FEC Playbook: Creating Successful Systems & Processes

As a FEC owner or operator, it's incredibly important to build an FEC playbook with documented systems and processes in place for every tool and technology you use to run your business. 

In this article, we'll explore why you should and how you can create a FEC playbook to ensure your business runs like a well-oiled machine!

To begin, you’ll want to make sure you read our guide, Building a Playbook for Your Family Entertainment Center. It will tell you everything you need to know about what a playbook is, how to build one, and how to use it.

Why is a Playbook Important?

If you’ve owned your business for a while, you likely have a binder, folder, or Word/PDF file with information about your products, services, preferred vendors, and so on. And while that’s a great place to start, it can easily be mismanaged or difficult to find certain information in a pinch.

You’ll need a tool that’s easy to use, accessible to all, and something that won’t break the bank. We recommend a solution called EditMe (we do not receive any compensation for recommending this tool–we use it ourselves and love it!).

Our first recommendation is to add a “Products, Services, & Solutions” section to your playbook. You might then choose to bucket them by type, say “Our Selling Technology Systems” or “Our Marketing Technology Solutions.” Or, you might just bucket all solutions under one umbrella. It’s completely up to you!

FEC Playbook: Your Products, Services, and Solutions

Now that you have a page where you’ll list all of your solutions in one place, the next thing to consider is whether you should keep that information on one page or break it out into sub-pages. 

If you choose to use the EditMe solution to build out your playbook as recommended in our playbook guide, it might look something like this:

Page Title: Our Products, Services, and Solutions

Page Text:

Sub-header: Our Business Management Systems

• Employee time clock: [add solution name & link to page about this solution]
• CRM: [add solution name & link to page about this solution]
• Email: [add solution name & link to page about this solution]
• Phone: [add solution name & link to page about this solution]
• Computers: [add solution name & link to page about this solution]
• Internet provider: [add solution name & link to page about this solution]

Sub-header: Our Sales Technology Systems

• Online party booking/in-house party booking: [add solution name & link to page about this solution]
• Online store: [add solution name & link to page about this solution]
• Sales reports: [add solution name & link to page about this solution]
• Point-of-Sale: [add solution name & link to page about this solution]
• Game card: [add solution name & link to page about this solution]

Sub-header: Our Marketing Technology Systems

• Online waivers: [add solution name & link to page about this solution]
• Social media scheduling: [add solution name & link to page about this solution]
• Email marketing: [add solution name & link to page about this solution]
• Google Ads: [add solution name & link to page about this solution]
• Marketing metrics: [add solution name & link to page about this solution]

In our own playbook, each of the examples above have their own dedicated page where we’ve documented information about the particular system or tool. This makes it extremely easy for anyone in the organization to find what they’re looking for. 

Be sure to list information like the vendor's name and any other aliases they might go by, a website with a link directly to their support page, phone numbers (including a direct support number), any point of contact that your team might need to know about and what their role is, plus any other information that would help a team member.

Think about it this way: if it was someone’s first day and the game card system went down and no one was available to help them figure it out, what information would they need to make that call and get a ticket started?

FEC Playbook: Using Your Systems

In addition to providing information about the vendors themselves, be sure to also give your employees the tools they need to use your systems properly.

Most technology solutions these days have help centers, video libraries, and other educational resources available. But, most folks don’t have the time to research this information, especially if they are in the middle of an active issue. 

Make it easy for your staff by including information about how to use each of the technology systems that you’re using at your facility.

Here are some examples:

• Using our email system - [insert name]
• Using our phone system - [insert name]
• Using our voicemail system - [insert name]
• Using our printers - [insert name]
• Using our CRM - [insert name]
• Using our Point-of-Sale - [insert name]
• Using our Online Booking system - [insert name]
• Etc.

You might also include sections where you’d lay down any ground rules for employees. For example, let’s say you have a section called “Using Facebook.” Include any rules for posting and monitoring your company’s Facebook page and any groups that your company might own. It’s always best to set standards and processes that your employees can then follow, such as how often to check your company’s Facebook messages, who is allowed to reply, and some sample text that employees can use to best represent your brand.

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Choosing The Right Products & Services For Your Business

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