In July 2022, around my birthday, I uttered the words “why don’t we go to the pitch and putt course nearby? We haven’t done that in a long time”.
Now, just under a year later, that one question has led to an obsession that now sees myself and my friends joining the thousands of others across the UK in spending every weekend simultaneously cursing and loving this frustrating sport.
While we’re not going to be competing with Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, or Jon Rahm any time soon, we’d all like to think that we’ve made significant steps forward compared to where we were less than 12 months ago.
Indeed, my wallet is already far happier now that I’m having to spend less money on replacing lost golf balls each month!
What has surprised me, however, is how much you can learn from golf when it comes to effective marketing. For example, both require long-term effort and patience despite being very frustrating at times!
Indeed, as author Bruce Lansky once quipped: “We learn so many things from golf – how to suffer, for instance.”
While Lansky isn’t wrong, there are many other things we can learn from golf that we can use to our advantage. So, read on to discover what playing golf can teach you about effective marketing.
Practice makes perfect
One of the biggest things I’ve learned in the last year or so is that when it comes to golf, practice is everything.
Like most things in life, you are very unlikely to improve at it unless you keep practising and trying to perfect your swing, your stance, the ball placement, and your putting stroke. Sounds easy, right?! It isn’t!
Getting better at golf takes time, patience, and effort. Marketing is no different. With so many options and techniques at your disposal, effective marketing is all about practising and constantly trying to improve.
Learn from previous marketing mistakes to make sure you are optimising your marketing strategy. Similarly, you can look at what your competitors are doing and identify what’s working for them. You could consider trying the same.
Alternatively, why not look for a niche in the market? If there’s something you believe would work, and nobody else is trying it, carry out some research and, if it’s viable, give it a try.
Additionally, you might find that a certain form of marketing has provided some level of success but you want to achieve even more. It could be that a slight tweak or a change in focus could be the answer.
In the same way that golfers will attempt different swing styles or stances until they get it right, you can do the same with your marketing strategy.
Don’t give up!
I’ll be honest, there have been a few occasions, especially recently, where I’ve felt so frustrated with my performance on the course that I’ve considered giving up.
If anyone reading this plays golf, you’ll know first-hand how tempting it is to throw the club into the lake or break the putter in half when you slice that drive or miss a three-foot putt. However frustrating this wonderful sport is, I can never claim not to enjoy myself, so I’ve learned to put my anger and disappointment aside and persist with something I’m passionate about.
Marketing a business is exactly the same. Nobody ever said that marketing and promoting your own business would be easy but that doesn’t stop it becoming frustrating if it’s taking a while to produce the results you want.
Just like golf, and indeed anything you’re passionate about, it’s important not to give up with your efforts.
Marketing can take time but utilising the most effective techniques and technologies will give you the best possible opportunity to succeed. That’s why it’s so important not to give up and to stick with your marketing strategy, especially if you have employed an experienced marketing company to look after everything for you.
The equipment is as important as the individual
While I will ultimately admit that my skill, or lack thereof, is a key part of my poor performance on the golf course, I also know that the very basic (and cheap) equipment I’m using won’t be making it any easier for me.
The same can be said for marketing. Utilising the very best equipment and software, whether that’s a brand-new website, the latest email marketing software, or social media platforms that are built around customer engagement, is a key part of any marketing success.
Put simply, if you’re not taking advantage of the technology that’s available to you, your marketing isn’t likely to be as effective.
In golf, you can’t get someone else to do all the work for you (believe me, I wish you could at times!) However, with marketing you can. So, while there are some things you can do as a business owner to help market your business, taking advantage of the expertise and experience of a marketing company could be far more beneficial to you in the long run.
Aside from the obvious benefits of having someone far more knowledgeable take care of the design of your website, or promoting your business through social media campaigns, it will also allow you more time to focus on other aspects of your business.
Get in touch
We certainly can’t give you golf advice (well, I certainly can’t anyway) but we can help you with attracting the type of client you want to work with.
Just like a pro helps a golfer with their swing or stance, we can work with you to improve your performance.
We can help you market your firm and provide you with a beautiful new website, engaging social media campaigns, and ongoing email newsletter content to help you attract new clients.
Get in touch by emailing hi@theyardstickagency.co.uk or call us on 0115 8965 300.
