CenterEdge Software Blog

Practical tips for setting meaningful goals for your FEC.

The holidays sure are busy, aren’t they? Navigating all the festivities and facility events along with your family obligations will no doubt require some major juggling, but hopefully you’ll be able to take some time to relax and enjoy it. With the new year approaching fast, it’s time to nail down those 2019 goals so you can hit the ground running in January. But setting and achieving goals are often easier said than done, so we’ve provided five tips to help you craft or refine your 2019 goals to turn them into a reality and keep you from failed resolutions.

Using the right language, frontline sales can grow per capita spending one conversation at a time.

Increasing per capita spending at the frontline is arguably the most important, but often overlooked, focus that can make an entertainment facility thrive. It’s that elusive unicorn that appears to be just out of reach. We see it. We want it. But how do we get it?

Tips to help teams be ready with the right language to present your offerings with confidence.

In family entertainment, I think we all aim to help our guests, both new and returning, experience our entertainment venues in the most meaningful ways possible. And of course, we hope that by doing so, we can build relationships, encourage them to become loyal and increase revenue. As your front-line sales team, admissions staff are your welcome committee, your information station and (should be) your sales ninjas. But often they see themselves as no more than order takers, letting guests tell them what they want, taking money and moving on. This kind of thinking doesn’t achieve goals. Only a well-trained, committed front-line team wows guests and earns more revenue. But it doesn’t happen by chance.

The benefits of offering classes at your facility and how to make the leap from the marketing to the technical.

I just finished a yoga teacher certification this summer, so imagine my surprise when I picked up the July issue of Funworld and saw the cover article was none other than Namaste! How Museums Are Attracting New Audiences with Creative Ways to Enhance Guests’ Well-Being. Talk about worlds colliding! I love their idea of using healthy-living classes to introduce new patrons to the art museum. 

The article inspired me. How can entertainment and amusement facilities also capitalize on this idea and create a meaningful—and lucrative—set of complementary and alternative activities during off-peak times?

Whether you've booked a waterpark, amusement park or FEC event, don’t let a budding relationship fail by missing out on these essential touchpoints.

The birthday party or event is booked and you’re well on your way to making memories with a whole new group of prospective guests. Take this opportunity to further lay the groundwork for a world-class guest experience. Your event sales staff might be busy, but that doesn’t mean you need to skimp on communication. Let your party software help you set and manage guests’ expectations from beginning to end, so you can focus on delivering wow-worthy events and turning one-time party guests into return customers.

The bigger your FEC gets, the harder it is to keep an eye on every location or department, much less every team member.

Consistency is a key element of a great guest experience. How can an owner, operator or general manager ensure everyone hits the mark every single time? Training and employee education are essential, but when it comes down to the day-to-day, it's not always easy to remember what was said in that workshop three months ago. Or what the key take-aways were from that long team training day.

Spend your management time on the right things by having all your inventory management in one easy-to-use place.

As a busy manager or operator there never seems to be enough time for you to get to all the small tasks that you need to do to make your business run smoother. There are always going to be guests to handle, fires to put out, and training to conduct. Your inventory management processes should make your life easier instead of giving you more headaches.

When it comes to expanding your client base, it’s all about who you know – and how you leverage those relationships.

Editor’s Note: Referrals continue to be a huge driver of FEC growth, so we’ve updated this popular classic for accuracy and comprehensiveness. Read on!

Boost your inbound bookings immediately with a few easy-to-implement tips.

Your party hosts and guest service staff have become true ambassadors of your facility and people love the idea of hosting an important birthday party (or event) with you. Your email marketing, social media and in-store marketing campaigns are working, and people are calling your business trying to book. The business is yours if you want it—but wait—are you losing the sale at the last moment by falling prey to these sneaky sales blunders? Read on for 7 common pitfalls and how to avoid them.

Let’s hit the ground running in 2018!

And just like that, it’s a new year! I don’t know about you, but I feel so excited about this year I can hardly contain myself. I think it’s because I am so focused on all the opportunity the new year can bring for us to achieve together.

It’s a time for planning, for changing the game, and for making commitments to ourselves and each other. Last week, we shared our CenterEdge partnership commitments, so thanks everyone for all the warm comments. Just like I’m sure you are, we’ve hit the ground running with some New Year’s Resolutions of our own. Here are just a few that we know will stick all through 2018.