Frontier Golf Simulators

Its "Virtually" the Same Game!!

The business pf sports is growing tremendously and it is fuelled in part by athletes that take on celebrity status. None typifies this better than Tiger Woods. Tiger is a brand representing a multimillion-dollar entity unto itself. Traditionally, gold had a stigma pf being for wealthy, stodgy, old businessmen who hardly knew how to have good time. This image is common in many countries outside the United State to this day. Companies like Nike and Callaway have invested large sums of money and efforts to draw a different and more diverse demographic to the game of golf.

With the changing demographic of the actual players comes a marketing challenge of just how to best meet the needs of these segments that are quite new to the game. For instance, indoor golf simulator has started to increase in popularity and offer a chance to play some golf even in an urban setting. These simulators have the distinct advantage of being able to accurately show the player's ball flight and ball spin, as well as the actual yardage the ball travels. A further advantage is that with these stimulators, a foursome can finish an entire round of golf in just under an hour instead of four hours or more. Additionally, this round of golf can be played at St Andrews or Pebble Beach without the expense and hassle of traveling to these mystical sites.

Brian Scheffler is the director of marketing for Frontier Golf Simulators, a San Antonio, Texas-based company which operates five state-of-the=art golf simulators. The pricing structure is either $30 per hour for "walk-in" or a player can take a membership much like he or she might at a real golf club. In addition to the stimulators the facility has a restaurants and bar so that patrons can eat and drink while they tee it up. Brain has the unique challenges of marketing and ultimately selling time on these stimulators. Unfortunately, Mr Scheffler is unsure how to best spend his very limited marketing budget. Mr Scheffler understands that the traditional golfer has different wants and needs than does the entertainment seeking golfer. Does virtually golf offer value in the same way as real golf? If not, the stimulators may not appeal to real or traditional golfers at all.

Faced with not knowing exactly what people like most about the stimulators, Brian decides to create a survey to determine what people like most about their stimulator experience and how to most effectively market his product to maximise the customer's experience and ultimately create returning customers Source: Essential of Marketing Research. Babin B & Zikmund W. 6th Edition. Centage Learning. (page333).

QUESTION

1. Critically discuss some of the issues Brian should consider when designing the survey questionnaire. In your discussion highlight types of issues that can be addressed with open-ended questions and the type of issues that can be addressed with fixed- alternative questions.
2. Design a sample questionnaire or interview guide for Brian's survey.