Are we under achieving, if we measure the number of golfers who invest in coaching?       Ryan Dodds, PGA Professional, got hold of me all the way from Mauritius (some people have a tough gig!) and gave me his perspective on market opportunity. Ryan’s proposition is that if we think like Apple or Facebook or Southwest Airlines, then we create a market where one didn’t exist. Ryan extends market opportunity to the economically relevant population within drive time of the club (public or private). That’s not just the golfers, but adults and juniors who have never picked up a club. That creates a very large opportunity figure.   The benefit of thinking like that is the next step of marketing. Ryan and his team have designed a marketing pathway that has at least one “Learn to Play” day every month for 100 prospects, which includes an introduction to golf and supper at the club. The job of the Professionals is to convert as many of the 1,200 non-golfers they get through this program in year, into a learner package (adult or junior social). We know other Professionals doing something similar. What I like about all of these initiatives is that it is a marketing pathway of small steps. It starts with the huge market opportunity and pulls 1,200 prospects into the top of the funnel. That’s about $ 60,000 of warm leads for coaching (if you ignore the friends and family of the leads) from one marketing initiative. What’s the value of 1,200 potential golfers to the industry? If a member at a mid-range club in the States is worth $ 100,000 (annual spend x years as a member), then it’s a big figure. Work that out. Wow. Told you the PGA Professional was the most powerful marketing weapon in the golf industry. Now imagine a thousand PGA Professionals working that same single initiative around the world and multiply again. It is sensational. Even I have underestimated just how big of an impact PGA Professionals can make for the whole golf industry.       Subscribe       Legally Privileged Disclaimer Internet communications are not secure and therefore RetailTribe does not accept legal responsibility for the contents of this message. The information in this email and any attachment to it is confidential and is intended for the addressee only. Any unauthorised disclosure, use or dissemination of the contents in part or whole is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient please return it to the sender and delete it. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author, and do not necessarily represent those of RetailTribe unless otherwise specifically stated. This email and attachments have been screened and are believed to be free from any virus. However, it is the responsibility of all recipients to ensure that they are virus free. This email was sent to you by RetailTribe. RetailTribe will not accept any liability for any damage caused by a virus. If you no longer want to receive this email, please unsubscribe here.