Why Your FEC/BEC Needs Jumbo Tennis Balls

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The Data Speaks: Jumbo Tennis Balls (item number 311607) are a must-have prize for any Family Entertainment or Bowling Entertainment Center

In 2017 we’re building a database of Top Performing Prizes to help our customers win at redemption. And no, we’re not talking trends, predictions or what we think is “cool.”

We’re talking real data with real insights.

If we know one thing best at Redemption Plus, it’s that your redemption program plays a critical role in creating unforgettable guest experiences. It’s the first and last place your guest could visit, meaning it drives incentives during their entire visit to your business.

Your guest’s perception of your Prize Value Mix — the right variety of prizes at different ticket ranges — and your Quality of Prizes affects how many games they play, average payouts, redemption rates, and yes…your bottom line.

By including these Top Performing Prizes — which we’re announcing every month — in your prize (value) mix will not only take your guest’s experience to the next level but your business.

Last month we talked about how every FEC & BEC needs Neon Apees. This month, let’s talk our third Top Performing Prize: Jumbo Tennis Balls (311607).

Jumbo Tennis Balls are a favorite in the Trader Redemption Range. We asked our customers who are selling these like crazy for tips & tricks to making Jumbo Tennis Balls a winning prize for their redemption program. Here’s what we’ll review:

1. The Prize Performance Benchmark
2. Top Tips & Tricks from our Customers
3. Why else do Jumbo Tennis Balls sell so well?
4. Who do Jumbo Tennis Balls sell best to?
5. How do I merchandise Jumbo Tennis Balls in the best way possible?
6. What Quantity should I start stocking/ordering if I’m not ordering Jumbo Tennis Balls now?

#1 | The Prize Performance Benchmark

Top performing FECs that offer Jumbo Tennis Balls to their guests order and sell — on average — 23 Jumbo Tennis Balls per month.

At our standard ticket value of 450 tickets per Jumbo Tennis Ball, that’s approximately 10,350 tickets a month — or — 124,200 tickets a year. Given that we generally we see FEC & BECs payout 25 tickets to a dollar, we can then easily calculate the revenue potential of Jumbo Tennis Balls.

To calculate the potential revenue gain from this product, we use a simple calculation:

[Tickets Earned per month or year] ➗ [Tickets paid-out per dollar]. Using the numbers above, it would look like this:

Revenue per month: [10,350 Tickets] ➗ [25 Tickets per Dollar] = $414/month

Revenue per year: [124,200 Tickets] ➗ [25 Tickets per Dollar] = $4,968/year

NOTE #1: The numbers and calculations above are made utilizing Redemption Plus’ standard ticket, price and payout values. The exact numbers vary business to business in actuality.

If you’re not currently ordering Jumbo Tennis Balls and have a prize in a similar ticket range that isn’t performing as well, we recommend you make a swap. If you have questions about how or why you should do this, give one of our Value Architects a call or email our SMILE Support Team at smileteam@redemptionplus.com. They’re all about Jumbo Tennis Balls this month.

NOTE #2: If you’re currently ordering Jumbo Tennis Balls but your guests are redeeming less than 23/month, we’ll be releasing tips and tricks the next 4 weeks (as well as in this post) on how you can reach the benchmark and start seeing more $$$.

#2 | Top Tips & Tricks from our Customers

On occasion, we see a few of our customers selling products like Jumbo Tennis Balls far above the Prize Performance Benchmark (23 Jumbo Tennis Balls/month in this case). When we see this kind of performance, we know there’s something we’re missing — sometimes the customer knows best! Here are some top tips and tricks from customers who bouncing away tons of Jumbo Tennis Balls:

• “We believe our Jumbo Tennis Balls do so well because we merchandise them in a large dump bin. This allows our customers to take the items for a ‘test run’ before redeeming them as a prize.” — GameWorks Ontario
• “We display our Jumbo Tennis Balls blown up in a display case. Our staff members blow up each ball once the customer decides on a color.” Our inference is this provides an added experience element, potentially increasing the anticipation of winning this specific prize. The act of blowing up each one individually might also entice other shoppers to redeem the same thing. — The Hub FEC
• “The bright colors as well as employees playing with and demonstrating how high the Jumbo Tennis Balls bounce is what attracts our guests to them. Also, we have them merchandised right in the line of sight for most customers.” — Lauren with Hey Day Family Fun

#3 | Why else do Jumbo Tennis Balls sell so well?

We also look to Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) beyond the prize’s Performance Benchmark to understand why a prize does so well. Here are some of the KPIs for Jumbo Tennis Balls:

• Jumbo Tennis Balls are an eye-catching item. They can easily be seen and kids love to bounce them around the redemption area.
• Children love over-sized items.
• Jumbo Tennis Balls are colorful and are a great way to add pop and energy to a redemption display.

#4 | Who do Jumbo Tennis Balls sell best to?

Although Jumbo Tennis Balls can appeal to all ages and genders, we do see a particular target audience that just can’t get enough of these over-sized tennis balls:

The Trader Player:

• Spends roughly 250–1,250 tickets
• Will “trade up” and play longer for select prizes rather than settle
• Plans to win a particular prize before gaming

If you have any other questions about Trader Players or their favorite Redemption Range, give one of our Value Architects a call, or visit PlayerTypes.com to learn about our evolving Player Type System.

#5 | How do I merchandise Jumbo Tennis Balls in the best way possible?

The first thing we think about when merchandising: Story. What story is your redemption area telling your guests? What story will they be a part of? We’ll be writing more about this subject later in the month, so stay tuned (you can sign-up for emails below).

Here are some basic tips & tricks for merchandising your Jumbo Tennis Balls:

1. Placing on ball holders directly to slat wall/grid wall: Doing it this way is the cleanest way to display Jumbo Tennis Balls. You can separate merchandise sections by placing a vertical line of the tennis balls in between sections. You can also break up horizontal sections of your wall as seen in the image below.
2. Dump Bins: This is the easiest, yet least attractive, way to display these items, but they do offer the ease of shopping for your end user if you have a redemption room as opposed to a counter.
3. Get creative: If you have the ability to use other items in your display to hold the tennis balls, that’s a great strategy as well. This might convince players to trade up for a larger prize as well — for example, placing the Jumbo Tennis Balls in a wagon.

#6 | What quantity should I start stocking/ordering if I’m not ordering Jumbo Tennis Balls now?

This is heavily dependent on your type of entertainment center, the size of your redemption area, number of games…you get the picture. Our initial recommendation is to start at the Performance Benchmark mentioned earlier in the post — 23 Jumbo Tennis Balls per month — and iterate from there depending on the specifics of your business. We suggest merchandising all four colors in your program. You can buy our Jumbo Tennis Balls by the each, or in a case of 48.

If you’d like to start ordering Jumbo Tennis Balls today, give one of our Value Architects a call, or email us at smile@redemptionplus.com. We’ll be happy to help you get started.

Or, if you want to start winning with Jumbo Tennis Balls right now, you can do so by clicking on the button below to order:

Jumbo Tennis Balls Product Details

• SKU: 311607
• Categories on SMILE: Trader, Basket Items, Monster, Outdoor Fun, Outdoors, Self Display, Sports, and Sports Balls, Game On Storyboard
• Unit quantities: each, 48/case

Insights Empower is a collection of thoughts & insights to inspire, educate and connect the Family Entertainment & Bowling Center industry. From the team at Redemption Plus, est. 2017 🎉

Visit us at RedemptionPlus.com for more ways to #win.