Tag: story

Speaking the New Language of Brands

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GGA Partners Releases New Whitepaper on Private Club Branding as Part of Thought Leadership Series

‘Speaking the New Language of Brands’ Now Available for Download

TORONTO, Ontario – International consulting firm GGA Partners has released Speaking the New Language of Brands, the second in its new series of thought leadership whitepapers.  This authoritative guide redefines a traditional brand value equation and illustrates how adding emotion and experience to a private club’s brand story will increase its value with members.

Speaking the New Language of Brands highlights ways iconic “mega-brands” mold, define, and advance their organizational identity toward the goal of influencing consumer purchasing decisions.  The paper evaluates a traditional outlook on the brand value equation and asserts a redefinition which paves the way to enhanced value perceptions among private club members.

“Traditionally, the key to building value in the eyes of the consumer has been demonstrated in a simple equation, where perceived value is equal to performance divided by price,” explained Henry DeLozier, one of several authors of the piece. “We believe there is a far more effective – and cost efficient – way to increase the value members place in your club and in your brand. It’s by introducing emotion and experience into the equation.”

In addition, the whitepaper argues that a successful branding program is based on the idea of “singularity” and should be designed with differentiation as the primary goal.  “Harkening to the days of the Old West, a branding program should differentiate your cow from all of the other cattle on the range,” said DeLozier.  In other words, creating in the mind of a member or prospective member the belief that there is no other club on the market quite like your club.

Building a brand is easier said than done.  For club managers not familiar with the brand development process, the whitepaper explains six essential steps for clubs to follow when constructing their brand and draws on examples from inside and outside the private club business.

In addition to branding, GGA Partners recently published a new strategic planning whitepaper and has confirmed that others in the series focused on governance and innovation will be published through the third quarter of 2020.

Click here to download the whitepaper

 

About GGA Partners

GGA Partners™ is an international consulting firm and trusted advisor to many of the world’s most successful golf courses, private clubs, resorts, and residential communities.  We are dedicated to helping owners, asset managers, club and community leaders, investors and real estate developers tackle challenges, achieve objectives, and maximize asset performance.

Established in 1992 as the KPMG Golf Industry Practice, our global team of experienced professionals leverage in-depth business intelligence and proprietary global data to deliver impactful strategic solutions and lasting success. For more information, please visit ggapartners.com.

Media Contact:

Bennett DeLozier
GGA Partners
602-614-2100
bennett.delozier@ggapartners.com

Does Your Club Have An Identity Crisis?

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“Today, brands are stories. (…) carefully developed and aimed at preidentified market segments whose wants, needs and expectations align with the intended benefits of the product.” – Henry DeLozier

But change can often bring about a mismatch between the story and the segments you want to attract. GGA’s Bennett DeLozier outlines how to determine whether your club’s visual identity is true to what it represents.

A lot of things have changed in the last decade. In politics, in society, in the environment we all share. This impacts how we feel, how we interact with each other, and what products and services we want to be a part of our everyday lives.

These changes are evident at the club level, too. Aspects of your club may be unrecognizable from what they were ten years ago, from membership categories, to club amenities, to the profile of your members, and even the culture of the club. Sometimes this change has come as a result of proactive planning, sometimes reactive necessity.

But while many clubs have changed dramatically, we often find the brand pillars and visual identity (logo, colors, mission, values, purpose, positioning, voice, tone, look-and-feel of the club) get left behind. In other words, the club is missing the opportunity to illustrate and communicate what makes it different, compelling, and worth someone’s interest.

Given the state of over-supply for clubs in most metropolitan markets, brand management which enables effective market differentiation is essential. But before embarking on a rebranding effort without professional guidance, clubs can and should seek to periodically assess the state of their brand identity and how compelling a proposition it is to target member or customer segments

Stick or twist

How do you go about assessing the current brand and the potential need for change?

First, club managers and leaders must understand the power of brand. This means knowing the market segments the club serves and those it aspires to serve in the future. It requires a grasp of buyer motivations and the reasons people are motivated to join the club.

Second, and in order to evaluate whether there is a need for change, you should engage your board in a strategic brand audit and follow a clear process, similar to the indicative one below:

1. Ask your members, past members, stakeholders, and staff for their thoughts via a bespoke survey.

It’s also valuable to solicit input on brand perceptions from those outside of your intraclub community, particularly from competitors and people with whom current and prospective members are likely to interact (such as realtors, local community groups, fitness centers, apartment complexes, senior living homes, or neighboring schools). This will (quickly) help you to gain a sense of how those most important to the club view it, and allow you to identify any potential mismatch between what the club is, and how it communicates that with the wider world.

2. Assess the costs and benefits of a brand change or an identity evolution.

For instance, how will repositioning the club’s brand help to open up new target customer segments? How might it affect your typical core customer base? What is the cost of any proposed change, both financial and perceptual?

This exercise need not be overly complicated, a good old-fashioned SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) will cover off most of the key points to consider. Outline the opportunities and threats in a rational, pragmatic way to determine the most suitable outcome.

3. Marry your findings with your strategic plan.

How strong is the desire for change and how does this synchronize with your club’s future plans? It’s crucially important not to get drawn into making a decision for the now and foregoing any sense of futureproofing.

For instance, if you are set to launch a multi-sport facility and fitness center next year, are planning to unveil some luxury lodges the year after, and have been considering enhanced family programming for months, all this needs to be factored into the new identity you create.

Charting the future

Change is never easy. It feels uncomfortable. And risky. But sometimes standing still will only serve to do your club an injustice, poorly reflecting its attributes, story and emotional value to those that engage with it.

In that case, the benefits are there to be seized: appealing to new customer segments, futureproofing the club (socially and fiscally), and uniting those closest to the club around a clear sense of what it is and what it represents.

Making the Connection

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Do you know what makes your club special and different? GGA’s Linda Dillenbeck explains the power of understanding what makes your club unique, and how to communicate that with messages that resonate with your target consumer.

If you want to make your marketing efforts more effective, your first step is to take a step back and look at your Club’s marketing message through the eyes of your prospective customer.

If your message isn’t telling potential members how your Club is unique in the marketplace, and distinct in fulfilling their desire for a club membership, then you are missing an opportunity to make a connection.

And that connection that can be the difference between choosing your club or your competitor’s.

Define Your Brand with A Unique Selling Proposition

That’s simple, right?

You probably have a championship golf course, offering a variety of tees for players of all skill levels, along with a courteous professional staff, in a beautifully manicured setting, with first-class amenities for an active lifestyle…

If these are the phrases you use when describing your Club, then you have fallen into the “sea of sameness” trap. A quick review of your competitor’s brand messages and websites will probably reveal they are using the same descriptions to promote their Clubs.

Defining your brand goes deeper than a recitation of what you have. It’s about who you are. Prospects want to know how you are unique, why you are different and what your Club offers that no one else can.

This is defined as your Unique Selling Proposition, the purpose of which is to inform your prospects why your Club is the best choice, and to justify why your target customers should choose your Club over the competition.

To develop your Unique Selling Proposition, ask your Members and staff to tell you:

  • The one thing that makes your Club different
  • The three words that best describe your Club
  • The short description they use when their friends ask about your Club.

These responses will reveal the current perception of your brand, and provide the starting point for determining what truly makes your Club unique.

Speak to Your Specific Audience

Communication serves several purposes: to inform, to influence, to engage the imagination, and to satisfy expectations.

To ensure your brand message is relevant, you must first define specific audience to whom it is to be delivered. Whether your Club’s target audience is families, low-handicap players, couples or business executives, the information presented should use terms and phrases conveying that your Club understands the audience being addressed, and values what that audience holds in high regard.

All too frequently, marketing messages focus on the Club, whereas prospects want to learn how the Club will improve their lives. By focusing your message on satisfying a need and fulfilling a desire you will capture the attention of your prospect much more often.

And most important, your Club’s marketing messages must create trust and connection with its audience. Today’s consumers appreciate simple and honest messages, unencumbered by hollow boasts. By speaking truthfully, consistently and authentically with your audience, your messages will be much more effective.

Tell Your Audience Your Story

Too often, we observe Club marketing focused on providing a laundry list of adjective-laden amenities in their effort to distinguish their facility from the competition. Unfortunately, most Clubs have a lot of the same amenities.

A more successful way to engage consumers and break out of the “sea of sameness” is to tell the story of who you are, why you exist, the shared values of the Club and its members, and the unique experiences available.

Stories engage people and their imagination, particularly stories about people and experiences. The storytelling method of presenting your Club will engage your prospects, allowing them to cast a role for themselves in the narrative and visualize becoming part of the Club’s story.

Below is a good example of successful storytelling we recently came across. The text appears as the opening paragraph on the Club’s website.

“Imagine a private retreat, nestled among citrus groves, rolling foothills and lush fairways.
Picture a place of connections, camaraderie, competition and ease from the pace of life –
an idyllic environment for a gracious way of living.”

This introduction to the Club highlights both its uniqueness – a private retreat among citrus groves, rolling foothills and lush fairways – and a distinct impression of what the Club values – camaraderie, competition, a gracious way of living – thereby inviting the like-minded prospect into the story.

Understanding what differentiates your Club from the competition, communicating those appealing attributes to the matching audience, and doing it in a fashion properly tailored for their consumption will elevate your Club’s message above the competition and entice your prospects to want to learn more.

This article was authored by GGA Senior Associate and Marketing expert Linda Dillenbeck.

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