directing them to scan the SNAGG ID using one of 400,000 standard pet scanners available nationwide.” If the day ever comes when you sell your cue, as a registered SNAGG customer, you can update your contact information and/or transfer ownership on the SNAGG website as often as you like and at no charge.This process guarantees the asset’s “chain of ownership” and is invaluable when authenticating rare objects or objects that have acquired special value because they were once owned by a top player. Plus, the cost of registering and all the benefits of the SNAGG theft prevention and recovery service is covered in the price of purchase and installation of the SNAGG RFID microchip for the life of the purchaser including anyone purchasing the asset in the future. Remember, it only takes a split second for a cue to vanish, especially with the hustle and bustle of league play, tournaments or just an evening at the local tavern or pool hall. In the event that a cue ever comes up missing, no matter where you are or what you are doing, with SNAGG microchip installed, you have a much better chance of recovering your cue.
e m
g O n i t h RY
so FOR
E V E
! E N
er. y ing d E n p n G egi m an shop ariet nd . A T RI ct b roo ous s a v es, a om
HEe perrf gameconscei offer e tabal me ro e
Th you get Lin gam ou g , e to bud itag bles art y r t the e He rd ta to s a s i h T bill orie of cess ac
est r a r y s the ighl serie y f e o h ne d is inum ls. Th e o n t c is ia m rust a e Pla ater egan be M u UPlatin h’s c in th nd m gs, el t can uring rt. N I T tion, e eartducts hes a l thin oduc le ass k of a A PLdefinis in th e pro f finisautifuum prnd sty e wor o u By ent All th ess e be latin ste a A tr . P h m n . a t e ele able rich ing very ual t alik e y E d e lu va de th enjo ion. divi ill b n w t t i u ex abou istica our ucts y d h are sop ed to pro o d z an omi o tw n st cu that u yo
et er le, y oom ds ff r o b r d to dura ame Billia s an t are d e a d rou fted, nd g gacy tabl s th , an p a d e s a e l Y ards i ndcr ables ust Le gam e sty crafte e. C A Billi y, ha ard t an tr with nitur ully fetim G LEegacy-qualitle billi. You ce you m fur eautif st a li L gh ab re id roo , b o la hi ord nitu prov me ique ilt t aff fur to ga un bu
na ei l y is st ife line , l l s e, y ul a f egac ondo e liv s t an an L fts, c re w he, w Y who e Urb in lo - whe anac e C A yer e. Th aces tes - nd p dabl G E e bu pac e sp l sui h-e affor . L N for th ient s lti-us hoteits higs are umer A B d c u d h ct s UResigneact, effir the moms aenn witproduven con D mp t fo ro . Ev ign dri co rfec ence play Des luepe nfer and acy a va co rk, Leg for wo ban iced Ur d pr an
INTERNATIONAL BILLIARDS CELEBRATES 75 YEARS By Keith Loria Although no one can say for sure what Bill Morrison was thinking when he started a vending machine business in Houston on a hot summer day back in 1940, most who knew him believe that his plan was always for the business to continue in the family. Fast forward 75 years and Morrison would be very happy. His son Al purchased the business from him in 1971, changed the name to International Billiards, and four generations of the family have worked in the space over the years. 26 | BCA INSIDER • SPRING 2015
Alicia Morrison, Al’s wife, was a strong part of the family business as well as the billiard industry. She served as the company’s vice president, took care of the bookkeeping and managed the day-to-day activity of the company. She was also a strong supporter of the BBIA, BCA, BCA Juniors program and the Billiard Education Foundation. She was well known and well respected in the industry. She was on the board of the BCA when she was diagnosed with cancer.
Today, the store is run by Al’s daughter, Kimberly Morrison Heacock, and while some of her siblings and youngest son all worked the store in the past, she expects her oldest son, T.J., to continue the business after she one day decides to call it a career. “We have always felt like the best way to run a business is the way we should run our lives, by being fair and honest to everyone and not playing games with pricing,” Heacock says. “We know what the merchandise costs and we know what our expenses are so we price our stock accordingly. We have made customer service and satisfaction our primary foundation for doing business. International Billiards offers game room tables, furniture, and accessories from Legacy Billiards, Golden West, Bailey, Fusion and many others. Its tag line is “billiard and game room tables and accessories,” and that includes pool, shuffleboard, foosball, table tennis, air hockey, poker tables and all the supplies that go with them. “I would have to say our key to success is our personalities and wealth of knowledge. I know that ‘hard’ sales techniques are profitable and successful, but when we have so many people thank us for being nice, it’s hard to abandon who we are,” ABOVE—TJ, Kim & Al Heacock says. “In addition to years and years of experience, we try to keep as well informed on new technology as possible and share what we know. There is so much propaganda in our industry and so much trash on the Internet that it’s really important that we not make it worse by speaking untruths.” Although International Billiards is obviously known for its billiard supplies, take a walk through the store and you’ll find so much more. In fact, the store’s motto is, “If it’s hard to find, chances are we have it, and if we don’t, we can get it!”
the law by becoming private clubs, but still it wasn’t enough to sustain the billiard table manufacturing industry. By the late ’50s, machine operators—including Bill Morrison—started using a small 6-foot coin-operated table with smaller balls, but in 1961, the law changed in Texas allowing pool halls to once again operate with the 9-foot tables and bars to utilize 7- and 8-foot tables. “This left my grandfather and father with approximately 300 6-foot Valley, Fisher and Irving Kaye tables in the warehouse,” Heacock says. “He and my father put an ad in the newspaper and sold them for $150 each after painting and recovering them. When they quickly sold out, they realized that there was a huge market for home tables. They were ordering one to two containers of pool tables at a time and selling them locally as well as in adjacent states.” The MOA (Machine Operators of America) acknowledged the elder Morrison as a pioneer in the industry and awarded him a plaque for his efforts. Because of the success of the table sales, the company started acquiring large orders of other billiard supplies and expanded into the supply and distribution arena. Through Al Morrison’s friendships with industry giants such as Fred Mali, Charles Bailey, Irv Nemecek and others, he began importing directly from Taiwan and Belgium. During the ’70s and early ’80s, International Billiards was one of the larger supply distributors in the country. However, the oil crisis all but killed the distribution side of the business.
A HISTORY LESSON
“Our pool table business was still strong so when I married a man who was a gifted woodworker, we began to manufacture pool tables. We had a very nice line of production tables as well as built numerous custom tables,” Heacock says. “A few of my favorites were one that doubled as a display cabinet for a customer’s wild game trophies, another that had tenor saxophones for legs and music scores carved into the frame, and another with oil derricks for legs which was stained white with a blue wash purchased by the owner of the Houston Oilers.”
If you go back all the way to prohibition, large pool tables in bars and pool halls were illegal so some clubs would circumvent
Through it all, the store stayed conscientious about keeping the quality high and the price low.
“In addition to pool tables we also carry every game room activity and supply that you can think of,” Heacock says. “We also carry game room furnishings that will offer you and your family years of enjoyment.”
BCAINSIDER.COM | 27
“When my mother got sick with cancer and eventually died in 1989, we decided to stop manufacturing and concentrate on what we felt was the easiest part of the business—one store, selling locally,” Heacock says. “During times of economic growth since then we were up to four locations. However, today we are back to one store and much less stress.”
MAKING CHANGES While keeping track of the inventory alerts Heacock to what sells best and least, she also credits her “very competent employees” with keeping the store constantly filled with the products customers need and desire. “Our employees not only know the product, but also love and listen to the people who play and purchase from us,” she says. “Most of the new purchases come from recommendations from them. Luckily, we have a pretty high product turnover rate. That doesn’t mean that I don’t ever get stuck with something. For those items, I am fine with taking a loss to sell it. Floor space is more important than making a buck on something I’ve had for over a year.” Heacock knows that while it’s important to stay up to date on the latest equipment and accessories, it’s also savvy management to keep the store looking fresh. Her dad even jokes that every time business gets slow, they remodel the inside of showroom space. “Right now, it’s about as perfect as it’s ever been—considering the restraints that being in a building originally built in the late ’30s limits us to,” she says. “The neighborhood that we are in has seen tremendous growth in the last five to 10 years so we are considering an outside facelift. We are being surrounded by condos and upscale strip centers so we no longer stand out like we used to.”
MARKETING MEASURES With International Billiards being a family business, Heacock never spent a lot of money on traditional media like newspapers, billboards or radio, relying instead on positive word-of-mouth and referrals. “We would try different things for short periods of time, but never had the money or the drive to use it effectively. I know that we had our first website in the late ’90s, but I am just now beginning to actively participate in social media sites like Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Houzz,” she says. “People trust us because we have a great reputation and people know that we are knowledgeable from the information on our website.” LEFT & OPPOSITE—Photos from the International Billiards showroom floor. 28 | BCA INSIDER • SPRING 2015
IB’S GUARANTEE At International Billiards, Heacock says, customers will always get fair pricing on quality products. Most of its tables use 3-piece, 1-inch oversize slate and are built to the highest specifications of the Billiard Congress of America. Currently, its in-stock pool tables range from $1,699 to $7,995 and include accessories (delivery, installation, mileage and stairs extra, special order tables also are available). Although she jokes that she’s been involved in the family business since birth, Heacock’s earliest memories of working in the store was as a child, packaging swag kits for 5 cents each. She’s grown up in the billiards industry and wouldn’t have it any other way. “As an adult I’ve seen the highs and lows of this industry. When The Color Of Money was released I saw it change from a ‘family-based industry’ to an ‘every Tom, Dick and Harry
with a dime and an idea industry,’” she says. “I’ve also seen the demise and ultimate disappearance of the majority of those Toms, Dicks and Harrys. But guess what? The majority of the families are still here…and I love that. I think it is because we all love this industry. Certainly none of us ‘old timers’ are getting rich, but we keep hanging on and riding the waves of the highs and lows.” When asked about her best memories through the years, Heacock’s mind quickly turns to the people she has met along the way. “I was very young when I went to my first NSGA convention. I childishly thought that Paul Huebler was Santa Claus and Philippe Janssens was my uncle,” she says. “I still trade emails and gifts from Gilbert Van Renterghem even though we have not imported the Aramith balls in ages. I did then and still do think of so many of the industry people I grew up with as my brothers... a few sisters, but mostly brothers.”
BCAINSIDER.COM | 29
THE 4-1-1 OF THE PBIA’S INSTRUCTOR PROGRAM By Joe Dyton The Professional Billiard Instructors Association (PBIA) is making the game of pool more accessible and easier to learn, one retail store and customer at a time. The PBIA, which was formerly known as the Billiard Con-gress of America (BCA) Instructor Program, was created in 1992. The program is still part of the BCA, but it recently decided to rebrand its organization to better carry out its mission, which is to provide quality billiard instruction to individuals at all levels of proficiency. The PBIA also offers training and certification programs for qualified billiard instructors. As the largest international organization of profession billiard instructors, the PBIA has worked to grow cue sports through professional instruction, guidance in the development of training products, contributing instructional articles to industry publications, taking part in educational workshops for pool room operators and instructors and even officiating matches. To become a PBIA, candidates go through a three-day training course with a master or advanced instructor. This course gives them the basic introduction on how to teach others the game. The program is certified and follows a curriculum that teaches the basics of how to give a lesson and work with a player. To move up through the program, instructors must meet certain requirements such as putting in a certain number of teaching hours, writing articles and teaching by video. As instructors meet these requirements, they can move up through the ranks. “It’s a good program,” BCA chief executive officer Rob Johnson says. “We are confident that as the instructors move up through the program, they have met the criteria to become better instructors and are more proficient and they can teach at a higher level and teach better players.”
ABOVE—Randy Goettlicher, PBIA Master Instructor, offers his expert advice. 30 | BCA INSIDER • SPRING 2015
While the PBIA’s mission is to provide billiards instruction to players of all levels, its instructors also help another group of people with an interest in the game: billiard retail store
owners. More and more stores are using PBIA instructors in stores to provide insight, answer questions, give lessons, get people excited about the game and hopefully increase the store’s sales. “Pool is a game that needs discipline, it needs practice, there’s geometry and math involved,” Johnson says. “It’s not a simple game to play; picking up a pool cue and banging around the balls is not going to make you a better player. “But, by taking a lesson and having someone work with you, and teach you the better way to play the game, what that leads to is more enjoyment of the game. Our mission is to enhance the success of our members, but it’s also to promote the game of billiards. It’s a two-fold mission, advance the success of our members and promote the game. I think the instructor program accomplishes both of those because the player that plays and enjoys the game better will become a better customer. They will buy more product at the retail store, they’ll go to the pool room more often, they will play in leagues and have more success.” An in-store instructor also adds one more selling point a store’s sales team can use when showing a customer a table. Sales professionals not only can provide details on what a great table they are showing, they also can mention that the store offers lessons taught by a resident pro. For example, Jacksonville, Fla., retailer Billiard Factory works with pro Scott Rohleder, a Billiard University affiliate instructor and certified instructor of the “SEE Aiming System.” Rohleder
32 | BCA INSIDER • SPRING 2015
gives lessons, and Billiard Factory often sees its customers purchase the products he gives instruction with. “By having access to our ‘house pro’ the sales staff has an added perceived benefit while working with potential new pool table clients, by being able to suggest bringing the family to one of our monthly free clinics, or perhaps scheduling lessons for those in the family that might not even know the basics,” said Erik Decious, managing partner at Billiard Factory. “We find that when a client realizes we are still invested in their experience long after the sale is complete, they stay invested in us for future needs.” When it comes to driving sales, the presence of a PBIA instructor in a store can help in a number of ways. For starters, instructors provide credible backup to what the salesperson is telling a customer.What better source for information on pool equipment than someone who plays or teaches professionally? Instructors can give insights and reassure customers about the cue, tables or balls they are buying. Kathy Vegh Hughes, president/CEO of Danny Vegh’s Home Entertainment , Mayfield Heights, Ohio, is another big proponent of using instructors, and holds a monthly event at its Milwaukee, Wis., and three Ohio locations. “My father implemented that many years ago and it’s something that I have kept on in my almost 14 years here. It’s been super beneficial to have that,” she says. “We do a two-hour lesson that is catered to the actual attendees that day, so it’s not always going to be just the basics of ‘how do I
hold a cue?’ If there aren’t beginners or children around, the instructor will make the conversation a little more advanced.” The instructors use only the products sold at the store, and that leads to an increase in sales. “I would say 40-60 percent of attendees leave with some sort of accessory at the end of each lesson,” Hughes says. “It’s been super beneficial to have that.” Instructors can also help increase the amount of foot traffic a retailer sees by offering lessons. A lot of times customers receiving lessons might get encouraged to buy one of the new cues they see displayed in the store. They also can play a big part in helping families make the big pool table purchase. “Instructors get people excited about the game,” PBIA Master Instructor Tom Simpson says. “They have them become players; lots of times they have realized there are higher levels of the game. “The biggest thing I think for the retailers is that having an instructor helps the family make a purchase because typically, the guy is the pool player and the wife doesn’t know if she wants to play or not and the kids, they’re just kids. If you offer a good starter lesson for the family, it will help them realize they’re OK spending this big pile of money—we’ll all be able to play and have fun.” The one-time sale is great for retailers, but it’s even better if customers keep coming back for repeat business. PBIA instructors can offer a helping hand there, too. One of those ways is to promote their lessons, design new lesson plans, schemes and materials to make the student successful. “Having someone available to give lessons makes us an authority in our sport,” Decious says. “Anyone can sell tables or accessories, but not everyone is invested. We are invested and knowledgeable in ways that our competition isn’t—and our clients know it. Over time, that evolves into trust and loyalty, which begets sales. Even if not everyone on our sales staff is a player, they know they have access to someone who is, and who will gladly answer a question or demonstrate a shot or stance.” Simpson says that when he taught at a retail store in Columbus, Ohio, he’d offer a free one-hour lesson to anyone who bought something from the store, whether it was a table or cue or something smaller. He says that not only encourages customers to make purchases, it educates them on how to play and gives instructors a chance to offer private or smaller group lessons. Another route instructors may take to assist retailers is to educate the store’s staff itself. PBIA Master Instructor Randy
Goettlicher works with the staff at Dallas-based retailer Universal Billiards for an hour, once a month, before the store opens. He educates them on terminology, the good and the bad of what he sees other billiard retailers doing and how an instructor teaches pool. “What I do and continue to do is educate them,” Goettlicher says. “When the customer walks into the door, they want to be able to communicate in a billiard talk with the customer. I’m not going to teach them to play pool, I’m going to teach them to talk like a pool player.” Goettlicher also makes home visits to customers who’ve purchased a table and will give an hour lesson to teach families how to shape the tip of the cue sticks and how to hold and make sure they understand the rules. He’s also encouraged Universal Billiards to shape customers’ cue tips, chalk them properly and take down some of the varnish with every sale since oftentimes cue sticks aren’t game ready right out of the box. “My hope as an instructor is they’ll hire me back on one of my packages, a couple of hours a month, or whatever, and teach them how to play a little bit,” he says. “That’s how I operate. With my home market, hopefully I’ll do a good enough job in giving them information on how to play and what this cue is for and the break cues or whatever they purchased and I’m going to back up that retailer immediately on everything they purchased." Goettlicher teaches store staff and customers the game of pool, and is happy to put on a show with a particular retailer’s cue or table to help drive that product’s sales, and says one of his favorite parts of the job is when a student “gets it.” And that’s what the PBIA is all about. Helping people get proficient at, but more importantly, helping them get excited about the game of pool. “We don’t want a pool table to be used as a folding table for laundry,” Johnson says. “We want it to be played on. Taking lessons and learning how to play the game properly, they’ll like the game more, they will be more successful at the game and they’ll be a better customer — lifelong.” BCAINSIDER.COM | 33
BUILT BY PLAYERS 4 PLAYERS
Valley Dynamo Companies
See more products from all of the Valley Dynamo Companies at builtbyplayers4players.com
7115 Belton Street, Richland Hills, TX 76118 | 817.284.3931
IMPROVING STAGNATING SALES By Lynn Switanowski You have the best billiard products, your sales associates are the best at customer service and you have customers who rave about your business when they shop in your store—but your sales are stagnating—and you don’t know why. If this sounds like a familiar scenario in your billiards store you may not be alone, however the difference between success and failure for your business is how you deal with the situation. The best billiard retailers know they can’t wait until the downturn to fix their problems. The key is to turn the tide of stagnating sales into long-term growth by adding some new programs, products or even promotions to your sales and marketing plans at the first sign of a potential slowdown.You can start that process today by implementing some (or all) of these sales growth ideas in your store.
CREATE SALES AND MARKETING PROGRAMS THAT FOCUS ON BOOMERS AND MILLENNIALS Boomers who are in their 60s and 70s have money to spend and are willing to buy billiard (and other entertainment) products, from retailers like you, that will enhance and improve their own lives. Selling products and offering services that make relaxation and entertainment time much more fun for these Boomers can be a great way to turn the tide of stagnating sales. Focus should also be given to creating marketing programs that are informational, educational and engaging to Boomers to create long-term customer loyalty. At the other end of the demographic spectrum, focusing on Gen Y customers and offering unique products can create an equally exciting sales opportunity. Gen Y consumers are delaying getting married and having kids so this creates a unique sales opportunity for your billiards store to sell highend products and offer high-end services that your other 36 | BCA INSIDER • SPRING 2015
customers might not necessarily want.You should determine if this customer opportunity exists in your store and shop for products that will meet their needs. You can also increase sales and create loyalty to Gen Y customers by investing in mobile marketing programs, engaging on social media with them and by using enhanced in-store technology to show these customers that your store uses and appreciates technology as a resource, just like they do.
USE SOCIAL MEDIA AS SHOPPING AND MARKETING PLATFORMS Increasingly, the best retailers in the market today use social media on a daily basis to market their products, sell their products, talk to customers, and make merchandising decisions. If your store is not engaged daily with social media in these ways and if your sales are stagnating, now might be the perfect time to add selling to the list of things that your social media sites can do for your business. You can now sell directly to customers from your Facebook or Twitter page “buy” buttons, or you can use other selling platforms to link and make sales from your social media pages. By offering selling via your social media sites, your customers will appreciate your recognition that their time is important. They will also value the opportunity to shop in the most convenient manner for them. Don’t forget to make sure that your social media selling experience provides the same values and levels of service that your customers would get by walking in the front door. For many of your customers today, shopping in the most convenient manner has changed. Retailers who adapt to these changes quickly—and positively—will have the greatest sales opportunities in 2015.
MERCHANDISE YOUR STORE TO ENHANCE AND IMPROVE THE EASE OF THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE How you design the visual appearance of your store and how it relates to what your customers want to “experience” is of chief importance when they walk in the front door. How you set up tables, accessories and other products in your store, along with the shopping environment you create, will go a long way toward making your customers relate to what you are selling. Do you utilize different room set-ups based on the atmosphere you’re trying to create? Do you use different materials for each of these rooms to give customers the feel of what they can create in their homes? How often do you change the displays based on interior design trends? If you have windows in your store, make sure to use the same type of engaging set-up for those as well. Windows can go a long way toward improving sales and getting your customers to spend more time—and money in your store. Don’t forget to add displays that cross-sell several categories of products based on how your customers would “use” them. And make sure whenever possible to add technology to your displays—QR codes, video displays for product education and customer entertainment or having hand-held tablet technology available for sales associates to use on the selling floor can also enhance the customer experience and will lead to increased sales in your store. To improve your stagnating sales, you must create programs that improve the customer experience. Focus on the ways that your store can connect with customers and deliver value in 2015. Keep an open mind to new ways of producing customer value that you may not have ever used or implemented before. This will not only turn the tide of stagnating sales but will make your store an engaging and exciting place to shop for years to come.
2015 BILLIARD HOME & LEISURE SEMINAR SPEAKER
LYNN SWITANOWSKI Lynn Switanowski is the founder of Creative Business Consulting Group based in Boston, MA. She has worked as a consultant to the retail industry for more 29 years and speaks regularly at home, gift, and retail industry shows and writes frequently about business improvement and marketing programs to help billiards retailers improve their performance. Come see Lynn present a seminar on social media during the BCA Expo.
THE RETAILERS SPEAK Each month BCA Insider will pose a question to BCA members to get their insights on trends and issues affecting the industry.
Q
WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER YOUR TOP PIECE OF ADVICE FOR SUCCESSFUL SALES AND WHAT’S AN OUT-OF-THE-BOX WAY YOU HAVE FOUND SUCCESS?
A DON KUCERA
A CIARRA MCINTIRE
“For successful sales, we treat our customers like we would want to be treated, to be open and honest with them and educate them as needed. We have become good friends with many of our customers. We have found success with American-made products. More and more consumers care about where their goods are coming from.”
“Successful sales are a product of a relationship. Our sales staff establishes rapport with potential buyers by fostering genuine, warm and friendly conversations from the moment the customer enters our stores.”
Owner, Cedar Rapids Billiards, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
A
MICHAEL SMALL
Partner, Seasonal Specialty Stores, Foxboro and Natick Mass.
“Always ask questions of the customer before making any statements. Listen to the answers and then react accordingly as to what you pitch. For example: ‘What room in your house is this going in?’ ‘What rooms in the house have visibility to this room?’ ‘What type of furniture style do you prefer?’ We always try and point out the $5,000 pool tables and explain the differences between them and a $2,000 pool table. Competitors start by showing the $2,000 tables and as a result never quite make it to the $5,000 models. It matters, and if you make that shift, you will notice your average ticket will increase.”
A DAVID PIHA
Owner, Greater Southern Home Recreation, Atlanta, Ga.
“We rely on search engine optimization and social media for helping us get the word out about the store so more people will come in and sales will increase. We use Facebook and Twitter, and our agency spends a lot of time on Google Ad Words, so if you go to our website and look at something, it will leave a cookie on your computer and ‘follow you around.’ We find most people that come in found us after a Google search.”
A
DEBORAH J. CORVEY
President, Boynton Billiards, Inc., Boynton Beach, Fla.
“Display quality merchandise; low prices are not the driving factor to customer purchases.” 38 | BCA INSIDER • SPRING 2015
Operations Coordinator, Universal Billiards, Inc., Dallas Texas.
A ANDY BERESFORD
President, Home Leisure Direct, Bristol, U.K.
“Ask the right questions of the customer to understand what they think they would like to buy, then really listen to their response, write down what they say and ask lots of questions to ensure you really have understood all their requirements and any concerns. Then match your offering to what they have told you. You may need to bend and flex your product or service, but it’s this flexibility which will win you the business. As for an out-of-the-box tactic, we’ve added a game-room design package to our website.This helps customers plan the amount of space they need and how they want to lay everything out. Customers love it, and some have planned their whole houses on it. We get access to their plans and their captured email addresses, so we can follow up with offers and any help needed.”
A MARK BARON
Owner, Labaron’s Billiards and Game Room Supply, Sterling Heights, Mich. “I think we do well because of repeat business, so the trick is just treating your customers right. We get to know our customers and they are our best form of advertising.” If you’d like to be part of next issue’s The Retailer Speaks survey, please send a reply to the following question to billiardskeith@gmail.com by June 1.
Q
HOW DO YOU USE TECHNOLOGY TO HELP GROW YOUR RETAIL BUSINESS?