With the Roller Skating Association’s Skate Con 2018 in the books, we thought it was important to point out that there was a lot of talk on how to stand out among competing rinks. The desire to be the best was obvious; and it makes complete sense. Everyone wants to be top dog, but actually becoming the best is hard work. We spoke with a lot of roller rink owners at the conference about what they thought helped make their center stand out amongst the rest, or why others were beating their’s out, and these were some of the top answers:
Stay modern. Don’t only maintain your equipment, but update it as well. Not only does nobody like to go to rinks where things are always broken, but in today’s modern age customers want way more than working skates. Now a customer will choose one rink over another because of better tech: sound systems, lighting systems, screens, etc.
Cleanliness matters. Hire a good facilities team. Need we say more?
Focus on more than birthday parties. School fundraisers and corporate events can be just as lucrative as birthday parties. When strategizing how to book more birthdays, also strategize how to attract more of these.
Roller skating isn’t just for kids and families. Cater to all ages and demographics by adding a bar, extending hours to add late-night skates, and offering date night bundles.
Take advantage of seasons and holidays. Summer break is an obvious time to increase marketing efforts to drive traffic to your rink, but what about all the other seasons? It is important to identify what holidays you can capitalize on in the off-season to keep your rink rolling. Valentine’s day is a great holiday to start with – roller skating is a perfect date night!
Encourage longer visits. Instead of only offering a rink, you can extend the time people stay at your center as well as the amount of money they spend, by adding things like food, arcade games, picture booths and free wifi. (And on the topic of wifi, this is a great way to attract parents and caretakers. Their kids stay busy on the rink and they can get some work done).
Offer competitive pricing and specials. Everyone wants to save money, so even a few dollars difference between you and your closest competitor can make the difference. And don’t panic – we aren’t saying you should always be dropping your prices, instead an easy way to beat out competitors in the pricing game is with special offers and bundles. For example, maybe offer a 5 for the price of 4 deal, or a free soda with an entree and kids skate.
Capture your customer data. Names, emails, birthdays – these are all things that go undervalued by a lot of rink owners, when in reality they are as good as gold. An accurate database of current customers allows for easy marketing and sales efforts, like birthday party offers.
Use FetchRev. Okay so this may be a suggestion of our own, but it’s a good one (we’re not biased, you are). With our marketing automation solution all you have to do is enter your email list and watch the revenue stream in. To learn how, click here.
