Soft play suppliers, your reviews count!

When we started ShareAndComparePlay.com, it was an experiment to test if we could revolutionise an industry we care deeply about, by introducing the following philosophies:

1. Provide valuable and corroborated information, for Free
2. Introduce Transparency, improving standards and reducing costs
3. Facilitate collaboration to enable innovation in play (involving children, parents, play operators, soft play suppliers, designers and schools)

Since our launch in February, this “experiment” has evolved into a commercial organisation enabling growth in the play market and with the potential to support change in subsequent markets, such as weddings.

To introduce each of the above, we developed and rapidly tested several strategies, inviting all stakeholders to share what we have learned so that they may invest in the future and prosper.

In the last few days, Spi Play (where I was previously a shareholder and Director), one of the “traditional” soft play equipment suppliers took up our offer. What was scheduled to be a two hour meeting took four hours; we discussed the changes that our presence has caused and how the market may evolve, both a threat and opportunity for an organisation such as Spi.

As previously discussed, “radical transparency” is likely the most controversial and difficult of trends that are resulting from our launch. The value-added by each organisation is laid bare (add no value and you will be eliminated) and all strengths, weaknesses and actions will be exposed to the market.

The essence of transparency for me is that each business must imagine that each and every communication, installation and quotation were being exposed to a capacity-filled Wembley stadium; future customers being able to judge each action and make informed decisions.

In reality, no organisation is ever going to achieve 100% satisfaction all of the time, at least in part because a positive or negative experience is in the eye of the beholder. However, what is important is that organisations engage with reviewers, encourage customers and employees to participate in the play community, allowing all to learn and share their experience.

In the case of Spi Play, I was pleased that they have responded to a recent negative review by calling the customer (who re-visited our site to say he was much happier), accepting that they dropped the ball in that particular case and then committing their organisation to valuing each star rating.

It is in the latter point that the role of the reviewer has commercial impact. Our algorithm means that each star awarded has real value in terms of pounds. This is because that more people each week are visiting our site (thanks again) as they start an indoor play centre and the worse an organisations overall rating, the lower they appear in our listings and the less likely future play operators are to make contact.

In an “eco-system” such as ours, each participant has an important role to play; ours is to provide an independent platform for information exchange; the suppliers is to listen, engage and contribute; the (prospective) play operators is to share their experience and use the information in making decisions.

In terms of advice for play suppliers and others (the offer for a meeting is always open if you would like to personalise the information and share our experience), this is a (very brief) summary:

- Participate with the play community. Share experience and expertise using our play forum (please don’t just make it an advertisement for your business) and by commenting on blogs; if you have insightful views, please tell us and we will publish them or interview you for softplay.tv

- Encourage your customers and prospects to review your organisation. If you have no ratings, not only are you at the bottom of the charts, play entrepreneurs are assuming you have something to hide

- Look to innovate by forming partnerships so that you can share the costs of R&D (more about this in a future blog); no one organisation is profitable enough to invest in developing the play areas that children dream about and play operators will want to buy. Participating in our play design competition is an alternative and low-cost method of innovating, contact us to learn more

- Consider exposing your value chain to the free market for comparison. For example, if you manufacture play equipment, consider listing as a components supplier so that people starting a play area can choose which elements of your proposition they want to buy. Transparency enables working with "best of breed" in each supplier category (e.g. maintenance, design etc) , invest and compete in each category to provide customers with genuine choice and value

This is an exciting and potentially prosperous time for the play industry; we hope more organisations continue to embrace the potential of the three philosophies that started it all.

ShareAndComparePlay.com is the Indoor Play Supplier Comparison Website that Saves Play Operators £10,000s. The only source of independent reviews on every Supplier to the Play Industry, ShareAndComparePlay.com works to revolutionise the Play Experience for Children and to enable Businesses to profitably understand and meet the future needs of Families.

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Social Media Marketing & play...

How indoor play centres can use the Internet as a Marketing tool...

View more OpenOffice presentations from Shareandcompareplay.com .

An extremely busy but enjoyable week began with presentations to the Regional Meeting of the Play Providers Association http://www.playproviders.org.uk/ on the subject of Internet / Social Marketing.

It was an enjoyable and valuable experience with the majority of play operators being interested in how they can revolutionise their business by developing a Social Media strategy. In the spirit of the message we were spreading, we have shared a summary of the slides at Slideshare http://tinyurl.com/nd6lpa

We only had time to present a brief overview of the possibilities that are available to soft play centres but we hope that we prompted thought and action; please let us know your thoughts so that we can continue the discussion.

Shareandcompareplay.com is the Indoor Soft Play Comparison website.
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"Free Play" for Indoor Play; inspired by Scott, George and Charlie!

At http://www.shareandcompareplay.com, we continue to research how Indoor Play areas are designed.

Our hypothesis is that potentially significant opportunities are being missed by play suppliers and operators to provide the best possible play experience and to benefit commercially as a result.

One particular aspect of our research leads us to believe that there may not be enough “free play” within most indoor play areas. Watching our neighbour’s children playing during the weekend provided further insight for those interested in designing the play experiences of tomorrow.

In summary, the camouflaged ‘box’ you see above is the end result of two hours of unstructured play between three friends, all under 9 years of age. This started as a box, progressed to being a kennel and ended as a camouflaged hideout (who knows what else it was during the process?).

Each of our neighbours children are fortunate to be surrounded by friends and family who willingly spend time with their children in whatever way entertains. However, perhaps the best play experience is derived when the children are free to invent their own improvised play experience in ways that adults cannot imagine.

Our earlier blog, http://tinyurl.com/da48sz referred to a Scientific study published in the Scientific American Magazine that stated the following:

“Data suggests that a lack of opportunities for unstructured, imaginative play can keep children from growing into happy, well-adjusted adults. “Free play,” as scientists call it, is critical for becoming socially adept, coping with stress and building cognitive skills such as problem solving”

Free Play seems to be what children do naturally when they are given time and space to explore. In recent weeks, I have also seen a brother a sister play for over fifteen minutes with only two sticks as they mocked a fight, any school playground will reveal the same experience repeated with the most basic of items.

It is this kind of “free play” that offers the most exciting possibilities for play suppliers and operators; if we Design based on the natural inclination of children to explore and play without frontiers then not only will we be meeting our responsibility to provide the best possible play experience, we also benefit from this untapped business opportunity.

Finally, this view was re-enforced during a recent conversation with Ian Kearney of Cheeky Monkeys; a successful play centre operator for many years. Ian recently told me that a small plastic house (available from Toys ‘R’ Us for a few pounds) that he recently added was one of his most popular play elements (he also provides a stage for singing and other creative play activities) because Children liked to interact and mirror what their parents do.

In summary, there are perhaps a few things to consider for prospective play operators:

• If you are opening a play area, consider reducing the amount of Soft Play equipment by at least 10% and instead designate a space as a ‘free play’ area
• Provide a variety of loose “play equipment” (a cardboard box seems to be a great start), leave the children to decide what to do with the space and encourage its reinvention every few days
• Designate a wall where children can draw and create, leaving their mark seems to be particularly important
• Observe children at play (away from a Soft Play centre) and see what they naturally do; seek to provide a play experiences that challenges them in these activities

These are just a few ideas to encourage further thought with regard to the design of Indoor Play areas because Soft Play Equipment alone will no longer suffice.

We will be sharing our research and action plan with you in the next few weeks; in the meantime, please share your stories and experiences by commenting on this blog.

PS. Thanks to Scott, George and Charlie

PPS. A straw poll of parents revealed they will pay for a “free play” area because someone else will be cleaning up the mess!!

Shareandcompareplay.com is the Indoor Soft Play Comparison website.
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Inspiration for (Soft Play) Entrepreneurs

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead

Like all Entrepreneurs, people starting soft play centres have the odds stacked against them.

However, Entrepreneurs like any small group of committed people can change industries and add significant value, whatever the economic circumstance; this video is worth a few minutes of your time if you are thinking of starting a soft play centre.

Shareandcompareplay.com is the Indoor Soft Play Comparison website. You can subscribe and unsubscribe to e-mails with special offers and information releases by e-mailing us at contact@shareandcompareplay.com

“Sunlight is the best disinfectant” / “Radical Transparency” for Soft Play

If “hope is the best of things” then perhaps fear is the saddest, the most desperate and the most likely to result in actions that lead to decay.

Inevitably, fear results in attachment to the status quo rather than a willingness to embrace what is new, fresh, challenging but ultimately more rewarding; this is the same for individuals, organisations and industries.

Although we use the Internet everyday, I am not sure any of us comprehend the degree to which it changes everything. Organisations are generally woefully ill-prepared for change enabled at lightening speed, they fail to realise that decisions based on fear will result in organisations and whole industries becoming irrelevant.

“Radical transparency” http://tinyurl.com/2eu2f5 is one such reality and it is changing the way that markets operate and decisions are made; take a minute to look at http://www.yelp.com, amazon.com (http://tinyurl.com/9j87t8) and http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk; why should soft play be any different?

Staggeringly, even witnessing the continuing decline of the soft play market (study the financial statements of indoor play suppliers and it has nothing to do with the credit crunch), some organisations continue to cling to the status quo and are afraid to embrace the transparency and opportunities provided by Shareandcompareplay.com.

During our recent workshop outlining the impact of the “Social Web” on the Soft Play industry, after five minutes one of our guests (the Manager of the Soft Play centre) stated it best, “we have lost all control of what is said about us”. Once we all accept that is the case, we can begin to work on how we can adapt and benefit from the chaos.

Perhaps for people or organisations of a certain mindset, this loss of control is impossible to take and difficult to grasp; unfortunately this is the case with some suppliers of soft play equipment.

For example; in the last few months, we have invited indoor soft play suppliers and their trade body, the Association of Play Industries (http://tinyurl.com/ded7rt) to participate in our website.

In its own words, “The Association of Play Industries (API) is the lead trade body in the play sector; with over 70 members it represents the interests of manufacturers, installers, designers and distributors of both outdoor and indoor play equipment and safer surfacing.

Working together through the various steering groups and committees, members separate themselves from commercial interests for the good of the industry, customer and suppliers.”

Shareandcompareplay.com aims to take a holistic approach involving play suppliers, trade associations, soft play operators, children and families to form a collaborative play focussed community to enable growth and innovation; as such, we hoped to share a common purpose with the API and find productive ways to work together.

Unfortunately, we recently heard that some member companies of the API (we should emphasise here that this relates only to the Indoor Play division and that the Outdoor division has made progress on some important issues) encouraged the Association to boycott http://www.shareandcompareplay.com.

This seemed a little dramatic and so we contacted an API representative and it was confirmed that a few larger suppliers (we decided to withhold their names for now) had suggested the website was not a positive thing for Members and so the API decided not to participate.

Apparently, the justification for this action related to questions regarding the independence of the website and the honesty of the reviews.

If this is the case, not only is this decision based on fear and false, biased and misleading information; it would seem to directly contradict with their mission to “separate themselves from commercial interests for the good of the industry, customer and suppliers."

Unfortunately, we were never given the opportunity to prove our independence or to demonstrate the current and future steps we take to ensure that reviews are genuine.

This decision does not impact us greatly because of the range of suppliers we list and the markets we will soon be covering. However, it is disappointing and potentially damaging to the future of indoor play because the larger the number of participants in a community, the great the potential for change and innovation.

Our response is to continue to list more suppliers (new companies are forming to take advantage of our platform), to provide more information for free and to review more sectors of the play industry (more information in the next few days). In time, as with every other market, the voice of reviewers will speak loudest and they will help decide which suppliers prosper and which continue to decline.

Thankfully, the Internet not only enables me to post this blog to a significant number of readers, it also allows new networks and partnerships to be established without the need for top-down approval or the involvement of established organisations interested in preserving the status quo.

Each individual, organisation or company has a choice whether to participate with Shareandcompareplay.com, a trade body or a boycott; surely our choices should be based on what is best for our industry and its customers because then we will all benefit.

I can personally assure you that the decisions of Share & Compare Play are based on helping re-build the indoor play industry by focussing on providing the best play experience for children, to do otherwise is exactly the kind of distraction that leads to the manifestation of all our fears and the decline of a potentially great industry.

In the coming days and weeks, we will continue to outline our plans to radically change the play market and ensure that the next generation of play centres reflect the needs of today’s families and children.

Thank you to people that care enough about the future of play to get involved; an open invitation remains for any individual or organisation that wants work with us in any way to deliver a play market that reflects our collective best hopes.

Having said all of this, we are beginning to witness ‘green shoots’ of recovery http://tinyurl.com/cdlbrn; perhaps first we need a little more sunlight!

Soft Play & Social marketing, a report...

http://www.shareandcompareplay.com has started working with Indoor Play Centres to offer Web 2.0 Workshops to their staff and suppliers to explore the significant potential that Social Marketing has to help us transform the Soft Play industry.

The first of these free workshops took place on Monday 20th April at Parents Paradise http://www.parentsparadise.eu in Watford.

We were delighted with the attendance of eight suppliers that are new to Share & Compare Play. Each of these companies serves customers in the Soft Play market but they have had few potential routes to market until we offered to list them for free as part of our mission to help play operators find and learn everything they need to be successful.

Above are a couple of pictures of the attendees (the Group photographs were not the best); Chris Field from “The Noisy Drinks Company” proudly standing next to his machine and Chris Bartup from “Funtasia Design”, one of the quality orientated indoor play service companies in the UK.

If you are an indoor play operator and would like to partner with Shareandcompareplay.com and involve your suppliers in a Free Social Marketing workshop, please drop us a line at contact@shareandcompareplay.com.

If you are a supplier and would like to attend a future Workshop, please get in touch and we will check which is the most convenient for you to attend.

Thanks again to Lyn, Wendy and Rachael from Parents Paradise; we are more impressed each time we visit the play area.

Shareandcompareplay.com is the Indoor Soft Play Comparison website. You can subscribe and unsubscribe to e-mails with special offers and information releases by e-mailing us at contact@shareandcompareplay.com

The first Comparison Website for the Soft Play industry...a few days to launch

ShareAndComparePlay.com is the first comparison website specialising in providing independent information and comparison tools to Entrepreneurs starting and operating an indoor play centre.

Dining room tables are often the best incubators for the creation of valuable businesses in the Soft Play industry and so it was for our website. What started as a 'what if' / an experiment as to the value of providing information for free has become a significant platform for the exchange of ideas.

ShareAndComparePlay.com will shares stories of best-practice / operational excellence, financial / creative success and enables independent comparison of soft play suppliers; together, the transparent nature of this information will aid the evolution of the supply of soft play equipment and the operation of indoor play centres.

Through a process of observation / immersion / experimentation / activity (aka Sharing and Comparing) Entrepreneurs create, verify and implement ideas that add value to the lives of their customers and become successful businesses.

Share & Compare Play would like to join Entrepreneurs at their dining room table and accompany them throughout this development process. We will bring some of the best minds in the industry for company and let you choose what you want to research and apply; operators will be invited to share their own stories and benefit from listening to their peers.

The capacity to innovate and create value in this still embryonic market is infinite. To succeed, it takes passion, energy, flexibility and the ability to correctly interpret and apply information; a bit of luck also helps.

Our hope is that with access to more information that is independent, relevant, credible and valuable, Share and Compare Play will enable more Entrepreneurs and Investors to start and successfully operate the next phase of indoor play centres.

Share and Compare is the most exciting project any of the team have been involved in to date because of its potential to add value and change an important market.

We are putting the finishing touches to our web platform and will be launching in the next few days, we look forward to starting the discussion.