With economic conditions continuing to look uncertain it has become more important than ever for golf course design companies to have suitable strategies for ensuring business survival and potential growth. Recognising this fact the European Institute of Golf Course Architects held a seminar entitled “A Practical Guide to Building an Effective Business Growth Strategy” to encourage their members to develop successful marketing strategies to help them through these challenging times and beyond.
The two day event, staged at the Sofitel Hotel, Gatwick, was co-sponsored between EIGCA and Toro and attracted nearly thirty golf course architects from all over Europe.
The seminar was presented by Mike Etzel Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Marketing at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, who introduced a strategic planning programme to the attendees based on the fundamental concepts of market identification and segmentation. Those architects present will be able to apply what they have learned to their own businesses using this programme as a template to formulate their own growth strategy.
At the end of the seminar EIGCA President, Rainer Preissman, commented: “On behalf of EIGCA I would like to thank Mike for his fascinating presentation. The last two days have reinforced the importance of looking ahead and identifying opportunities for successful business growth. The ideas put forward by Mike Etzel can be applied to all businesses, no matter what their size, and I think the strategic planning programme he has provided will be of real assistance to many of our members.”
“My thanks also go to the Toro Company for their joint sponsorship of this event with EIGCA. As one of our Gold Industry Partners they have always been a great supporter of EIGCA and especially our continued professional development programmes. An event like this provides us all with an opportunity to discuss the future of the industry and how we can work together to develop future initiatives for golf.”
EIGCA www.eigca.org
Toro www.toro.com