40,000 women with Lexan^® Spheres of Death are headed this way.


[Janeane Garofalo as The Bowler in Mystery Men - 1999]


They're coming! With crazy shirts! Outrageous shoes! And money to burn!

The Women's International Bowling Congress, that is. Now, how do we get them to think about coming back before they've even left?

Simple: Say "Thank you!" first, then say "Please?" Michele over at Wonderbranding explains how common sense and people-friendliness in deed, not just in brochure copy, makes a difference:

These ladies should have no problem finding their way around. The city of Wichita has created nearly 100 new blue traffic signs with letters and arrows that may seem foreign to Wichita residents, but are crystal clear to members of the WIBC. "Forty frames" refers to the forty-frame tournament at one bowling alley. Signs reading "D/S" are directing bowlers to where they compete in doubles and singles. The "WIBC" signs direct teams to another competition.

Wichita's Marketing Director Jessica Johnson explains the reason for the signage:

"That signage is part of rolling out the welcome mat and making sure everybody knows where they are going, and hopefully so we can relive this so they will remember how great they were treated here in Wichita, and they will want to come back."

A nice backward marketing plan - say thank you first, then say please.... as in please return very soon.

Cost of the signage? About $10,000. Estimated boost to Wichita's economy? About $40 million. A small investment with big returns.

Yeah!

I take it to read that those are REAL, regulation blue DOT amenity signs a la "Hospital" or "Crunchy Frog Museum -->" placed unselfconsciously alongside the everyday "I-70" And "No turn on Red" variety around Wichita.

How perfect. We all say "Come on down, we'll treat you like family." But how many times have you taken someone up on it and found they'd actually added a spare bedroom for you? Same thing here. Permanence says: You matter.

Bowling Bodiceas caps off an excellent series of posts on intuition by Michele. My left brain salutes her. My right brain is still coveting Garofalo's neato-torpedo bowling ball above.