Product Opinion - Feedback Appreciated!!!

[Break80]

Good Afternoon Guys,

I want to thank @iacas for allowing me this forum to ask golfers directly their opinion on a product I developed. I found The Sand Trap last month, and have been a daily visitor and occasional poster. I love the conversations with fellow golfers!

Last year, when staring at the back windshields of the cars in front of me and seeing nothing but stickers that say, 'My Kid is an Honor Roll Student', or a family of 'Stick Figures', or 'OBX' logos, or '26.2' stickers, etc... I started thinking, wouldn't it be cool if there was something that would allow you to show off your passion for golf, while bragging a little at the same time? These cars are all doing it, who not us golfers?

So surprisingly enough, my wife let me chase this idea, and my brothers and I started a little family-run company called iShot. We started off with strictly golf decals that allow golfers to display on their back windshields, golf carts, lockers, etc... their low round of golf, or Hole-in-One. We've since expanded into other areas as well (hunting, bowling, religion, family, hashtags), but I know just golf, so I stay in that lane.

Anyway, golf courses have been accepting of the idea and we have displays in pro shops around some of our local courses, but with the weather being crappy all winter, we really haven't received any solid feedback from actual golfers.

Is this a product that you could see yourself purchasing in a Pro Shop, or online? The cost is only $1.99, so I don't think that would be a distractor, but I'm just not sure if enough golfers would be willing to display their low score (or Hole-In-One).

The website is www.ishotllc.com . If you could check it out in your spare minute, and offer any feedback relating to what you think of the product, the price, the idea in general, etc... it would be greatly appreciated.

Lastly, I will shoot out free decals to the first 10 'Supporting Members' of TST who shoot me a PM w/ some feedback, and I'm also working on putting up a discount code here so all TST members can get a 25% discount if they were interested in ordering any decals online.

Thanks ahead of time for the help, it is truly appreciated!

[boogielicious]

Thanks for posting.  I'm not sure if I would go for a number.  Maybe something like iShot "Par".  The number doesn't mean as much as the relation to par in my opinion.

[Spyder]

[QUOTE name="Break80" url="/t/73430/product-opinion-feedback-appreciated#post_966669"]   Good Afternoon Guys, I want to thank @iacas for allowing me this forum to ask golfers directly their opinion on a product I developed. I found The Sand Trap last month, and have been a daily visitor and occasional poster. I love the conversations with fellow golfers! Last year, when staring at the back windshields of the cars in front of me and seeing nothing but stickers that say, 'My Kid is an Honor Roll Student', or a family of 'Stick Figures', or 'OBX' logos, or '26.2' stickers, etc... I started thinking, wouldn't it be cool if there was something that would allow you to show off your passion for golf, while bragging a little at the same time? These cars are all doing it, who not us golfers? So surprisingly enough, my wife let me chase this idea, and my brothers and I started a little family-run company called iShot. We started off with strictly golf decals that allow golfers to display on their back windshields, golf carts, lockers, etc... their low round of golf, or Hole-in-One. We've since expanded into other areas as well (hunting, bowling, religion, family, hashtags), but I know just golf, so I stay in that lane.  Anyway, golf courses have been accepting of the idea and we have displays in pro shops around some of our local courses, but with the weather being crappy all winter, we really haven't received any solid feedback from actual golfers. Is this a product that you could see yourself purchasing in a Pro Shop, or online? The cost is only $1.99, so I don't think that would be a distractor, but I'm just not sure if enough golfers would be willing to display their low score (or Hole-In-One).  [/QUOTE] Cool concept, but that decal is huge. I personally wouldn't use one. If I was interested, I would opt for something smaller and transparent.

[newtogolf]

I think it's a neat idea and the price seems right but I don't like bumper stickers, magnets, or rear window decals on my cars.

I know golfers like to brag about their scores to their buddies but I'm not sure how many would place a decal on their rear window advertising it.

[Break80]

Thanks for posting.  I'm not sure if I would go for a number.  Maybe something like iShot "Par".  The number doesn't mean as much as the relation to par in my opinion.

The number thing is something we discussed. I could picture people contacting us for a "57" or something, because they played an executive course somewhere. But I know amongst me and my group, there's always a lot of pride with our low rounds, mostly because we know we're always playing Par 71-72s.

Do you think if we could somehow personalize to include the course's name/logo that might help?

[Break80]

Cool concept, but that decal is huge. I personally wouldn't use one. If I was interested, I would opt for something smaller and transparent.

Yeah, they are 5' in diameter. The thought was that is would be large enough to be visible from another car, and the oval look just didn't vibe much. We do have the 3x5 oval decals in the religion section.

As far as transparency goes, that could be something to look into. Before we go much further with the concept though, we're trying to find out if it's something that could possible catch on. Right now it seems like we're hit or miss, with people either saying they're just not into putting things on their cars, and others loving the idea and product.

[boogielicious]

The number thing is something we discussed. I could picture people contacting us for a "57" or something, because they played an executive course somewhere. But I know amongst me and my group, there's always a lot of pride with our low rounds, mostly because we know we're always playing Par 71-72s.

Do you think if we could somehow personalize to include the course's name/logo that might help?

It might.  Like iShot 75 at Pebble Beach! or something similar?

[David in FL]

It might.  Like iShot 75 at Pebble Beach! or something similar?

That's a good idea!

I'm much more proud of the 77 I shot at Sawgrass, than I am of even my low round of 72  shot at my home course......

[Spyder]

Yeah, they are 5' in diameter. The thought was that is would be large enough to be visible from another car, and the oval look just didn't vibe much. We do have the 3x5 oval decals in the religion section.

As far as transparency goes, that could be something to look into. Before we go much further with the concept though, we're trying to find out if it's something that could possible catch on. Right now it seems like we're hit or miss, with people either saying they're just not into putting things on their cars, and others loving the idea and product.

Well, nearly any product in any market is going to be "hit or miss".

I do think that if you offered a transparent version which was smaller and incorporated the outline of a ball with the "iShot #" or "iShot # @ Course" theme surrounding the ball, it would be nice. I'm thinking in terms of the current and popular decals, such as those damn stick family figures. Something like white text, transparent background, white golf ball outline with white dimples for contrast.

Of course, this is my personal opinion. I would buy one of those! I'm proud of my 38 at Arcadia Bluffs' front 9.

[dsc123]

I'm not one to put bumper stickers on my car, especially the OBX, honor student, etc.  So this isn't something that I would be interested in but you see it everywhere and its probably something that could sell. If I were to get something like this, I agree with the comments by Spyder and boogielicious.  Smaller, maybe transparent, and with the course name.  It wouldn't necessarily have to replace the ones you have, you could probably offer both.  Maybe have a "loud" and a "quiet" version.  Also, maybe bigger font for the "ishot" so it doesn't just look like a number on a car.

I think you could probably charge more, too.  I think if someone really wants to announce their achievement to the world, its probably worth more than $2 to them.  Maybe $4.99?  Still cheap by your margins would be significantly higher.  I can't imagine someone wanting to put that on the car and choosing not to because it costs $5 instead of $2.

[Spyder]

I'm not one to put bumper stickers on my car, especially the OBX, honor student, etc.  So this isn't something that I would be interested in but you see it everywhere and its probably something that could sell. If I were to get something like this, I agree with the comments by Spyder and boogielicious.  Smaller, maybe transparent, and with the course name.  It wouldn't necessarily have to replace the ones you have, you could probably offer both.  Maybe have a "loud" and a "quiet" version.  Also, maybe bigger font for the "ishot" so it doesn't just look like a number on a car.

I think you could probably charge more, too.  I think if someone really wants to announce their achievement to the world, its probably worth more than $2 to them.  Maybe $4.99?  Still cheap by your margins would be significantly higher.  I can't imagine someone wanting to put that on the car and choosing not to because it costs $5 instead of $2.

Pure Shark Tank thinking right there. Well done. (I'm also not the type that would ever apply a bumper sticker, but I think adhesive-free decals are okay if they're different ). My dad used to spend hours removing a dealerships chalk/paint ad on the back of his vehicle when he'd buy a new one. I was raised to hate bumper stickers lol.

[newtogolf]

Pure Shark Tank thinking right there. Well done. (I'm also not the type that would ever apply a bumper sticker, but I think adhesive-free decals are okay if they're different). My dad used to spend hours removing a dealerships chalk/paint ad on the back of his vehicle when he'd buy a new one. I was raised to hate bumper stickers lol.

Me too, I can't even stand the registration and inspection stickers the state makes us put on in NY, I preferred how they did it in VA, the stickers went on our plates, so we had clean windshields.

[Break80]

It might.  Like iShot 75 at Pebble Beach! or something similar?

That's one of the ideas we're throwing around. Of course, we'd have to work in partnership with these courses. Adding the logo wouldn't up the cost any, but currently we can kep costs lower with bulk orders. If we added the logos, we wouldn't be able to get the bulk order price (i.e courses aren't going to order more than maybe 100 at a time, where as if there are no logos, we can order thousands and keep in stock).

Would most golfers only be interested in displaying what they shot on some of the more nationally-known courses (i.e. Pebble, Sawgrass, Bethpage, etc...), or would the average golfer want to show off their low score at their local club?

[Spyder]

That's one of the ideas we're throwing around. Of course, we'd have to work in partnership with these courses. Adding the logo wouldn't up the cost any, but currently we can kep costs lower with bulk orders. If we added the logos, we wouldn't be able to get the bulk order price (i.e courses aren't going to order more than maybe 100 at a time, where as if there are no logos, we can order thousands and keep in stock).

Would most golfers only be interested in displaying what they shot on some of the more nationally-known courses (i.e. Pebble, Sawgrass, Bethpage, etc...), or would the average golfer want to show off their low score at their local club?

I would assume local, because it will have more meaning in their "circles" and golfers at their clubs/courses. Plus, other people in the area that are non-golfers may recognize the local course and get a kick out of it. Most non-golfers would not associate "Bethpage" or "Sawgrass" with golf in my opinion, so having the option to customize the decal to a local track is a nice touch.

[Break80]

I'm not one to put bumper stickers on my car, especially the OBX, honor student, etc.  So this isn't something that I would be interested in but you see it everywhere and its probably something that could sell. If I were to get something like this, I agree with the comments by Spyder and boogielicious.  Smaller, maybe transparent, and with the course name.  It wouldn't necessarily have to replace the ones you have, you could probably offer both.  Maybe have a "loud" and a "quiet" version.  Also, maybe bigger font for the "ishot" so it doesn't just look like a number on a car.

I think you could probably charge more, too.  I think if someone really wants to announce their achievement to the world, its probably worth more than $2 to them.  Maybe $4.99?  Still cheap by your margins would be significantly higher.  I can't imagine someone wanting to put that on the car and choosing not to because it costs $5 instead of $2.

Thanks for the feedback. The original cost in pro shops was $4.99 (of course pro shops get from us way less than that). But I'm just surprised that the concept has been such a miss thus far with actual golfers (going off of feedback here, and lack of re-orders from pro shops).

My unofficial surveying has approximately 60% of vehicles having some sort of decal on the car. Is it possible just that the golfing demographic isn't the same as the car-decal demographic?

[dsc123]

Thanks for the feedback. The original cost in pro shops was $4.99 (of course pro shops get from us way less than that). But I'm just surprised that the concept has been such a miss thus far with actual golfers (going off of feedback here, and lack of re-orders from pro shops). My unofficial surveying has approximately 60% of vehicles having some sort of decal on the car. Is it possible just that the golfing demographic isn't the same as the car-decal demographic?

Here's an idea: go to the local courses this weekend and see what % of cars in those lots have stickers. That should give you a good idea.