Business Plan for Main Golfing Outlet
Company Description
Keys to Success
Products and Services
Marketing Plan
Marketing Focus
Retail Market
Target Markets
Web Success
Golf is a game that can be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of size, shape, or age. For this reason, it has become one of the most popular sports and leisure activities in the United States. Main Golfing Outlet aims to target audiences of all ages, groups, skills and genders. Main Golfing Outlet chooses only the most technologically advanced golf clubs to sell to our valued customers.
We are aware that there are many stores and websites that sell golfing merchandise. However, they do not cater to golfers of all skill levels and backgrounds. At Main Golfing Outlet, improving customers’ games is our only business. We are dedicated to selling our customers the best products for their individual needs. With many years of experience, and a gentle approach in an unhurried environment, we will coach our customers through their shopping experience. Our strong commitment to client satisfaction is showcased by our money-back guarantee.
Company Description
Main Golfing Outlet is a small business aimed at bringing a smile to every golfer’s face when they see how wonderful their new equipment is. Our goal of superior customer service and satisfaction will take dedication on the part of all staff members and vendors. The vision manifests itself in three ways:
Selling the same outstanding quality results time after time.
Be recognized as the top golfing merchandiser on the Web.
Be steadfast to our commitment for customer service and satisfaction.
Keys to Success
Our keys to success will be providing high quality merchandise, competitive pricing, and excellent customer service as our hallmark.
Main Golfing Outlet is currently located in San Francisco, CA. We will have a staff of twelve, with plans to expand to a full-time operation within the next five years. The company is established as a home-operated, part-time sole proprietorship. It is the intention of the company to develop sales and broaden the client base so as to become a full-time business. The company will offer a full range of golfing merchandise.
The founder of Main Golfing Outlet has a long history as a golfer and business owner. A graduate of UC Berkeley’s Haas Business School, his business and e-commerce skills are impeccable. The founder owns all of his technical equipment; therefore, only minimal financial outlay is required for the merchandise. Because Main Golfing Outlet is a home-based business, overhead is low. Salary for the owner will be withdrawn from the year-end funds once the business is established and profitable. The owner is investing $10,000 from his personal savings, along with another $10,000 from a personal friend. This limits the short-term debt to $12,350 from the owner’s credit union, for which the business is already pre-approved.
The company will offer a wide variety of products, such as: golf balls, golf clubs, clothing, improvement tools and more.
Main Golfing Outlet will aggressively seek out local vendors to form strategic alliances in order to reduce the cost of supplies and offer more services to the client.
Many of today’s white-collar professionals are golfers. Golfers spend approximately $26 billion annually for golf-related items and services. Main Golfing Outlet will reach this audience by targeting clients of these existing markets. We will fill an existing need for the client by specializing in providing golfing merchandise for golfers of all skill levels and backgrounds. Through advertisements in the print media, brochures, and establishing working relationships with golfing specialty businesses frequented by our potential client base, we will highlight our quality products.
The critical threats to this business venture are:
Sudden negative change in the local or national economy, since this is a luxury sport.
Increased competition in the Internet market.
Unsuccessful partnerships with golfing associations.
Main Golfing Outlet’s competitive edge is its commitment to customer service and satisfaction. We offer an array of products, excellent customer service support, and have the latest technology to update our e-commerce site. At Main Golfing Outlet, golfing equipment is our primary business, not a sideline or hobby. We understand golfers and how to get the right elements together for a successful game. We are patient, and our number-one goal is quality results.
Objectives
Main Golfing Outlet is a small business aimed at bringing a smile to every golfer’s face when they see how the right equipment improves their game. Our goal of superior customer service and satisfaction will take dedication on the part of all staff members and vendors. The vision manifests itself in three ways:
Produce the same outstanding quality results time after time.
Be recognized as the top golfing merchandiser on the Web.
Be steadfast to our commitment for customer service and satisfaction.
Mission
Today’s environment presents the consumer with an array of choices. Main Golfing Outlet strives to be the best choice for the client. Providing quality products, competitive pricing, and excellent customer service is our hallmark. Golf, even in a strong economy, is a luxury; therefore, our customers will receive only the best products designed to help them improve their game. This will be achieved through client interviews and patiently spending time with each customer to make them comfortable in their new equipment. Through consistent, high-quality results we are committed to providing each client with value and satisfaction.
The key to success at Main Golfing Outlet includes our commitment to quality and customer satisfaction. We will be responsible for ensuring a high degree of professionalism in three areas:
Consistent fulfillment of the clients expectations.
Competitive pricing for the quality and array of services offered.
A fair and reasonable profit on each sale.
Products and Services
Describe the thing in jargon free-language. How does it smell? What does it do? What differentiates it from all the other whatchamacallits out there? How does it improve people’s lives? What prevents someone else from doing the same thing more cheaply? What kind of equipment do you need? Do you have, or can you get, patent protection? Put yourself in the shoes of the investor and ask yourself what you yourself would want to know before agreeing to part with a large amount of money (“large” being most likely at least tens of thousands of dollars).
Marketing Plan
This marketing plan is designed to give us a blueprint for marketing our new online retail store, Main Golfing Outlet. We have included a complete market analysis, target market summaries and other relevant discussions.
Our ambitions for this marketing plan include:
Using Internet and direct-mail marketing campaigns to build local promotions and marketing literature.
Devising lucrative promotions that will draw sponsorships from possible strategic partners. These promotions are key to our strategy of increasing our strategic alliances through cross-promotions.
Identifying our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Identifying the local market forces, target markets, and promotional opportunities.
Marketing Focus
During the past several years, the golfing industry has grown dramatically. Of the 50 million golfers worldwide, at least half reside in the United States (Seaman, 1995). The top ten states ranked by total number of avid golfers include California, Florida, New York, Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina and New Jersey. Billions of dollars are spent on equipment, apparel and shoes. In addition, golfers generally tend to be a fairly affluent group.
Local competition is not as fierce as direct mail and Web competition. They currently do very little marketing and very few company-sponsored events. We will not rule out the possibility that they may do so in the future as a response to our projected success in such marketing.
Our direct sales are fueled by our current list of customers and Web co-marketing. To date, we have allocated minimal funds to marketing over the Web. We have relied on word of mouth, free banner exchange programs, our printed catalogs, and Web reviews to drive revenues to the site. We count worldwide readers of such publications as Golf magazine and Outdoor Adventure among our target direct audience.
Retail Market
Our three main target markets are weekend golfers, hard core golfers, and the curious. We predict that the number of hard core golfers will grow faster than the number of weekend golfers. Golfing is becoming more and more technical, an “insider’s sport,” and we believe this will fuel the growth of dedicated, highly sophisticated golfers. At the same time, amateur growth is leveling off.
Target Markets
Geography:
80% U.S. customers.
15% European customers.
5% Other countries
Age:
Sex:
75% male
25% female
Males buy gear through catalogs and the Web more often than women. This skews the direct sales toward male customers. Web customers tend to be younger than catalog shoppers, and a larger percentage of them are locals or native to the United States.
Web Success
Main Golfing Outlet’s key assumption is that two factors are required for success in achieving Web success:
Lack of significant Web sites in the chosen market
The ability to bring an integral aspect of the market’s services or products to the Web.
Main Golfing Outlet’s initial market will be the tourism industry in California and other popular golfing regions, with a focus on small, established companies and start-ups. With more than 2,000 established businesses in the market without a quality Web site, the first factor is met.
The company’s target market includes (but is not limited to) hotels, motels, travel agencies, tourist attractions, tourism-related retail stores, guided tour companies, resorts, campgrounds, and local restaurants. Each of these establishments has the opportunity to make their business more customer-oriented and convenient by bringing some aspect of their services online to our Web site.
Market Analysis
Potential Customers Growth 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 CAGR Weekend warriors 25% 40,000 50,000 62,500 78,125 97,656 25.00% The curious 25% 30,000 37,500 46,875 58,594 73,243 25.00% Hardcore climbers 30% 15,000 19,500 25,350 32,955 42,842 30.00% Direct customers 35% 85,000 114,750 154,913 209,133 282,330 35.00% Other 0% 0-0 0-0 0-0.00% Total 30.70% 170,000 221,750 289,638 378,807 496,071 30.70% Main Golfing Outlet’s main function is similar to that of the ski shop; selling important gear while providing a place for all levels of players.
There is a real need for a highly professional yet customer-oriented provider of golfing equipment on the Internet. People need guidance through all levels of the sport.
There is a need for ‘one-stop’ shopping.
SWOT Analysis
Main Golfing Outlet recognizes the following strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT):
Strengths:
Community commitment
Experience in the sport of golfing.
Education and marketing experience.
Weaknesses:
Limited cash.
Little experience with e-commerce politics.
Opportunities:
No well-focused, well-marketed competition.
The cost of Internet and other direct marketing opportunities have decreased in recent years.
Golfers are not as price-sensitive as other outdoor enthusiasts.
Threats:
Increased Internet competition.
Security threats.
Strengths
Our most significant strength lies in our management team’s skills in both golfing and running a small business.
With a nationwide direct marketing business that includes Internet and catalog sales, Main Golfing Outlet is in a natural position to expand into retail in the future. Through customer service, this company is bound to increase its brand recognition.
Weaknesses
Main Golfing Outlet has access to a limited amount of cash. Initial financing will not be difficult due to solid credit and the low inventory depreciation rate, but ongoing financing will be more difficult to obtain. It’s not the receivable days that will cause havoc on the cash plan, since sales are 100% cash, it is the operating and marketing expenses.
Opportunities
The market for golfing equipments is far below saturation level. Our two main competitors do very little in the way of marketing to all skill-levels, be it advertising or community involvement PR. This gives us the opportunity to develop the market and brand ourselves as the market ‘original’.
The cost of selling via e-commerce and through mail-order has decreased tremendously in recent years. Internet domain names cost $35 a year, and e-commerce servers may be set up for only $30 a month. Certain high-circulation catalogs will develop custom catalogs for vendors and mail them for a fixed fee. This is incredibly cost effective for companies that do not have costly relationships with printers, graphic artists, and the like. Both direct mail and Internet sales are a growing segment of our business.
Serious golfers will pay anything to get into the latest gear. The average golfer carries around $1,200 of equipment. Since players buy only name brand gear at a price premium. Climbers associate high price with premium quality.
Golfing service companies offer us a unique opportunity. We can team up with these services to promote our events and store, and in return we will give them advertising. This gives service companies cost-effective market exposure.
Threats
Network security is the biggest threat to e-commerce. Security systems and vulnerability assessment are good investment areas, as are application security and host-based security products. Ultimately, however, we will see more tightly integrated products to reduce costs and management complexity. VPNs will become more flexible and less expensive as start-ups provide technology to automate the set-up and management processes. To stay ahead, Main Golfing Outlet will remain up-to-date on all technological advances and implement new security measures as needed.
Conclusion
While we will face great challenges in years ahead, we will also be presented with extraordinary opportunities. We will all have access to new opportunities such as forming strategic alliances, niche marketing and doing new business on the Internet. To grow and prosper, you must know your market and know your clients. This business will do everything possible to eliminate weakness and threats and focus on strengths and opportunities.
Bibliography
Bhide Amar (1996), The Questions Every Entrepreneur Must Answer, Harvard Business Review, Boston
Jr., Robert V. Delaney (1986), How to prepare an effective business plan, Amacon, New York.
Rich, Stanley R & David E. Gumpert (1985), How to write a Winning Business Plan, Harvard Business Review, Boston
Seaman, D. (April, 1995). Tap Into the Billion Dollar Golf Market: The Chiropractic Economics of Golf. Economics.
