The Tenpin experience: striking a 10/10 strategy

Achieving that family focus has required a major rejig of the traditional approach. Historically, for example, league bowlers tended to bowl at peak times – so it was necessary to open the door to a more family-friendly business model. “We moved leagues to other nights of the week that were less busy, opening up time slots for families,” explains Graham.

This also helped address the challenge of ‘everyday customers’ being put off or intimidated by the presence of league players while they were just trying to have some fun. By 2010, the atmosphere of the lanes had completely changed - bowling centres were now somewhere people wanted to go when they went out with family and friends across all generations.

“We also started looking at lighting and sound systems to create more ambience that would encourage people to stay for longer,” continues Graham. Introducing packages that included refreshments with an activity also increased dwell time. Currently, 50% of Tenpin’s food sales are attached to bowling.

Tenpin also looked at product offering by location in order to maximise spending and better tailor the experience to customers. “In Cornwall, we sell cider; in Scotland, we sell Irn-Bru. We’ve listened to what customers want,” he explains.

The nature of Tenpin’s inclusive and immersive model means it can redecorate its centres to fit customers’ evolving tastes, too. “Our experience has shown us that when trends shift, we don’t need to rebuild the walls, we simply need to repurpose the space we’ve created.”

In 2020, Tenpin closed its doors during lockdown and, amid an uncertain future, the team used the time to invest further in its products and people. The team renegotiated tenancies with landlords and negotiated electricity tariffs to save money, allowing them to focus on other areas of the business such as market research, data analytics and digital marketing improvements. Preventing employee redundancy was also paramount: “no one was let go,” explains Graham.

Tenpin also invested by refurbishing and even opening a brand-new site at Printworks in Manchester. Sites also implemented Covid-safety precautions to make sure customers felt safe, including guarding between lanes and cleansing stations.

More recently Tenpin also launched incentives for their staff to boost the quality of service and retain their team members, including discounts, a new uniform and bonuses.

All these efforts proved successful. “What we didn’t see coming was that, because we had listened, customers were happy to come back.” Even with 50% less lane capacity, Tenpin generated as much revenue as before, while like-for-like sales growth was over 50% better than in 2019.

Tenpin has also adapted to changing customer profiles. Commuting in and out of cities every day is no longer commonplace, with many people working remotely or hybrid. “We tapped into these consumers who gained back hours of travel time and who, after working in their home office all day, wanted to get out and have some fun,” says Graham. While competitors increased prices to offset the cost pressure from people eating and drinking at home more, Tenpin resisted and instead focused on generating profits from its wide-ranging activities.

Tenpin has also started to unlock insights: before the pandemic 70% of customers were walk-ins whereas now 70% pre-book online. “That helped us with ordering stock, predicting footfall and targeting customers – by capturing and using data through our new CRM,” explains Graham.

Research from our insights, ‘All to play for: winning with experience’ suggests that there’s been a 67% increase in customers celebrating special occasions, which resonates with Graham, who explains: “Birthday parties are popular at Tenpin because we know the importance of making these special and our range of activities offers a crossover for different demographics.”