Fix This Golf Company

[JB]

Im going to preface this by saying that I am not saying that this is a specific company and its certainly not about their equipment or people there. Here are the facts.

Some of the top R&D people in the entire industry
One of very few players that actually moves the needle
R&D & Marketing people that are known entities, personable and great at content
An iconic name that once dominated golf
Fantastic and innovative golf equipment
Your sales are 1% of driver sales, slightly lower in irons and way less in wedges. We will take balls and putter out of the equation.

Okay so lets say you are made President this company and have 24 months to make sales happen. You are tasked with creating a multistep plan that will immediately take shape, but has a budget. Therefore, you cannot just say "sign a bunch of players" as contracts and money keep that limited.

So what do you do?

 

[russtopher]

First things first, a SWOT analysis to determine where we need to work the most to either promote our best products & people, or heavily revamp our weakest areas.

Major competitive analysis - why are we so low in equipment sales, especially if we have top R&D people? Our products should be much higher, why is that? What competitive products are moving instead of ours, and why? Where is our best market penetration, and how did we get there? Where is our worst, and what can we do it fix it with consumers?

Massive marketing push - social media rules, interactive websites, plenty of shareable contests to encourage engagement, new followers, and brand analysis.

Talks with & about tour pros - why aren't more interested in our gear? Is it viewed as inferior? Not a brand they would want to represent? It does go further than money, yes that's a big part of tour presence but pros also need to want to play our gear and be comfortable doing it. Why isn't that happening?

These are the main areas I'd start in, for the most part.

 

[emart2173]

Sounds like a lot of good people and things in place.

Take some of the constraints off R&D and have them develop clubs that benefit golfers of all levels and not promote a tour level piece if equipment as suitable for all golfers when a majority won't benefit from it.

Get a marketing plan to highlight the player who moves the needle and the equipment. Have some fun content with said player performing different shots on a course and get creative with the angles.

Once release date comes have any stock left from previous releases pulled from stores.

 

[RNG]

Seems like although they make quality equipment they are a " me too" company. They need to quickly ascertain what differentiates their products from their competitors. Once that is complete they to develop a marketing plan that will emphasize that advantage. Assuming they have the financial resources they are goin to need a massive advertising campaign via tv, magazines, pro players, and THP (fun). This will give then a good chance to improve their market share in the short time allowed.

 

[#Cookie]

Guess I would ask how a company with all of that going for them has less than 1% in each category.

Sounds like there is more than meets the eyes as I'm only reading all positives....something has to be broken somewhere if they have smart people, solid marketing, and fantastic/innovative product.

 

[Popeye]

If a decent product line exists I would flood social media with product give a ways with the stipulations of product feed back. Hopefully this will give them a feel of where thier product lies in the eyes of Joe Average.

I would gear the new release products with an eye toward the heritage of the company but the latest tech. Keep the products without gimmicks but solid tech that works. Keep the graphics understated and clean.

The marketing campaign would, like the new launches, reflect back to the past but embrace the future of golf. The future of golf seems to be longer and better in a never ending cycle. If that can be balanced with Feel and Sound it may allow sales to climb back up.

Yesterday I hit some brand new release irons that were insanely long but lacked any sort of feel. I immediately hit another model that was almost as long but had great feel the gave me a connection to the club.
To me that would be the direction that I took. Connecting the golfer to my products.
Price has to be more than competitive but not so cheap that people's take is not of cheap price, cheap equipment.
A grass roots, demo day assault,,, spread out to as many regions as possible. Allow access to my Top R&D guys through social media outlets. Weekly Q and A sessions.



Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

 

[JB]

Guess I would ask how a company with all of that going for them has less than 1% in each category.

Sounds like there is more than meets the eyes as I'm only reading all positives....something has to be broken somewhere if they have smart people, solid marketing, and fantastic/innovative product.

I could tell you as fact that what is listed above, is more than one company in the industry right now. Although I used one specific as an example, it is currently happening.

 

[erock9174]

I know it's a hypothetical company but it sounds a lot like Wilson.

 

[JB]

I know it's a hypothetical company but it sounds a lot like Wilson.

Its not Wilson.
But they do fit in the mold a bit.
Although I would argue they dont have a player that moves the needle, although they do have a nice young stable growing.

 

[#Cookie]

I could tell you as fact that what is listed above, is more than one company in the industry right now. Although I used one specific as an example, it is currently happening.

I don't see company numbers and sales is very far from my wheelhouse. Just hard to believe that it happens but I have to guess this shows just how much a few select companies are truly dominating the industry.

Damn....I wouldn't know what to do. Tough biz without question...

 

[RNG]

I could tell you as fact that what is listed above, is more than one company in the industry right now. Although I used one specific as an example, it is currently happening.

Do you think it is a function of the golf industry in general or a statement that people tend to trust the companies they've bought equipment from and had success before? People who have a limited amount of money tend not to take chances on the unknown or different.

 

[JB]

Do you think it is a function of the golf industry in general or a statement that people tend to trust the companies they've bought equipment from and had success before? People who have a limited amount of money tend not to take chances on the unknown or different.

I think that is for you guys to figure out as the new President.

 

[JMN57]

I'd try to figure out what customer perception is. Where is the equity with the consumer (what attributes of product/what segment of the market). If it is a brand with history, that equity may be higher with older buyers than younger ones. What profiles index high for buying? How do I relate the consumer equity assets/perception of the brand to current purchasing drivers?

The problem with a 2 year horizon is that it only works if you can build off of the perception/equity that exists today. If you have to re-position the brand towards other attributes, that takes time & money. If you have to re-position, you better talk to the owners/board about the plan and get their buy-in.

 

[ArmyGolf]

At first blush I kinda thought Cobra really fit this mold. I'll respond later after I think about it.

 

[blugold]

I think the biggest issue is brand awareness with consumers. Quick thinking, increased retail floor space is not an option really. But active reps is key. Demo days at courses and retailers are key, just to get products into people's hands. Going forward, simply product lines with clearly delineated target groups.

 

[arydolphin]

At first blush I kinda thought Cobra really fit this mold. I'll respond later after I think about it.

You and me think alike.

 

[NoLine]

I think I'll structure a comp package for myself that rewards me for returning cash to the investors then I take the BlueStar airlines machete to the place.

 

[flaMtneer]

If they were truly and Iconic company that once dominated golf, I'd want a clear understanding of how they're now at 1%. Did they not pursue R&D for a long period? Did they have a loss of quality (real or perceived)? etc. etc. The answers I think would shape the strategy. If you're a new company then you have to create buzz and excitement. This company sounds like they need to do the same except they may also need to turn the negative perception or whatever it was that caused them to fall in the ranks.

 

[Michigan Slice]

Social media is very powerful, I would hit that very hard!
Then, Its time for tough decisions, and ask What do we do best? How can we do it better? Do we have to change pricing? How can we get our goods into more hands? Do we have to drop a line or two? Meaning no cloting, balls, or maybe irons...?
We need to reach more players, get our name not only in the stores, but also the courses.

A lot of times the small things make big differences.

 

[dwchockey13]

I have to agree with the SWOT analysis, where are the strengths? where are we hurting....
How often are we releasing clubs and when? you need to look at sales and when sales spike to take advantage of that on your release date, we also would need to look at the timing of our releases, are we releasing to soon? are people holding off on buying our product because they know we will have another one in 4 months? or are we taking to long and people get fed up and switch brands? what is our brand loyalty %?
I would do a focus group study, determine what is, and what isn't liked about our product, is the technology solid, but looks terrible?
From there you can then determine how well marketing is doing? what is our focus group? We might be great at content, but aiming at the wrong target market. Industry standards show the consumers in the 50+ range don't want to be targeted by the technology of a golf club, they want the heritage, the forgiveness, and prestige. Where as the millenials, and generation y, want to know what's in it for them, how the Technology is making them better than the competition, adn we need to know how to market, TV ad's for the 60+, social media (twitter, facebook, instagram, snapchat, periscope)... are we getting those confused? We need to fix it. We need to see how much room is in our budget, to swing one high level player into using our brand, and if not, build a marketing campaign around our current players.

 

[T0AD]

I know it's a hypothetical company but it sounds a lot like Wilson.

My 2nd guess. 1st was Cobra. And it's freaking silly if anywhere near true.

just realized i was ninja'd below.

 

[-CRW-]

Sounds like Cobra to me too.

This goes for any company, but why is it so difficult for any company to look at the companies in the industry that aren't having these problems and emulate them? You copy their methods, not their products. You also should constantly watch other companies and do your best not to repeat their failures.

 

[dwchockey13]

What about TM? perception lately on them as been that it has been going down? and their release cycles are crazy and confusing... M2 is not better than the M1 even though if came out after? can hurt a brand reputation... there are a multitude of manufactures that fit into this mold

My 2nd guess. 1st was Cobra. And it's freaking silly if anywhere near true.

just realized i was ninja'd below.

 

[#Cookie]

What about TM? perception lately on them as been that it has been going down? and their release cycles are crazy and confusing... M2 is not better than the M1 even though if came out after? can hurt a brand reputation... there are a multitude of manufactures that fit into this mold

TM has more than 1% market share though.

 

[dwchockey13]

That's true, they fit the mold except for that, they have been on a decline though... 28% decline in 2014, I don't know about 2015 though as they haven't released

TM has more than 1% market share though.