May 2008 -- In September of last year, I was honored to become the newest national board member of USPTA. Since I joined USPTA in the early 1980s, the Association has been a very important part of my life. And, as with all of you, the game of tennis has been an integral component of my growth as a person. It is with incredible zeal that I serve our trade association and its members. With that in mind, how do we grow our brand and our businesses together?
Let's begin by being clear that today's customers (and potential customers), at our tennis facilities, have many choices available about how to spend their time. We, in tennis, must be competitive with all the other options available to the consumer. In their book, "Innovator's Solution," Christensen and Raynor discuss that being competitive is far more about doing what customers value than doing what you think you're good at. Instead of only looking at what we do best, we must also ask what we need to master in the future to improve in the areas that customers define as important. The authors said, "Customers will not buy your product unless it solves an important problem for them." Let's follow that line of reasoning, and envision what's possible.
USPTA's overall PR campaign is "Who We Are." And, most recently,
"Tennis - for the health of it!" has become one of our important initiatives. You might say I'm a bit biased in saying this, but I believe we can create a "tipping point" together with
Tennis - for the health of it! If you go back to Malcolm Gladwell's best-seller, "Tipping Point," you will see that ideas, products, messages and behaviors spread just like viruses do. Little changes can have big effects, so much so, that when a virus spreads through a population, it progresses geometrically! Sociologist Robert Crane even said that, "All epidemics have tipping points." Radical change is possible to the point that the unexpected becomes the expected.
In Gladwell's book, he identifies three basic laws of a Tipping Point:
- Law of the Few - Usually, a very tiny percentage of all the people get things done. USPTA is a trade association of over 14,500 and we are the delivery force for the great game of tennis!
- The "Stickiness Factor" - Viruses "tip" when something happens to transform the agent itself or its delivery. For our "message" to stick, we have to "live" the message of Tennis - for the health of it! This is one that cannot go in one ear and out the other. We have a huge opportunity for this message to "stick."
- The Power of Context - Human beings are a lot more sensitive to their environment than they may seem. Let's talk about values here. Youth want to have fun and be around their friends. The parents of these youth want their children to develop strong psychological skills, learn good exercise habits, developing strong bones and a healthy outlook on life. Adults want to be fit and healthy, to have strong emotional and cognitive abilities - general wellness if you will. Seniors want good overall health and fitness, with a strong immune system, preventing osteoporosis and improving their longevity. On top of all this, the obesity crisis is out of control; people are more inactive than ever! Just telling the general public to get healthier isn't working! When all the research is gathered, our great game of tennis provides benefits for all walks of life and at all ages.
What is your role as a member of USPTA?
To answer this question, I offer up a quote from Stephan Pollan, author of
Lifescripts: What to say to get what you want in 101 of life's toughest situations: "No one can be a bigger advocate for you (or for your organization) than yourself." In essence, USPTA needs you! In serving the game of tennis and USPTA, you will not only build your own business, you will help build a legacy for those who follow us! Let's get people out to play
Tennis - for the health of it! And, then, we will "tip" it together!
