MGT 465 Week 2 The Marketing Plan Example

Filling 10 Courts Before Opening Day: The Marketing Plan for Scioto Courts Pickleball Club

[Student Name]

University of Phoenix

MGT/465: Small Business and Entrepreneurial Planning

Week 2 Assignment

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

Scioto Courts Pickleball Club and all figures are composites written for a model paper.

Scioto Courts, a composite indoor pickleball club planned for Hilliard, Ohio, outside Columbus, will open with 10 courts in a converted warehouse. Founders Megan Kessler and Tom Albrecht have chosen focused differentiation, aiming at serious recreational players who want organized competition and a social home. To cover costs, the club needs about 600 members in its first year and 900 by year three. For a membership business, marketing has two jobs: bringing people through the door and giving them reasons to keep paying every month. This paper presents the marketing plan.

Marketing Objectives

The plan sets five objectives: 150 founding members before opening, 600 members by month 12, 80 percent of peak-hour courts booked by month nine, monthly member cancellations below 3 percent and 30 percent of new members coming from referrals.

Segment One: Active Adults Over 50

Many of the region's most frequent players are over 50, retired or semi-retired, play several times a week and value daytime hours, friendly competition and social connection. They are reached through senior centers, retirement communities, local Facebook groups and word of mouth.

Segment Two: Young Professionals

Players aged 25 to 45 play mainly on weekday evenings and weekends, value leagues and social events and find activities through Instagram, apps and friends. Many are new to the sport and want lessons.

Segments Three and Four: Families and Companies

Families seek youth clinics and weekend family play, reached through schools and parent groups. Companies want team-building events and corporate leagues, reached through local business associations and direct outreach to human resources departments.

Positioning

The positioning statement is: "For central Ohio players who want to play and improve year-round, Scioto Courts is the indoor club where your court is guaranteed, your league fits your level and you will always find a game and friends, unlike public courts or first-come facilities."

Product Decisions

The club's product includes reserved court time, skill-rated leagues, open play by level, lessons and clinics, tournaments, a pro shop and a café. Kotler and Keller (2016) emphasize that services are experiences, so the welcome desk, cleanliness and organization of open play are part of the product.

Pricing

Memberships will be $89 a month, with a $69 weekday daytime tier and a $149 family rate. Founding members receive a locked-in rate of $79 for the first year. Non-members pay $15 per open play session. Pricing sits slightly above the franchise competitor's rates, justified by guaranteed booking and leagues.

Prelaunch Promotion

The four-weekend winter pop-up introduces the club to players. Founders will speak at senior centers and post in local groups. A launch page will collect founding member deposits. Local media will be invited to the pop-up, and five respected local players will serve as ambassadors.

Launch Promotion

Opening week will include free clinics, a mixer tournament and tours. Referral rewards will give members a free month for each friend who joins. Partnerships with three local employers will offer corporate rates. Digital ads targeted within a 15-minute drive will run for six weeks.

Acquisition Cost and Customer Value

The budget implies a target cost to win each member. If $72,000 brings in about 600 members, the average cost is $120 per member. With an average monthly margin of about $55 per member after direct costs, a member repays that cost in a little over two months. Channels will be judged against this benchmark: if digital ads cost $300 per member while referrals cost $60, spending will shift toward referrals and events.

Testing Offers During the Pop-Up

The pop-up doubles as a marketing test. Half of visitors will be offered a founding rate of $79 locked for a year, and half a first month free at the regular $89 rate. Comparing sign-ups and early cancellations between the two groups will show which offer brings committed members rather than bargain seekers. The winning offer will be used at launch.

Why Retention Matters

Gupta et al. (2004) showed that a firm's customer base can be valued by summing the lifetime value of its customers, and that improving retention often increases value more than cutting acquisition costs or raising margins. At $89 a month and an average stay of 24 months, a member is worth about $2,100 in revenue, which justifies investment in keeping members.

The Retention Program

Retention efforts include placing new members in a league within their first month, a welcome clinic, regular social events, skill progress tracking and a member app for booking and messaging. Members who stop booking will receive a personal call from staff.

Targeting Retention Efforts

Ascarza (2018) found that targeting customers at highest risk of leaving is not always effective; the customers who respond most to retention efforts are not necessarily those most likely to leave. Scioto Courts will test which members respond to outreach, rather than assuming the least active members are the best targets.

Building Word of Mouth

Pickleball spreads through friendships, so word of mouth is the most powerful channel. Beyond referral rewards, the club will make members' experiences easy to share: league standings posted online, photos from tournaments and a monthly members' newsletter. Ambassadors will host beginner nights where members bring friends. Each of these costs little and builds on the community the strategy promises.

Summer Marketing

Summer brings competition from outdoor courts. Summer campaigns will promote air-conditioned leagues, youth camps and corporate events, and offer a summer pause option so members do not cancel outright.

Budget

The first-year marketing budget is $72,000: $18,000 for the pop-up, $22,000 for digital ads, $10,000 for referral rewards, $8,000 for events, $6,000 for printed materials and signage and $8,000 for the member app.

Metrics

Monthly metrics include new members by source, cost per new member, conversion from pop-up and free clinics, court booking rates, cancellation rate and member satisfaction. The founders will review results monthly and shift spending toward channels that perform.

Conclusion

Scioto Courts' marketing plan targets four segments with a clear positioning of guaranteed courts and community, priced slightly above competitors for added value. A pop-up, ambassadors and referrals drive launch, and a retention program supported by lifetime value analysis keeps members. A modest budget and monthly metrics keep the plan realistic and adjustable.

References

Ascarza, E. (2018). Retention futility: Targeting high-risk customers might be ineffective. Journal of Marketing Research, 55(1), 80-98. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmr.16.0163

Gupta, S., Lehmann, D. R., & Stuart, J. A. (2004). Valuing customers. Journal of Marketing Research, 41(1), 7-18. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.41.1.7.25084

Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2016). Marketing management (15th ed.). Pearson.