Industry Specific Marketing Advice

Marketing a Golf Equipment and Supplies Retail Business

Small and medium size golf equipment and supplies retail businesses can compete and even outperform larger competitors. All it takes is the right marketing plan.

As a business owner, it's imperative to understand that your financial metrics are inextricably linked to your marketing capacity.

Simplistic promotional techniques can't penetrate the clutter of the current marketplace. Effective marketing now means translating market learnings into techniques and tactics that are relevant to your business.

Measurement & Evaluation

By purchasing high quality mailing lists from reliable providers, golf equipment and supplies retail businesses can automatically improve marketing ROI. But on the whole, measurement and evaluation are two of the most powerful weapons in your ROI arsenal. A robust measurement and evaluation process should include metrics that can be monitored on a monthly, weekly or even daily basis. Designed to monitor marketing efforts on a campaign-by-campaign basis, these metrics can be used as a baseline for strategic planning. Simple quantitative tools are a good start. However, golf equipment and supplies retail businesses frequently go outside of the organization for expertise.

Viral Marketing

Will Rogers said, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. However, you can put salt in his food." That's kind of how viral marketing works. By including viral elements in a campaign for a golf equipment and supplies retail business, you ultimately have to cross your fingers and hope for the best. But despite the risk, viral marketers can influence the likelihood of success. Product giveaways, community-building, online discussion channels, and other techniques may not guarantee that your products will go viral -- but they definitely improve the odds.

Generating Buzz

Never underestimate the value of good buzz with consumers. You've heard it said before: Word of mouth is the best form of promotion for products and brands. For a golf equipment and supplies retail business, meaningful brand conversations have the ability to transform the impact of your marketing efforts. The process begins with developing communication vehicles and mechanisms that invite discussion. Social networking and other online strategies can play a foundational role when they are performed in tandem with face-to-face interactions and industry networking.

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