Improving Perfection…
By 
Walt Goshert on Mar 22, 2008 in Marketing Tactics
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… A Viral Video Marketing “Playing” Lesson
First, I offer you…
The slow motion golf swing of Mr. Eldrick Woods:
“Pretty… pretty… pretty… pretty good”
Now, take a look at what Jacksonville, FL golf pro and swing guru Tracy Reed does with this video.
Tracy, golf clap to you for a beautiful marketing play.
You’ve taken a viral video of Tiger Woods (well, it’s viral in the golf world…) and turned it into tons of comments and buzz about your site. Great lead-in and credibility for your Ultimate Golf System program.
Now, let’s look at Tracy’s near-perfect play from a marketing tactics standpoint:
1. He borrows Celebrity Endorsement from the #1 Golfer on the planet, Tiger Woods… without paying Tiger a dime!
2. Tracy demonstrates his knowledge and positions himself as The Expert, a Golf Swing Guru.
3. The comments act as testimonials and re-enforce Tracy’s Expert status.
“Near”-Perfect?
He does three things so beautifully, just as Tiger does with his swing.
But, at the moment of impact, Tracy shanks it!
Yep, Tracy Reed, top-notch golf swing guru, looking to sell a $197 Ultimate Golf System DVD Program, you deliver a picture perfect “marketing” swing…
- You got a free implied endorsement from Tiger Woods
- You’ve demonstrated in detail your knowledge and understanding of the golf swing, positioning yourself as a Golf Swing Guru.
- You’ve gathered glowing endorsements and comments, adding to your credibility.
- You hint at a Ultimate Golf Swing Program. (the link under the video)
But, I’m sorry to say, at the moment of truth, you’ve lost tons of “marketing” juice.
Tracy let me step in as your “Marketing Caddy”…
Here are two “marketing” swing thoughts:
1. Make an Irresistible Offer
“Thanks for watching my Tiger Woods Swing Analysis. I invite you to leave your comments and questions. And when you leave a comment today…and today only… you’ll receive a 25% no-questions asked discount off my guaranteed Ultimate Golf System.
2. Have a clear, step-by-step Call-to-Action.
“Do you want to learn how to apply the Tiger Woods swing secrets to your swing?
Click on the Ultimate Golf Swing System link under the video… Right now, while it’s fresh on your mind… and discover how you can be a Tiger too!”
Do you think these two simple changes would help Tracy sell more Ultimate Golf Systems?
What would you suggest to Tracy?
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10 Comment(s)
By
Betty
(Check me out!) on Mar 24, 2008 | Reply
For sure your suggestions would improve his sales.Love the concept but are you sure that you can do voice overs of a copyrighted celebrity video? He might not have added the commercial aspect to the actual video voice over because that would put him at higher risk for Tiger’s legal team to come against him.There might be a legal loophole with using Tiger’s video for purely educational purposes.
By
Eric
(Check me out!) on Mar 24, 2008 | Reply
I would suggest that Tracy speed up the commentary a little bit.
From a marketing stand point, he does miss the call to action.
I think Tracy should establish a service were he does an analysis of videos people send to him of their swing. He could even offer a remote lesson series.
I would much rather here an explanation of my swing than of Tiger’s.
By
Andrew
(Check me out!) on Mar 24, 2008 | Reply
Great tip Eric… a place (area) where people upload their own video and he analyzes their swing — for free — and obviously to promo his course. I like that Walt — “how to swing like the Tiger” kind of deal. I do disagree with one thing Eric — I don’t golf myself — so just basing this satement from a couple good buds of mine who do — the commentary is not really to long — the “crack addict golfers” I know would watch this over and over… could be 10 hours long. Andrew
By
Andrew
(Check me out!) on Mar 24, 2008 | Reply
Well shoot — he already analyzes peoples swing. Did not see a place though where he offers to do this free on his blog — I see where people who purchased his program receives swing critiques.I do think this could be a good “lead in” for his program — free critiques for his readers… only thing it could do is help his sales.Funny how this Internet works — just like the real world — here we are talking about him behind his back — over time he will discover we are talking about him… just funny to me.Another trackback for him
Improve your golf swingAndrew
By
Walt Goshert
(Check me out!) on Mar 26, 2008 | Reply
Betty,
Yep, it’s a Nike ad. Posted on YouTube since ‘06. Nearly 200,000 views. I’m not an attorney, but Nike no doubt figures that a teaching pro, who more than likely sells their equipment, who breaks down Tiger’s swing sure can’t hurt them.
Eric,
Comments on Gary’s swing(the other guy, who also happens to be a pro golfer) 17. Comments on Tiger’s swing-93. I’m sure if we had access to Tracy’s unique visitors and page views, the numbers would be much more than 5 times as much. Who would you use? Tiger… or some guy named Gary?
Andrew,
You’re right about “crack addict golfers”.
Tracy’s sweet spot is the better golfer, the scratch golfer, the pro wanting to get better. He’s not trying to attract the typical hacker.
Plus, if you’re not going to watch his complete analysis of Tiger’s swing for free, you’re probably not going to shell out $197 to pay for more swing analysis.
By
Tracy
(Check me out!) on Jun 13, 2008 | Reply
I appreciated the analysis of the marketing on our blog. I like the idea of the the call to action, and with your permission, I my use it. I don’t believe Nike minds the educational side of the video, but they would bring the site to a screeching halt if I were selling something based on it, which is why there is no irresistable offer. Even the call to action must be only to look further into my materials. Nike has already looked into what I’m doing and so far, they haven’t put the brakes on it. I know because they contacted one of their staff pros who has given me a testimonial.
Concerning free video analysis. Each analysis takes 2 hours or more to complete. My rates for instruction are $500 per hour. I currently am backlogged ten deep on them, so supply and demand precludes getting them for free. We will soon be creating a members only site and will offer vieo analysis for members there.
The purpose for this video was two-fold. One is to demonstrate my ability to analyze a swing, locate the core issue that is causing any swing problem and most importantly, communicate the issue so that the golfer can easily understand what I’m saying. This is key because I feel it is the most important skill an instructor should have, yet it is one of the weakest areas for better than 95% of instructors who accept golfers’ hard-earned cash for lessons.
When a golfer sees that I understand the swing from the inside out and can communicate simply and clearly so they can understand me, they feel more comfortable that they will acheive the same results that thousands of other golfers world-wide have recieved.
The second purpose is to debunk many of the golf swing theories that float around at any time. These theories are derived by watching swing videos and seeing results without understanding causes. This type of analysis leads to theories that not only are not supported by the science of Biomechanics, they are not movements that the body will naturally make. Add to that the possible injuries that golfers will develop from those unsupported theories and I have a big road ahead, because many of the theories I am debunking are supported by some rather popular people in golf.
So the video is primarily educational and although it is now public domain, I will continue to respect Nike and Tiger Woods by not making an instant pitch for the products.
As far as my market, yes, they are better golfers. This goes to 80/20 rule. The 20% who are the better golfers are the ones who understand that to improve more, they have to look beyond what they are doing now. They will have the patience to investigate further and they will be willing to shell out what seems like much more money than they would pay for an average instructional course. Golf Swing Control is no average instructional course and the results that golfers are getting has proven that out over the last 5 years. The top 20% quickly figure that out.
Thanks again for starting this string. As a student myself of marketing for over ten years, I appreciate the honest feedback.
By
Tony
(Check me out!) on Jun 13, 2008 | Reply
Actually as long as he doesn’t endorse Tiger as associated with his product, which his clearly doesn’t, in web law, it’s considered a smash-up. So he’s safe there.The only problem I see with giving 25% off is he loses a lot from the front sales unless he doesn’t mention the “real” sale price, but his sales page clearly states the price. What are your thoughts on that?
By
Walt Goshert
(Check me out!) on Jun 14, 2008 | Reply
Tracy,
Yes, please do use the Call to Action. Let us know if it makes a difference.
I agree it’s a fine line you walk with Nike. You get more benefit from the Nike and Tiger exposure, plus your positioning as a golf swing expert with your analysis, than aggressively going for the sale.
I pretty much knew that, which is why it was easy for me to point out these “marketing” faults here.
Also, if you’re 10 deep on swing analysis requests and getting $500 an hour, you’d be crazy to discount to sell your program. Perhaps there’s some other bonus that you can package to spur sales, whether it’s on the video analysis page or your sales page, such as a video compilation of Top 10 most common minor swing faults that put you in trouble in the heat of competition.
I know that when I finally get out from behind my keyboard here and back on working on my golf game, I’ll be buying your program.
Tony,
I’m not an attorney, so I can’t answer. From Tracy’s comment, it looks like he’s addressing the legal balancing act he’s doing with Nike. As a top golf swing pro, Nike will give him some slack here, but only so far. I think he’s smart not to press it.
The 25% discount was an off-the -top of my head idea to make the point about an Irresistible Offer.
No doubt, a better offer ties into some type of swing analysis given the supply and demand on Tracy’s time. Perhaps your idea… a video “mash-up” of common swing faults video, something Tracy has already done in one on one swing analysis, that doesn’t take lots of his time, yet has high perceived value for his target market, the good golfer, willing to invest time and money to get better, is the better offer.
By
Golf Tours
(Check me out!) on Jun 25, 2008 | Reply
That was a great video! It was the first time I saw it! I wish all my swings had that form!!
By
Walt Goshert
(Check me out!) on Jun 25, 2008 | Reply
Yeah Golf Tours… you and every golfer on the planet wish they had that swing!
See ya in 2009 Tiger…
Will the swing be the same? Can he swing it and still protect the knee?
Look how long its taken Ernie Els to bounce back from major knee surgery.