The Biz

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. Why invest in GMS?
   Do your competitors seem to get all the publicity in newspapers, magazines and the trade press? Are you consistently left out of industry round-ups, product reviews and listings, and vendor resource guides? Do your ads unleash a stampede of responses? Is your web site choked with traffic? Are your sales consistent or do you have peaks and valleys? Maybe the press omits you because they don't know about you. Maybe your lack of visibility is affecting your other marketing efforts. Maybe consumers have never heard of your company. Maybe it's time to let them know!
   
   
2. How can GMS give me more bang for my marketing buck?
   That big fish in the golf pond may be bigger and more well-established and have more money than you. They spent more money on their booth at last year's PGA Show and on that full-page magazine ad last month, than you can afford in a year. What can you do when your competitor can outspend you 10:1? Unlike advertising, where media exposure can be bought with dollars, in public relations media exposure is generated with time and thought. PR levels the playing field. It can leverage your marketing budget and allow you to get the same or better promotional bang for a lot fewer bucks.
   
   
3. Why is GMS the right agency for my business?
   GMS is a hands-on, responsive, niche agency. Our firm is small enough to consider your account valuable and worthy of our best efforts, regardless of the size of your budget, and is large enough, highly respected, and experienced to have the resources to get the job done. GMS offers fresh thinking, outside objectivity, and a more creative approach coupled with the PR expertise you're looking for in the golf industry.
   
   
4. How can PR benefit me and my company?
   You don't have to be promoting a crazy scheme or unusual product to get publicity. Creative PR, with proper execution, works for manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, retailers, resellers, agents, service companies and professional organizations in any industry. You need a creative idea that meets two criteria: it's newsworthy and it communicates the marketing message. This requires time, execution, follow-up and responsiveness. PR is a time intensive process that can be a full time job. Your time is valuable. Media coverage is valuable. Most business owners don't have time to schmooze the media. Hire GMS - the golf PR specialists - to get the job done.
   
   
5. Why is PR important in my marketing mix?
   The world has changed and so has marketing. In today's fast-paced e-commerce global society, consumers have far more choices and far less time to sort them out. Marketers are having to deal with the ever growing "attention deficit" of today's consumer. We're too busy to pay attention to advertising, but we're desperate to find good stuff that solves our problems. PR has the broadest reach of any element of your marketing mix. PR generates the buzz and creates an emotional effect and impact that motivates consumers to buy your product. When compared to traditional advertising, third party endorsements of your product generates more attention and better results for a fraction of your marketing budget.
   
   
6. How can GMS get my company more media coverage?
   Journalists, like all of us, have too much to do and not enough time to do it. Every day they must fill pages or airtime with stories that interest, entertain, and inform their readership, viewers, or listeners. Deadlines are always tight and editors and reporters are overworked and often underpaid. PR is a people business. PR pros like GMS work in partnership with the media. We provide what the media needs --- ideas, information, interviews and even ready-made stories --- in abundant supply and absolutely free. If you give them a good story idea, you automatically improve the odds of getting your product into print. If you give them a story that is well- written, packaged, and ready to go, your chances of getting ink increase dramatically.
   
   
7. How can GMS improve the effectiveness of our marketing efforts?
   The objectives, goals, and messages your marketing communications deliver - advertising, direct mail, trade shows, events, PR and the Internet --- need to be consistent and speak to today's savvy and educated golf consumer. You don't want to negate the impact of a successful PR campaign by promoting a completely different message in your print advertising. PR is a strong tool in creating and reinforcing brand images. A creative idea, a clear marketing goal and effective implementation are what count. In an extremely cluttered marketing environment, diligent and vigilant PR can help your company break through the mass media clutter for a minimal cost.