Marketing Success Series X
by Joe Dinoffer, USPTA, USPTR, ITA, USTWA -
October 01, 2002
Let’s begin this “Marketing Success” article with a tip on productivity shared by Klaus Hilgers and Paul McDonald at a recent USPTA national convention. First they explained that if you've recently been in a growth situation, it is very important to then step back and analyze what percent of your staff are trained thoroughly or to what extent they are trained. For example, if half of your staff is only 50 percent trained, it may pay off big-time to invest training time in that group of employees. Regarding trends and analysis, Klaus and Paul strongly recommend ongoing statistical analysis to help you make the right decisions. They quoted an old Chinese proverb: "If you don't change your direction, you're likely to end up where you were headed." And, once you've analyzed various statistics like year-to-year and month-to-month participation figures, get your staff involved. Meet together and jointly decide on goals for specific areas. Help each person become a part of the plan and then they will become a proud part of the results. For the remainder of this article, let’s move to the 1997 USPTA World Congress in Cancun where Drew Sunderlin spoke on "Profiting from Pro Shops." Drew's presentation so full of good ideas, you better roll up your sleeves to absorb this section because here are 18 highlights:
- Above and beyond everything else, he stressed the importance of pro shop managers being knowledgeable.
- Remember that your shop is the most convenient shop in town for the players at your facility. All they need is a reason to come in.
- He also emphasized that if you go to a conference or travel to a tournament, remember to put a column on your activities in your club or facility newsletter. People want to read about what you are doing.
- You may not be aware but Drew is a stringer for the U.S. Open. He has gotten a lot of mileage out of the fact that he strings for Pete Sampras every year. How long does Pete use a racquet before the string either breaks or he changes to a new string job? He only gets five games out of each set of strings.
- He also stressed the importance of hiring the right people to work in your shop.
- As well, he emphasized customized services. For example, how about a "string as you wait" program? With this program he allows customers to make an appointment to have their rackets strung. This means that they will call at least a day ahead to set up an appointment to bring in their racquet, knowing that they will wait 20-30 minutes while the racquet is strung right in front of them. What are the benefits of this type of program? Think about it, if you owned a pro shop wouldn’t you want your customers waiting around for 20-30 minutes when all they could do is browse and think about buying something?
- Another idea he shared is to push logo merchandise since your shop is the only place in which people can buy it.
- As far as the question of quality vs. price is concerned, Drew is convinced that quality is much more important than price. In small specialty stores, he suggests carrying high-end merchandise since chances are it's not found in the large discounts stores at all.
- He also commented that the quality of displays is much more important than what is on the rack. It's just like how people look at the pictures on the front page of the newspaper before deciding to read the article itself.
- As far as profit areas are concerned, he emphasized that racquet stringing should be seen as one of those high profit divisions to emphasize. Therefore, he said it is easy to justify buying a high-quality stringing machine and putting the stringer on a platform in the middle of the shop. Draw attention to the high profit areas. As far as which stringing machines to purchase, he always recommends a large full-sized model for pro shops since this increases the perceived value of the services.
- He also stressed that all machines can be made accurate, but they must be calibrated. And, although stringing machine companies charge extra for calibrators, Drew feels strongly that companies should include them with the price of new machines since they are very important. In the meantime, keep buying them, since they really make a difference. He added that it is a great marketing opportunity to put up a sign that reads "we calibrate our stringing machine every day. We treat you the same as we would treat Pete Sampras!" Drew reminded the audience that the more professional your stringing service is, the more stringing business you'll receive. That means more overall pro shop business and related lesson and participation revenues across the board.
- What should be displayed near the cash register? According to Drew, accessories, accessories, and more accessories.
- As far as selecting which companies to work with, he said to look for companies who will only sell to pro shops with on-site tennis facilities.
- Regarding racquet customization, Drew suggested holding a regular event that allows you to walk around the courts with lead tape on a roll. Simply take off pieces of tape and place them at critical points on the racket head, say 10:00 and 2:00. Players will immediately feel the increase in mass and experience a more solid hit with their rackets. Then, offer that they can bring in their racket later on for a more thorough customization. Drew offers a racquet customization service for $15-$20 and it may take as little as 15 to 20 minutes to accomplish. This is an example of leveraging your time to maximize your income.
- He reminded the audience that anytime they are promoting a special using a coupon, to make sure that there is a deadline on the coupon that creates a sense of urgency.
- Another good idea is to use a business card to leverage discounts by printing something on the reverse side.
- And, here's a tip about database management. Everyone knows that they should get the birth date of their customers to be able to send out special notices and birthday cards. But, a tip from Drew is to only ask for the month and day of birth, and never the year. This one needs no further explanation. And, finally,
- Regarding merchandise and delivery dates, Drew suggested that new arrivals be spread out to come in every month and never all at once. However, if too much merchandise does come in one time, don't bring it out on the floor. Rather, keep it in their boxes and bring it out on display one item at a time to maintain a high interest level among your customers.
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