Meet the fastest-growing shoe brand in golf.
Err, actually, you’ve already met them. PAYNTR Golf ring a bell? They should. The last two pieces we put out about them detailed how two footwear industry veterans teamed up to create the best damn golf shoe on the planet.
Today, we’re putting PAYNTR Golf under the microscope to find out what exactly it’s doing to maintain such exponential growth.
And when I say exponential, that’s literal, not figurative.
“We will be up over 80 percent this fiscal year,” said Mike Forsey, Co-Founder of PAYNTR Golf. “We’re projecting to be up 160 percent next year.”
From today forward, PAYNTR Golf should no longer be considered an “up-and-comer” or “challenger” or whichever word you’d like to use to describe an underdog.
PAYNTR Golf isn’t an underdog. They’ve got that “dawg” in ’em, though, and they aren’t slowing down.
So, how exactly did PAYNTR flip the switch from underrated to undisputed best shoe in golf? From wondering if they would ever be on the national radar to selling out on shelves across the globe?
The recipe is easier than you think.
Step 1: Create a product people care about
I’ll save you the ooey-gooey details on this one because I’ve already written about it. Simply put, PAYNTR Golf made a product that’s so good that they can hardly keep it on shelves.
“We’re experiencing tremendous sell-through,” Forsey said. “They had clerks putting product on the floor and customers coming and taking product out of their hands and taking it to the register.”
Most small to medium-sized size companies order too much inventory and are stuck with a bunch of unmovable product. Not PAYNTR. Right now, its biggest problem is keeping up with demand, all because they built a golf shoe that people can’t stop talking about.
Or wearing.
Or recommending to their friends.
PAYNTR built a golf shoe that people care about. Period.
Step 2: A whole lot of listening
You’ve successfully created a product that people give a damn about. Now what? You can either kick back in your chair and call it a day or you can get your hands (or, in this case, ears) dirty by soliciting feedback from the consumers who care so much about your product in the first place.
This step is perhaps the biggest separator for PAYNTR from their competition; the reason they’re growing like they’ve got two rockets up their behind.
It’s not rocket science, though. But it does require a lot of hard work. The PAYNTR team has worked at length to nail down exactly what the golfer is looking for, including the younger golfer who may not be so set on trying something from a FootJoy or adidas.
So when PAYNTR heard consumers loved their Speed Classic line but wanted something more casual and trendy, instead of doubling down on what already worked, they took a risk and brought out the Sport Classic lineup, a series of shoes designed for on and off the course.
It was an overnight success.
“We kind of got a sense of how many people are golfing off course.” Forsey continued. “It’s now close to 20 percent of our business.”
Step 3: Sweeten, don’t cheapen
Now faced with a pivotal decision, PAYNTR could either choose to go the way of many before them and start to prioritize dollar signs or, as you probably guessed, do even more to give golfers an incredible product.
Rather than cheapen the brand by partnering with everyone under the sun, PAYNTR has built a strategic, multi-pronged approach to marketing that’s keeping them on the tips of consumers’ tongues without cheapening their image or product.
“We’ve got kind of a marketing mix going, right? We’ve got, obviously, Tour players, we’ve got our social media, we’ve got our website, we’ve got influencers and collaborations,” said Forsey.
“Definitely the validation of having Sam (Burns) and Justin (Rose) and Jason (Day) and Mike Weir, you know, all of those guys, it gives them (consumers), ‘Oh, I gotta try that. If you know, if they’re trying it, I’ve got to try it.‘”
That Tour validation has been huge for PAYNTR. So are their collaborations. When you see an awesome collaboration like the one PAYNTR recently did with Forresters, it provides instant validation.
What you don’t see, though, and perhaps even more validating, are the collaborations PAYNTR says “no” to. Because they won’t do anything that compromises their integrity or cheapens their brand.
Sweeten, don’t cheapen. That’s another way PAYNTR has been able to amass such a cult following without the need for questionable partnerships or guerrilla marketing tactics.
Step 4: Stick to your roots
What would you say if I told you MyGolfSpy is getting out of the golf business and starting a recipe blog?
You’d say something like “you guys are effing crazy!”, right?
That’s essentially the same reaction I got from Forsey when I asked about PAYNTR giving every shoe in their lineup the same performance-packed technology.
Because abandoning the things that got you here in the first place is never a good idea.
PAYNTR got where they are (and where they are going) by treating every single product like it’s the most important in their lineup. Regardless of whether it’s 55 percent of their business or five percent, every shoe brandishing the “Performance Multiplied” PAYNTR logo is without shortcuts and shortcomings.
In other words, every product that PAYNTR puts out is the best. And every single detail, down to the last stitch, has been placed with one person in mind: you.
The golfer.
The guy who can’t get enough of the game.
The gal (yes, their women’s line is rapidly expanding, too) who has pro aspirations.
The golfer who takes practice swings in the lobby of the post office.
The former world No. 1 golfer who’s working on a career resurgence.
PAYNTR makes something for everyone. And that’s why they’re (still) the fastest-growing golf shoe brand in the world.
The post The Fastest Growing Shoe Brand In Golf (Spoiler: You’ve Already Met Them) appeared first on MyGolfSpy.
