Below are 4 ways Business Golf can be effective used to battle the recession.
1. Marketing for Effect:
If you are throwing your marketing funds towards placing ads all over the place then you are not going to get much out of your marketing strategy in this recession.
In today’s economy trust is the main concern of the consumers. Gone are the days of throwing an ad out on the internet or in a trade magazine and then sitting back to fill the orders coming in.
Today’s consumer is now demanding to know who it is they are dealing with and what type of person is managing the company or business they are purchasing a widget from.
No matter if you are the sole proprietor or a sales representative for a company, consumers want to know more about the person , the company or the corporation they are dealing with, than what is being sold.
No matter what product or industry someone is in, marketing ones self or business is now better served by stepping back and using more certain methods of promotions that will effectively establish Trust.
Business Golf can provide a person that opportunity to market ones self and start the process of building the solid business relationship needed to establish consumer trust. Whether the business golf is one-on-one with a potential customers or during an outing of hundreds of people, playing golf with someone can produce what other methods of marketing cannot.
2. Shoring Up Return Sales:
If you had a good book of business last year you can bet you are not going to have that same volume of sales this year or for several years to come. That same Trust Factor that effects marketing to new customers is required now by the traditional customers who are part of that very valuable Repeat Sales every business should have concerns about.
Today, when it comes time to resupply or replace something in a business, or home, previous customers are going to shop around. The decision today’s consumer is going to make on who they buy from will be made from who they can trust. If they have not heard from the business owner since they bought something from his/her company then that will be weighted heavily against them getting that customer’s business back.
Shoring up the customer base is going to be top priority for businesses of all sizes. The most effective way to keep your customer base loyal is to create opportunities to have ‘eyeball to eyeball’ contact.
Forget about the discount coupons, the valued customer programs, incentive cards. Unless these gifts of good tidings are delivered by hand to the loyal customers then they just become part of the stacks of other stuff inundating consumers on a daily bases.
Business golf provides an opportunity to have that face to face contact with that person who paid the bills last year, last month or last week. A purposeful round of Business Golf offers more than just a ‘glad hand’ appearance at a buffet dinner or a business appreciation gathering. It allows the business owners, managers, and employees the unique opportunity to say the Two Words that improves by 85% the opportunity of keeping that return business. The two words customers most want to hear are ..
”Thank You.”
3. Employee Retention:
For those businesses who have employees, now is the time to find ways to keep them. Lay offs are happening everywhere. This is sending a panic through the workforces around the world.
In some cases the lay offs many businesses are making today are part of the ‘Sheep Jumping Off The Cliff” syndrome. Business leaders who are without innovation usually blindly do what other businesses are doing because they are following the leaders. When one business in the industry starts laying off the rest of the businesses in that industry ridiculously follow suit even if there is no need for it.
Employees see what is going on around them and become unsettled. Many employees will leave a business that does not communicate with its workforce and will go to work for companies who do care about who works for them.
Naturally, there are legitimate reasons for a business to lay off its employee base. Falling profits in a recession is normal and if a business can’t pay the bills then there is no need in writing Hot payroll checks.
However, if business profits are normal or just slowed, then a ‘settling of the herd’ is needed and it is best done face to face.
Again, Business Golf is the answer. It places the boss, the owner, the chief of staff or whoever is in charge in a position to regain the trust of the most important access a business has..its employees. With the investment a company makes in training and culling through people to find the employee who do the best job, the time spend playing golf with a group of employees becomes a worthwhile expense.
Having the boss playing business golf with the workforce produces a calming effect and improves the trust employees have that things are going OK. That one action can save a business from disaster.
4. Powerful Business Networking:
Having a postive business’s image within the today’s business community is a make or break situation. Business owners have to be very, very concern with how other business owners see them in the community. During this sifting of the economy the information on a business’ needs or announcements of changes in a business is going to be done through business networking. If a business owner or manager is not part of that network then they miss out on a chance to improve business.
Making solid connections and giving promising referrals sheds a positive light on a business support of the community. Other businesses want to be associated with other businesses who are sharing and caring which leads to the businesses most involved in the community getting the most referrals.
Online Social Networking groups are already starting to turn to viewing their business member’s needs. Business Networking is gaining strength. All indications show online and offline Business Networking will overtake social networking by leaps and bounds within the next five years. Those businesses who get involved now in their respective online and offline communities will be set to lead the others who come onboard. Trust amongst businesses will improve and within their respective communities this new level of respect will help improve a business’ image as a leader.
Yesterday, a business would jumped in and take the hook on whatever lead they could find. Today businesses need to finding out more about the person they meet online or at a offline networking function before being baited into something that is worthless. The question becomes..
Are they really who they are or can they be trusted.
The power of business networking will be strengthened when controls are set to keep out the businesses who have deception as their motive for business.
Business Golf provides another level of sifting through what is real and what is not. A purposeful round of business golf with someone or a group of people can highlight character flaws in people that will not show up in a rehearsed environment like a social mixer or online chat room. Playing business golf with business associates builds trust and the positive image needed to gain support from their business community.
Let’s Get Busy
These are just a few of the ways Business Golf can be use effectively. Combined with other methods of developing or securing business, golf provides business owners or managers with an additional tool that is proven and effective.
Say what you may about golf, but there is no disputing the effectiveness the time spent playing golf can have on improving trust which leads to improving business. If you are serious about your business then you should be seriously considering using golf to shore up all sides of your revenue sources.
Let me know how I can help.
