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What is the role of the OEM?

Tadashi70

Tadashi70

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After having a short discussion in the Equipment Mail Bag: Choosing the R...com/forum/showthread.php?t=98652&share_type=t

It got me thinking about the role of OEM. And I’ll preface this by saying, I have nothing but love for the OEMs. I just think this will be an interesting topic. But what is that role of the OEM? Are they making the game better or just producing gear? I know they are in it to make money, so let’s get that out of the way.

OEM ‘A’ producers 4 drivers a cycle that the educated golfer needs to get fit for. This cost money that a percentage (very small) don’t mind paying. The rest will buy what they think works. Out of that bunch you’ll get a new purchase in a few months, swap out the shaft, trade ins or even walk away from the game. That last one is kind of extreme but it happens.

In the above scenario, and I know I didn’t cover all my bases, the OEM maybe enhanced the game in small percentage but they made dollars. Shaft companies and fitters also made dollars. But did it make the game better as a whole? I know so will argue that, making the game better is in the golfer, I can get down with that. But I also think the OEMs should be striving to do the same. And don’t get me wrong, I know that are making golf better. Could they make it better and take more steps to make average joe’s golf experience that much better.

We have golf instructors, shafts companies, grip companies, ball manufacturers and so many other pieces that make the game better. All cost dollars and time. What if attention paid to this at the source? Can they do more? I don’t know, what do you think?
 
I've never been one to say it's on the OEM to grow the game or make it better. I feel like that falls on other shoulders that might be best left for another topic.

Looking purely on the fact that OEM's release multiple products lines across all segments of the golfers, I would like to see OEM's include a fitting with any Driver or iron set purchase. I think with so much misinformation out there or the simple fact that the majority of the amateur golfer will not dig into golf forums for education on what will help their games, a fitting will go a long way to making sure the right product is in the right hands of the golfer. I think this will make the game more enjoyable and the buying experience seem "worth it" and not feel like the OEM is just out to make a quick buck and not care how their product performs for you.
 
I think this is a tough question.

My take is that the OEM's purpose is to establish a reliable baseline. I would love to see fittings included with general purchases from any OEM, but majority of today's golfers either are unaware of fittings or don't care/have the time for them. For that reason the OEM has to produce a product that is reliable and generic enough for someone to grab off the rack and put in play. I think OEM's do grow/make the game better by producing different models for the various demographics of golfers, but beyond that I'm not sure what else they can do.

I think the message/marketing is the biggest way OEM's could grow the game. I like Cobra's approach in adding the Cobra connect and offering Single length iron sets. Not radical moves, but just adding something to an established baseline on what they know works.

Hopefully my thoughts make sense....
 
The way I see, it's the OEMs job to offer quality products on multiple levels (price points) that anyone can choose to purchase or not. Then they need to back up their product with quality customer service. Asking anymore is unrealistic because we don't ask more of other industrys so why should golf be any different?

We don't ask food restaurants to show up how to cook or make sure we understand each and every dish they offer before we order our food. Same with auto industry, we show up at a dealership request info on cars. Thy don't check to make what kind of driver we are or how well we understand their product before we purchase it. Expecting more from OEMs only creates more issues IMO.


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Carlos Caliente said:
The way I see, it's the OEMs job to offer quality products on multiple levels (price points) that anyone can choose to purchase or not. Then they need to back up their product with quality customer service. Asking anymore is unrealistic because we don't ask more of other industries, so why should golf be any different?

We don't ask food restaurants to show up how to cook or make sure we understand each and every dish they offer before we order our food. Same with auto industry, we show up at a dealership request info on cars. Thy don't check to make what kind of driver we are or how well we understand their product before we purchase it. Expecting more from OEMs only creates more issues IMO.


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I'm going to agree with the above statement
 
An OEM's job is to make money, period. They have no duty or loyalty to anyone other than their share holders.
 
fupresti said:
An OEM's job is to make money, period. They have no duty or loyalty to anyone other than their share holders.
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Very much this. Now HOW an OEM makes money is a very different story, having better service or better extras (free fittings, better consumer education etc) can determine how effective a company is at building brand loyalty and thus making more money out of the same consumer over time.
 
dazeedmonds said:
Very much this. Now HOW an OEM makes money is a very different story, having better service or better extras (free fittings, better consumer education etc) can determine how effective a company is at building brand loyalty and thus making more money out of the same consumer over time.
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In my experience, the companies that focus on customer experience end up more successful. Companies run by nickel and diming MBA's ultimately fail when up against companies that know if you take care of customers, the profits will follow.
 
OEMs exist to make money. that's it. they may choose to get into initiatives to grow the game or other charitable purposes, but that's not why they exist and imho is only meant to bolster brand perception and drive more sales. and i have zero problem with that.
 
c.a.eleric said:
OEMs exist to make money. that's it. they may choose to get into initiatives to grow the game or other charitable purposes, but that's not why they exist and imho is only meant to bolster brand perception and drive more sales. and i have zero problem with that.
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fupresti said:
In my experience, the companies that focus on customer experience end up more successful. Companies run by nickel and diming MBA's ultimately fail when up against companies that know if you take care of customers, the profits will follow.
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These are dead on. Better service (and assorted customer experience type things) will almost always lead to better profits. So the role of the OEMs is to make a product and money, adding those other things on can drive more profits, but those other things is not the role or the goal of the company.

Look at car dealers that offer free oil changes for life, their role is to sell cars. The free oil change is a marketing tactic to drive sales. Nothing wrong with it, but expecting All dealers to give you free oil changes is silly.
 
The OEM's are there to make money.
There is a market.
People want equipment, & they have fitters, etc. to help you decide.

Golf is about feeling good with your game.
1) Your score
2) usability of equipment ( comfortable and easy to hit)
3) looks of equipment ( is it pleasing to the eye?)

There is no guarantee to how your game will be. It all depends on health, ability, and practice .

It is no different that companies that sell makeup to women.
They can recommend colors and sell it to them.
But if they can't apply it correctly, + other factors determine if the woman can get a man.
 
Carlos Caliente said:
The way I see, it's the OEMs job to offer quality products on multiple levels (price points) that anyone can choose to purchase or not. Then they need to back up their product with quality customer service. Asking anymore is unrealistic because we don't ask more of other industrys so why should golf be any different?

We don't ask food restaurants to show up how to cook or make sure we understand each and every dish they offer before we order our food. Same with auto industry, we show up at a dealership request info on cars. Thy don't check to make what kind of driver we are or how well we understand their product before we purchase it. Expecting more from OEMs only creates more issues IMO.


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Since you compared the golf industry to the culinary and automobile industry, I’ll address that.

I think you’d agree that the vast majority of Golf purchases are vanity or want purchases. There are the exception with Big box purchases and used Club buyers. But for a large number these are not ‘need’ purchases. And a fairly large number is attached to that.

Cars for the most part are ‘need’ purchases. The process takes 5 times longer than a set of clubs and taylor make that car to your needs.

In the culinary world you can get the full treatment and watch every ingredient cooked if you like. Or you can go sit down, order and eat. Going out to eat is a luxury that a lot of non chain restaurants have taken steps to create dining experiences.

My point is that the industries you mentioned have taken steps to make sure your purchases is filled with knowledge and made into an experience.
 
NEPA_Lefty said:
Spalding didn't make football into a billion dollar business.
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I’d argue they helped a great deal. Football cost what $50 bucks. You can walk into Walmart and buy one. More dads have tossed the foot ball with their sons then have played a round of golf. Even boys with no dads could get a football and learn to catch and through. Those boys became men and made the NFL what it is today.
 
I think it's their job to provide information about the product and help educate the golf population. With social media being where it is today I think it's their job to engage with the consumer. Their primary job in my opinion is to provide equipment for all golfers from jr's to seniors and scratch to the person just starting out.
 
Scrap Iron said:
I think it's their job to provide information about the product and help educate the golf population. With social media being where it is today I think it's their job to engage with the consumer. Their primary job in my opinion is to provide equipment for all golfers from jr's to seniors and scratch to the person just starting out.
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I think you’re close on the general idea, but their job is to convince each of the segments they need to buy THEIR brand of clubs, education is one tool in the marketing toolkit.
 
tbanks5 said:
I think this is a tough question.

My take is that the OEM's purpose is to establish a reliable baseline. I would love to see fittings included with general purchases from any OEM, but majority of today's golfers either are unaware of fittings or don't care/have the time for them. For that reason the OEM has to produce a product that is reliable and generic enough for someone to grab off the rack and put in play. I think OEM's do grow/make the game better by producing different models for the various demographics of golfers, but beyond that I'm not sure what else they can do.

I think the message/marketing is the biggest way OEM's could grow the game. I like Cobra's approach in adding the Cobra connect and offering Single length iron sets. Not radical moves, but just adding something to an established baseline on what they know works.

Hopefully my thoughts make sense....
Click to expand...

Well said! Saved me some time writing.
 
dazeedmonds said:
I think you’re close on the general idea, but their job is to convince each of the segments they need to buy THEIR brand of clubs, education is one tool in the marketing toolkit.
Click to expand...

This was sort of my point. Why not take it a step further with the consumer. Provide them with a free fitting. Educate the big box stores on the shaft options and who they will fit best. People are going to spend the cash anyway. Why not empower the consumer with vital information bout their game through a fitting. While this is going on you can up-sell another items or two. Place popular soft goods in the fitting bays.

OEMs have innovated the bejesus outbid clubs. Turn some, just a little attention into customer satisfaction and retention.
 
Tadashi70 said:
This was sort of my point. Why not take it a step further with the consumer. Provide them with a free fitting. Educate the big box stores on the shaft options and who they will fit best. People are going to spend the cash anyway. Why not empower the consumer with vital information bout their game through a fitting. While this is going on you can up-sell another items or two. Place popular soft goods in the fitting bays.

OEMs have innovated the bejesus outbid clubs. Turn some, just a little attention into customer satisfaction and retention.
Click to expand...

FK I agree wholeheartedly. I think that’s a great marketing move and a great way to get more loyalty from consumers. Loyalty makes money, it’s just not always instant money. A lot of companies suffer from failing to realize that (not golf industry solely) Sears is a prime example of that, get people young, get them in the habit of coming in and spending money and you get their money for life.

If companies can take their internal mentality and shift it to providing a ton of value, I think they’re well along the way to winning lots of customers.
 
Tadashi70 said:
This was sort of my point. Why not take it a step further with the consumer. Provide them with a free fitting. Educate the big box stores on the shaft options and who they will fit best. People are going to spend the cash anyway. Why not empower the consumer with vital information bout their game through a fitting. While this is going on you can up-sell another items or two. Place popular soft goods in the fitting bays.

OEMs have innovated the bejesus outbid clubs. Turn some, just a little attention into customer satisfaction and retention.
Click to expand...

Interesting you bring up a fitting when you buy the club Golf Unfiltered touched on that subject not long ago. With so many stock shaft options I think that's a direction you will start to see from big box stores as a promotion when you buy brand X new release driver.
 
For those that think a fitting should be included I have some questions.

1) do they not already do that with demo days? Every OEM has them around me anywhere from a 5 minute drive to an hour and they cost nothing plus there is some form a company rep at them.

2) if you want more than a demo day then who compensates the fitters for their time because a company rep can't be at every location that sells a brands clubs while the shop is opened?

3) let's say the fitters are compensated by the OEM for each fittimg since they have to spend their time working with customers on a "free" fitting, would you be willing to pay another $100+ on the purchase price so that the OEMs can recoup the cost of the fitter?
 
fupresti said:
An OEM's job is to make money, period. They have no duty or loyalty to anyone other than their share holders.
Click to expand...
It's cold but it is this simple. If an OEM is wooing you in some way either with free stuff or mega interaction it's not because they want to get to know your family - it's because they want in your wallet.
 
What is the role of the OEM?

OEM in golf is no different then any other industry. Make a good product, stand behind it and return profits to the shareholders.


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ArmyGolf said:
It's cold but it is this simple. If an OEM is wooing you in some way either with free stuff or mega interaction it's not because they want to get to know your family - it's because they want in your wallet.
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I’m ok with that. They’re going to have to earn their way into my wallet, and with the sheer volume of gear on the market, they have earn a chance to earn their way into my wallet.
 
emart2173 said:
For those that think a fitting should be included I have some questions.

1) do they not already do that with demo days? Every OEM has them around me anywhere from a 5 minute drive to an hour and they cost nothing plus there is some form a company rep at them.

2) if you want more than a demo day then who compensates the fitters for their time because a company rep can't be at every location that sells a brands clubs while the shop is opened?

3) let's say the fitters are compensated by the OEM for each fittimg since they have to spend their time working with customers on a "free" fitting, would you be willing to pay another $100+ on the purchase price so that the OEMs can recoup the cost of the fitter?
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You know as well as I do, demo days are not accessible to everyone

OEMs could train the staff at the big box store.

No I would not pay an additional $100.

It’s like Titleist Thursdays. You went got fit for free and bought irons. All OEMs could do this.
 
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