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PXG (Parsons Xtreme Golf) The 0811XF Driver

Section I: Brand Selection

Parsons Xtreme Golf (PXG) has developed the 0811XF driver and is a well acclaimed golf club which possess an “extreme forgiveness” trait making it harder for golfers to miss even when their swing is out of hand and balance. In other words, with this particular club customers will find it much easier to strip their drives being that the 0811XF driver is characterized with a bigger head profile and face surface area to give the player this extreme forgiveness when miss-hitting. What’s more, the club features a CG (Centre Gravity) location that assists golfers to dynamically square up the face at impact allowing them to hit much straighter and longer drives. This paper is going to give invaluable insights with respect to the features of PXG (Parsons Xtreme Golf) 0811XF driver and ways to market it.

Section II: Brand Description

When the Brand Was Introduced to the Market

PXG (Parsons Xtreme Golf) introduced their newly developed 0811XF driver to the market on January 31st, 2017 in Scottsdale, Arizona. PXG was created by founder of GoDaddy.com, Bob Parsons. Mr. Parsons is and has been a huge golfing activist and developer with the desire to make the best golf equipment in the world. As such, it can be said that incremental innovation was never an alternative and PXG was brought to the disposition of customers so as to surpass their expectations and bring a wind of change with respect to the manner in which golfers think about their clubs. In essence, the PXG 0811XF driver came to redefine the market (Hanauer & Reid, 2017).

Competition

The PXG (Parsons Xtreme Golf) 0811xf Driver faces a lot of competition from other players in the market. Top three competitors for the new “Xtreme Forgiveness Driver” include the Callaway Epic, Titleist 917, and TaylorMade M1. Since, the PXG 0811XF driver is relatively a new being revealed January of 2017, it is the model that is bound to face endless competition. What PXG needs to do is adopt a second price mover marketing strategy. Such would make customers scramble for the products upon its entry into the market being that it is of the very best highest quality available and aids golfers to realize top performance moves. With time, however, when production breaks even and sufficient profits are made, then the company can raise the prices slightly (Yin, 2017).

Market Segmentation

The market segmentation currently being put into use is psychographic. I made this determination based on the discovery that makers of PXG 0811XF driver divides its target market (prospective consumers) into segments with respect to variable values, personality traits, interests, values, attitudes, and the way of life of said target market. This type of segmentation comes with a lot of advantages since it enables PXG to get involved in the design and marketing of their products in a manner that is much focused (Vamplew, 2016). According to the PXG headquarters receptionist, the PXG 0811XF driver pricing starts out at around an approximate $700, but can easy increase in price. There are a lot of options you can choose from for full customization of your clubs. To differentiate itself from its competitors, PXG is not found on big-box retailer stores, like DICK’s or PGA Superstore but instead, they are available and can be accessed through the PXG company’s headquarters and on the company website. PXG aims at expanding its market by targeting higher handicap players by releasing its latest line of irons. Among the aimed brand promotions include the PXG 0811XF collections that complement the company’s initial range of blades. This is on a 24-hour basis which is an incredible marketing strategy for anyone to obtain his or her pleasure. The price tags are also indicated on each equipment for purchase so that any interested golfer can be able to know what he or she is up to spending thanks to the technology of the website creation. Furthermore, with the use of drivers from known celebrity golfers like Lydia Ko (LPGA Professional) and Zach Johnson (PGA Professional). PXG marketing strategies, however, cannot be ignored bearing that Mr. Parsons is very new but well known within the golf industry. Although, his competitors like Callaway, Titleist and TaylorMade are among many others that have been known to do very well for a long period of time, Mr. Parsons remains assertive that he is far more ahead of them in club development and performance. Mr. Parsons says that his customers are loyal because they know what they are getting. Although he doesn’t look at Nike’s golf clubs exit from the golf industry as an advantage, this can increase his chances of getting a more significant piece of the green, in some sorts. However, it becomes a challenge for the low-income consumers to afford this equipment from PXG (Parsons Extreme Golf) since their material costs are very high, a complicated production process which continuously increases the price being that they do insist on no discounting to anyone as they believe that they don’t have an equipment cycle. They think that their products are very superior to any others on the market. This makes their product only to target the higher income earners who look over to quality and not quantity (price).

Benefits the Brand Provides and Needs the Brand Fulfills

One benefit that the brand PXG currently provides is that it maximizes their Moment of Inertia (MOI) while maintaining a low Center of Gravity (CG) position and low spin performance. The high MOI design helps reduce twisting of the driver head on miss hits and currently the brand fulfills a sizeable want or needs within the marketplace with respect to golfing and lifestyle. Being that the company believes in quality as opposed to quantity and pricing, customers are sure to get value for their money. In other words, it can be said that the brand offers needs in the tune of innovation, optimized launch conditions, adjustable weighting, precise fitting, and straight shot capacity among others.

Marketing Tactics

Currently, PXG employs the following marketing tactics; product features, and word of mouth. The company looks to make sure that all the products are top notch so that the reception of customers is higher than expected. The most pronounced tactics currently utilized by the PXG company revolve around influencing consumer behavior features, perception, attitude, and lifestyle.

Comparison to Competitors

Each current competitor of the brand and their marketing tactics resonate with and differs from my selected brand’s PXG (Parsons Xtreme Golf) 0811XF driver in that unlike the xtreme forgiveness, the competitors’ marketing tactics are based on promotion efforts and brand loyalty. PXG also tries to provide high quality golfing equipment with the use of new patented technology to improve precision of weighting and myriad other features (Hanauer & Reid, 2017).

Section III: Brand Critique

Why the brand is behind its competitors

Every business organization focuses on developing key strategies, which are able to help provide a greater focus to the organizational development where they can be able to achieve competitive advantage in the market. It is important to understand building a competitive advantage within any given industry requires crucial measures, which are aimed at creating better understanding on the key underlying issues within the industry. The PXG (Parsons Xtreme Golf) 0811XF driver has been effectively developed with a crucial focus on the market although it is important to understand that it has been unable to compete favorably within the industry due to a number of factors, which influence the overall company engagement and having a significant influence in the market.

One of the key factors why the PXG 0811XF driver has been behind its competitors is the fact that the company as a whole just started September of 2014. The PXG 0811XF driver was introduced in January of 2017 into the market. Thus, as any other new product in the market, it has not received favorably engagement considering the fact that there are preferences which are considered within the market and thus adopting change to embrace the PXG 0811XF driver would take time for the business to be in a position to compete, all though PXG is making great strides. Competitors have been in the industry for a long time where they have been able to learn important tricks within the market, which have enabled them to develop major brands that are globally renowned which builds loyalty. It is important to understand that reaching this status involves significant efforts which are put in place to ensure that the business is developed based on the objective to conquer the market (Rosária L.G. Pereira, Correia, & Schutz, 2015).

When a new company is entering a competitive business environment, it needs to invest heavily in marketing of the new product(s) so that the clients can be able to differentiate the new product from the already existing in the market. A key focus in this case is that the company did not focus on its marketing plan where the company and its products have largely remained unknown. Marketing plays an important role in boosting business engagement within the market industry. The current golf business environment has significantly diversified where technology has taken center stage. The PXG 0811XF driver needs to be advertised on the available platform in order to ensure that clients are able to relate and understand the modifications that have been effectively considered in this case. the overall understanding on the need to develop a clear focus in the environment and perform better than the competitors, the PXG company needs to be more aggressive in its marketing strategy more than its competitors (Romaniuk & Nenycz-Thiel, 2013).

The company is behind its competitors in the market merely because the company has less appeal to the market since it is not a tested and trusted brand by major players within the golf industry. The PXG 0811XF driver needs to be highly exposed through various promotional advertisement, which will ensure that the company is engaged within the market. Being engaged in the market is not an overnight action but requires the company to focus in improving its brand through special and unique products or service that is an upgrade to the already existing product(s) in the market. This is mainly in order to be trusted as the most effective alternative which encompasses all the existing features as well as key additional features (Rosária Luisa Gomes Pereira, de Jesus Henriques Correia, & Schutz, 2014).

Survey Questionnaire Questions

1. Have you heard of the PXG (Parsons Xtreme Golf) 0811XF driver?

2. Have you ever used or played a round with the PXG (Parsons Xtreme Golf) 0811XF Driver?

3. What do you like or not like about The PXG (Parsons Xtreme Golf) 0811XF Driver?

4. Do you think that it is an upgrade to the existing drivers out on the market (i.e. Callaway’s EPIC, Titleist 917 and the TaylorMade M1)?

5. Do you think the PXG (Parsons Xtreme Golf) 0811XF driver will be preferred within the golf market?

6. Are the prices of the PXG (Parsons Xtreme Golf) 0811XF driver favorable?

7. Are there products in the market that you prefer, if so which brand and driver model?

8. Why do you prefer them?

9. Would you recommend others to buy the PXG (Parsons Xtreme Golf) 0811XF driver?

Consumer Behavior Issues

Marketing strategy aims at utilizing customer preferences in improving brand performance within the market. Consumer behavior issues involved important elements, which influence organization progress. The PXG (Parsons Xtreme Golf) 0811XF driver has been touted by best golf equipment available and it is important to understand that different considerations that influence the overall demand for the product especially the quality and the price of the PXG product (Zhang & Shan, 2014). Important consumer behavior issues that have been identified in this case include quality, budget and preference within the market. The PXG 0811XF driver’s marketing strategy is significantly influenced by different cultural and social elements based on different focuses in diverse international business environment. The marketing strategy has been developed to ensure that there is high levels of focus on specific markets through its segmentation strategy, which the company has significantly embraced (Romaniuk & Nenycz-Thiel, 2013).

The PXG company has significantly embraced focus on customer preference where it is more engaged in a customer-centered approach. This is a clear indication that the PXG company does not concentrate on its key objective which is to develop unique and innovative PXG 0811XF drivers in the market. This shows that the marketing strategy that is adopted by the company is flawed and would not likely to yield a hire influence in the market (Rosária Luisa Gomes Pereira et al., 2014).

Changes to Overcome the Challenges

Ensuring that the PXG (Parsons Xtreme Golf) company embraces crucial strategies that can ensure that there is a positive focus in the market, there is need to ensure that important changes need to be made to the existing marketing strategy in order to become competitive. The PXG 0811XF driver needs to put in place a flexible marketing strategy which would be able to response to key changes within the market without any major challenges to the PXG company’s operational environment. This will be a very positive move especially considering the fact that the company is less engaged in the market which has been detrimental to the company’s sales performance within the industry (Bengtsson, 2003).

The PXG company will aim at focusing on promoting what makes The PXG 0811XF driver more unique and better performing than all the other alternative products within the market. This will ensure that clients within the market are able to associate the uniqueness and high quality of the PXG 0811XF driver to those of our competitors. Another consideration that the PXG company should consider would be to engage in internet marketing strategy, which will ensure that the brand is advertised to different audiences, which will ensure that it is highly engaged, and in the process of improving the company focus within the market.

IV. Recommendations Template: MKT 345 Consulting Project

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