Golf and digital marketing have a lot of similarities.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been asked, “Can you please explain what it is you are doing? How long does it take? What tools do you need?” and my personal favorite, “How much does it cost?” 

If you are a marketer and a golfer, I know two things: 1) your wife doesn’t care about your profession or hobby because there is too much jargon and 2) each takes up a lot of time. 

Let’s start with the equipment

• The golf ball is the only constant for every shot. Just like the internet is the only constant between a website, social media, email, Google, chat, etc. 
• Website is your driver. You want to drop bombs but at times it will go astray. 
• Google is your putter. You can’t stand it and use it on every hole. But, if it’s there when you really need it, nothing can be sweeter. 
• Social media is like your irons. Just clanging around, some you like, some you don’t. You may add new ones, but nothing changes. Your news feed is still filled with shit, just like your golf game. 
• Email acts like your wedges. You have to use it. You want to ignore them but they are tools you must learn to use effectively.
• Now, the golf bag is your marketing agency, holding all of your equipment in one place. 

Both are a journey

The entire bag tells a story of the golfer's journey. Are they a good long iron player, long off the tee, they use what works, chasing a game (I’ve been guilty of this before), ready to have a good time, and the list goes on. If you are not a golfer, you are wondering how you can tell all of this from the look of a golf bag? Experience. Time. Practice. Your own weaknesses and strengths. Research. Conversations. 

Time

One of the most misunderstood aspects of golf and marketing, time. The amount of time that goes into preparation, working through the strategy, adapting to a changing environment, meetings, implementation, analyzing, and developing a new plan. One day something works that you spent countless hours on and the next you're left scratching your head. 

How does this apply to marketing?

When an agency comes into your business, we have to take a good look at the equipment (applications, website, advertising, social media, etc.) you are currently using to develop a well-rounded game (strategy). Along the way, we start to uncover where we need to make improvements. Then we develop a plan to address the individual tasks that must be completed over a specific amount of time. 

But, just like with golf equipment, you can spend $150.00 on a used driver that is a few years old or $600 on a brand new driver. Yes, both will accomplish the same desired result - hitting a ball from a tee box onto a fairway. But, instead of buying the $600 driver, you decide to take the difference between the two and apply the $450 to lessons. Which will give you a good base to build upon and help you achieve your goals faster. Spending the same amount of money, but getting more bang for your buck. 

Oftentimes, companies and stakeholders tend to assume nothing is being accomplished because they are not seeing significant results overnight. Do we ever get the results we want overnight? Nope. But, if you stay the course and trust in your plan, do you eventually achieve the desired results? Yes!