We've launched the new forums! Read more here

Fix This Golf Company

SuperStroke
Start with the 4 P's - These are product, price, place and promotion. If any one of these areas is not properly managed, it can doom a product, even if consumers want what a company is selling. I'd bring in the managers responsible for these and ask for their individual plans. I would expect next steps might focus on holding focus groups to unveil new products or upgrades to gauge customer reception before new release or a re-designed product. Educate potential customers about the benefits of your product by writing expert articles for newspapers, websites and industry magazines. Design promotions and incentives on the company's website or social media platforms that require consumers to answer questions about your benefits, likes, dislikes and suggestions. Test marketing different prices in different markets before you commit to a price change. Test-market different distribution channels to evaluate their impact on total sales, revenues, profit margins, re-sales and gross profits. Don’t commit your entire promotional budget until you’ve tested several communications options and reviewed the results.

Just a start .... and when all else fails sell it off piece by piece, the pieces are usually more valuable than the whole for a product/company that has plateaued and already shown steady declines. :act-up:

Bob (Diveguy)
 
Dave Alvarado said:
It's already right there. Innovation trumping tradition. They just need to get Rickie to beat Jordan more often.
Click to expand...

I do not disagree with that thought...however going back to my "influencers" point having Michael Breed (golf fix) play Cobra (if cobra is our example) on his show would do more to push sales than any win by Rickie. (Just my opinion)
 
i would hire Lee Iacoca
 
Great read, I really like this thread...

I am not in sales or marketing or what ever, but I have been a consumer for a long long time. This "fledgling" company seems to have a very major flaw in that it appears to want to remain a "boutique" golf OEM. Perhaps it is relying too heavily on it's past performance/reputation and now has to try and find its place in today's fast and crazy golf equipment retail business where the frequent launch of new equipment is paramount to maintain sales.

Hiring a few industry celebrities on board is not effective if you cannot deliver the product that amateur and professional golfers alike really want.

So to the "new" Ben Hogan Company....are you listening to what golfers really want?
 
Sweethebs said:
I do not disagree with that thought...however going back to my "influencers" point having Michael Breed (golf fix) play Cobra (if cobra is our example) on his show would do more to push sales than any win by Rickie. (Just my opinion)
Click to expand...

I think tour pro wins or staffers influence the majority of golfers in their purchases much less overall than many think. I'm thinking a hand full of players actually influence anything, and I think it's mostly driver sales thanks to the big hitters.

And you are probably right that a weekly TV show might influence sales more. I wonder if more people started playing Srixon/Cleveland clubs since Martin Hall's switch last year?
 
Good stuff - reminds me of my business school days.....

What has been said previously is really the key - SWOT analysis, find your market, take a hard look as to why the club sells or doesn't sell, Social Media blitz to the proper target, all are great ideas.

24 months is a lot of time to turn things around, assuming there are products in the pipeline. If there are not, I would think the company is in BIG trouble.

The answer may be in getting smaller before re-growing the brand. Meaning, remove some of the "losers" in the stable, stick with what is working, and build from there.

There is a solid combo of ideas and information available to the president - the hardest part is to find it without having the "Yes Men" blocking you from getting rid of their jobs, if need be.
 
This is a great discussion... I agree with doing a SWOT analysis to determine the root cause for the company's lack luster performance. Once you get the over arching problem statement (based on what you determined was root cause), frame up an A3 that includes your current state + desired state and an implementation plan to get to the desired state.

Focus on the 3 P's:
People- Hire and Retain the best People
Process- Streamline the processes, doing that will lower costs, and increase margins. Reinvest these improved margins back into the business.
Product- Make sure you are focused on your product, create a great product.

In the an industry that is as highly competitive as the golf industry, I would focus at getting really good at one thing first (wedges for example) and then branch out from there.


Dax
 
1) Give my top notch R&D a blank check for development.
2) Cut unnecessary programs and systems to save resources.
3) Protect small shops that have accounts with me with more spaced out product cycles. If these brick and mortar shops have faith in my product then they will be more inclined to carry a larger quantity of mine. It may work for the biggest companies to release when they please, but I don't want small shops to be afraid to carry me.
4) Invest in demos. The more hands that touch my products the better.
5) Be on the forefront of the great Millennial question, how do we get the largest generation yet to be more interested in golf. If we crack that then well.... gravy.
 
SWOT analysis to determine what we do best. In this case it's drivers. Focus on products that offer that fresh look and that feeling of individuality.

Also, get local, and get young. Tie into youth events and sponsoring high school teams. Make "transition" products the fit between true youth clubs and more expensive adult equipment. Get people playing your product and improve that individual style.

Control your production. Go to a true annual release cycle, making your PGA show booth the place to be, as that's when you release all of your products. Wouldn't hurt to improve the social media footprint through more personalization.

Lastly, hope your one big name keeps winning and attracting fans.
 
I also immediately thought Cobra, so I'll make my observations based on that.

R&D: best in the business and designing drivers with mass properties in a space nobody else is working in with the LTD and F6/F6+. They have done a pretty good job of getting some of that technical info out there, but could do better. When you look at what they're doing with mass properties, it's pretty compelling. They have also stepped up their game in fairway woods and irons.

Marketing: this is where they are failing. they have consistently announced clubs, released info on tech, got clubs to the popular online reviewers, done advertising, put out social media blasts and technical videos, built buzz, and set themselves up in a position where people are excited. It's palpable here and on other sites. The problem is, they generate that buzz too early before release and the release happens after the primary competition. You can't do that when you don't have brand loyalty that makes people patient.

The marketing of the M1 slaughtered Cobra's efforts with the LTD and F6 line and primarily because the M1 hit the market in the sweet spot and the cobra drivers hit shelves too late. The M1 already has built in sales, so Cobra *has* to beat it to market and they would have had an arguably superior design with tech and buzz and an opportunity to take market share. The irony is TM and Cally are now using carbon crowns and chasing COG locations obtained by Cobra because they know Cobra is leading in R&D but not taking advantage of it due to marketing failure. One of the designers said if the F6+ "we designed movable weight driver superior to the M1 and sell it for $100 less". Yes, you did, and by the time it hit the shelves the M1 was already stealing the available driver budget of golfers everywhere.
 
A lot of excellent ideas here. The one I would add here is to go out and talk to the top sales people at places like Dick's and ask them what the consumer resistance has been to the product line. And ask them how they would fix the problem. I suspect they have a pretty good idea as to why the product is not selling.
 
If it is Cobra I would make sure Fowler moved the needle on the equipment side then the apparell side (assuming different divisions with different numbers). More people buy Puma because of him than Cobra. They do have a quality product its a a shame it has to be so colorful.
 
I really don't have any fixes for a company like that. I think the golf industry is one of the toughest to change your image because so many golfers have name brand biases. If your not one of the top 7 brands, it's super tough to grow sales, especially in a flat or declining industry. Overall the golf equipment business is not very profitable - margins are down, and it doesn't help that the sport is not growing.
 
if it's Cobra they really do have a conundrum. Ricky Fowler is a very hot commodity to have representing your company. He definitely drives clothing sales but just how many golfers at your club want to look like him in front of the members? You will never see any of the "old guard" on my course trying to impress each other wearing wide brimmed hats or fluorescent colored outfits. As such you don't see many of those same members checking out the las test Cobra equipment. Younger players yes but not many younger player have the pocket money to play new Cobra Dirvers and irons.
 
I really feel like this is Nike.
 
I work a couple a nights a week at Dick's in the golf department. The training and the VIP program that we get from both Callaway and Taylor Made is top notch. It's surprising how many customers ask us, what clubs we play. If I'm this company that we are talking about, I would copy the VIP and training program of Callaway and Taylor Made. Get more sales associates playing your clubs. Just a thought....


Dax
 
I'd make a big splash by releasing a line of non conforming clubs.

While the traditionalists would hate it, golf needs to be reinvigorated for the avg hacker.

Pro's don't play with Max Game Improvement clubs, so why not take it a step further and make the game easier and more enjoyable for more people.

In the MLB they have to use wooden bats, but in your local softball league, people can use aluminum. Same thought applies here.

I'd make an entire line of clubs that make golf easier to play and more fun for those that don't care about ever playing in a tournament. Imagine a driver that you could hit 250 with a smooth 80ish mph swing? Hell, even senior golfers who are traditionalist would love that.

Drivers, woods, irons. All non conforming. All easy to hit (point and shoot if you will). Again, it wouldn't be for the serious golfers, but would be to bring new golfers in to the sport, or keep the ones who have struggled and might abandon it.
 
JB said:
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.
Click to expand...

So, a silly question. In the grand scheme of things, is 1% of driver sales comparable to other OEM's? Like say is the #1 OEM - 50% of share, #2 - 40%, #3-#10 - 1%? Does 1% put you in a pack of say 6 other OEM's fighting for a small segment, when 2 other OEM's dominates the category?
 
braddman19 said:
So, a silly question. In the grand scheme of things, is 1% of driver sales comparable to other OEM's? Like say is the #1 OEM - 50% of share, #2 - 40%, #3-#10 - 1%? Does 1% put you in a pack of say 6 other OEM's fighting for a small segment, when 2 other OEM's dominates the category?
Click to expand...

1% is not good. Now with that said, its not the lowest, but its closer to outside the top 10 than it is inside the top 5 if that makes any sense.
If looking at drivers exclusively, it would not be 50% and then 40% and then everybody else. it feels like that at times, but its definitely not the case.
 
JB said:
1% is not good. Now with that said, its not the lowest, but its closer to outside the top 10 than it is inside the top 5 if that makes any sense.
If looking at drivers exclusively, it would not be 50% and then 40% and then everybody else. it feels like that at times, but its definitely not the case.
Click to expand...

Completely get it. Helpful to know if the 1% was considered bad or not it the big picture.
 
braddman19 said:
Completely get it. Helpful to know if the 1% was considered bad or not it the big picture.
Click to expand...

And I should add that while 1% is considered bad, there are a number of companies avid golfers view as larger that would kill for 1%.
 
Consolidate and streamline. Release 1 or 2 (tops) extremely solid drivers, FWs and irons. Nothing else. As you already have a needle mover, do everything you can to get that equipment in his hands. Maybe throw in a trade in deal against some competitor OEMs.
 
Trout Bum said:
Develop product lines that appeal to many different market segments not just the bold
Get rid of the crazy colors and become more standardized in design and color
Build a marketing program based on the domination of the game by the legend and start a marketing campaing with amateurs that are Driven
Get heavily involved with the online world, forums, promote reviews, have an agressive demo program
Click to expand...

I think the amateurs comment is huge here.
 
Assuming the needle mover under contract isn't Jordan Speith, sign him(even if doesn't include apparel) and task the R&D team with getting him a driver that increases his average distance off the tee by at least 15 yards.

He may be the first superstar world #1 that isn't considered long off the tee.
Seems like a marketing boon to be the company that helps get him into the longer hitters.

I remember thinking he'd be the perfect spokeman for Callayway's XR line of drivers last year for similar reasons (assuming the XRs got him more distance off the tee).
 
This could be Tour Edg Exotics?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top