Do you speak the language of action sports?
Have you ever considered how you would run your ski resort if you and other employees in the resort were not skiers. Probably you cannot even imagine such a situation, as that would mean that you would not be able to successfully communicate with visitors of your resort and understand their needs.
In such case, how would you know how to prepare slopes, attract visitors and answer their questions? You would most likely fail to satisfy their needs and would not be as successful as you are.
When it comes to action sports however, employees who are responsible for that segment most often do not participate in any of these sports and consequently do not talk the language of action sports participants and do not understand their needs. Lack of understanding leads to lack of credibility among this type of customers and credibility is the most crucial element of action sports.
As most of action sports participants belong to younger generations this adds another dimension to the complexity of this market segment. Youth today is growing up with action sports, computer games and internet and it is hard for older generations to understand their needs.
Action sports and their participants form a unique community which has its own culture, language and symbols which is why action sports are also lifestyle sports. Participants are inspired by constant progression which is why they are more than just spectators as they are actively involved in these sports. There are not many skiers that would get inspired by watching world cup slalom races and would go to the slopes and practice, however most of action sports participants would do so after watching a contest or new video on you tube, featuring their heroes doing a new trick. To successfully communicate with them, a non- traditional marketing approach has to be used as traditional forms of advertising have little impact. To succeed in lifestyle marketing, the resort itself has to become part of it. This takes time and any attempt to speed up this process can result in total loss of credibility.
A marketing staff is often making decisions based on their feelings they usually decide for the solutions which are most compelling to themselves, even though they are not good for brands themselves. Like a translator for languages that you do not speak, an action sports specialist is also needed to successfully approach this unique and sensitive marketing segment. An action sports enthusiast should be responsible for action sports, as this is the only way that action sports language can be spoken. If you are in doubt of hiring a new employee in the area of action sports, consider outsourcing the field of action sports to action sports marketing specialists.
