Promoting Events on PitRacer (don't be skerd)

day181

day181

PR Elite
Staff member
It's been slow on here recently so now's a good time to go over some things I learned at OSU. The 4 P's of marketing. Legal covering of the a***s: This is not directed at any particular track, promoter or establishment. Anyone who owns a business can apply these principals.

PitRacer is just part of one important principal (Promotion) of the 4 important principals of running a motocross business (Promotion, Price, Product, and Place).

Promotion: Track owners and promoters should promote on PitRacer, Facebook, Google, Twitter, your website, and anywhere else you can afford, along with direct mail, email campaigns, telephone, radio, billboards, and anywhere else they can afford. If you look at that list you'll see we're the only free ones listed (yes Facebook is free too but nobody sees it unless you boost $$ your post).

Track owners please don't be afraid of negative feedback. This is called Publicity which falls under Promotion. Positive and negative publicity are both free forms of promotion and will help your business. If you get 10 pages about your track on here "don't be skerd" and run and hide. Be thankful, adjust your product accordingly, and enjoy the free publicity.

Along with promotion track owners also need to cover the other 3 P's of marketing (Price, Product, and Place). Most are priced equally, however some private clubs drive people away with hard labor or pricey dues. Some are located (Place) in inconvenient or dense places. Some promote and are located well but when you show up it's a dustbowl (Product). Promotion will work once, but if your product is flawed no amount of promotion will overcome this.

Remember the 4 P's and watch the gates fill up.
 
Very well said. Had it not been for this forum I would never have heard of the most of the tracks that were not around 20 years ago. We have only been to a dozen races this year and NEVER received a flyer or email about other tracks.
Posting something at local shops are great but when I go to a shop I am there to purchase something, not look at the bulletin board for races.
Mylie Cyrus, Madonna and tons of other people make a very nice living on negative publicity... Remember, there is no such thing as "bad" publicity.
 
Agreed. I rely on Pitracer for race info and updates. I don't do Facebook nor do I want to fish for info on several different sites looking for information. Pitracer is the best thing to promote Ohio racing IMO, it's one stop shopping. Just like Fashion Bug used to be. Yes, you may take a beating from some of the yahoos on here but that's ok. Everyone has an opinion and you can't take it personal nor argue back and forth about it. Just take in the info and move on. Yes, if I need more details or want to know for sure if it is still a go due to weather I will call. It bothered me a bit that Lonnie of RT 62 felt he should not post on here. Maybe I do not know the details but Lonnie you have a great facility and you work hard at it! We all love Moto but we don't all agree on things, never happen. Post away promoters! I have tried many new places this year because of what I have read on here. I have not let the negative posts deter me of visiting a place, I always want to see for myself and give all a chance. Matt.
 
It's not us that don't post on here.. We post every week we are open. Just talking with other promoters about them posting on here and the response I get is its just a negative site. I think it's a great place to post! And we will continue to post here
 
I have to agree somewhat with the statement " there is no such thing as bad publicity"

The only time I believe it is bad in our sport is for track prep conditions. And even then its only bad when a promoter doesnt try and remedy the problem immediately. Once a track is branded for not prepping properly its a long uphill battle to overcome.

Im glad to see the Hands promoting Big Game on here now, Im sure they will see an increase because of it. I too dont understand why more tracks dont post here regularly. Get input from riders that pay your bills. Dont get offended easily by negative comments. Dont argue back! Dont put down other tracks or promoters. You can explain your actions or reasons for a bad day and thank everyone for a good day. Dont brag unless in jest. And be sure everyone knows its in jest. Joke with us, laugh with us. Market yourself as well as the track.

I have heard that people/promoters think this is an OMA only club on pitracer......I say that those track owners who consistently have the larger turnouts in Ohio are the ones who follow what Chuck outlined above and use Pitracer to their advantage. Its not that this is a OMA club, its that Briarcliff, Malvern and Chillitown regularly post here, they use the info they get here and put it to use. One of the reasons ( Note I said ONE not the ONLY) they do well is the mx community in Ohio looks here for riding/racing info!

If I remember correctly Hands promoted on here pretty well this year too. The last turnout was over 200 I think. From what I have heard that was one of the larger turnouts for that track. There were multiple threads/posts concerning the positives and negatives of the races there. Publicity!!! And they didnt take the negative to heart, instead rolled with it and explained how they were addressing them.

If other tracks in Ohio and surrounding areas used this site the way these tracks have I believe their attendance would increase.

Pitracer IS a one stop place for so many tracks that list practices and races in that section. But expand by talking to us in the main forum!
 
Route 62 mx park said:
It's not us that don't post on here.. We post every week we are open. Just talking with other promoters about them posting on here and the response I get is its just a negative site. I think it's a great place to post! And we will continue to post here
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The only thing negative is the reaction of the promoter who takes it personal. Remember that if a promoter is doing his best and putting forth effort to provide a quality track then for every negative post there are 10 riders who loved it. And if a promoter isnt putting forth the effort then negative posts on here arent the problem.
 
Negativity is a view point. I choose to look at it as this site is just full of positive pessimist. That type of person understands the past problems based on facts, yet expects a better outcome given diligent planning and hard work. Yeah, you can go ahead and quote me on that.
 
Route 62 mx park said:
It's not us that don't post on here.. We post every week we are open. Just talking with other promoters about them posting on here and the response I get is its just a negative site. I think it's a great place to post! And we will continue to post here
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I think people have a hard time swallowing the truth. If you're a track owner and use the customer is always right policy and post on here, explain that you're trying to improve....it goes a long way.

I've had a few bad experiences with some tracks that I won't go back to. But, i've also had bad experiences, the promoter said his 0.02 on why there was a problem, took into consideration peoples complaints and fixed the problem. So I went back.

If you want to retain riders, speak your mind. Tell us why things happen, and how you're going to improve.

Another thing, there alot of yoyos that complain for no valid reason. Other users will back the track up in that case. But if you continually get bashed, and you don't come on here and try to defend yourself, you'll only continue to get bashed until it gets out of control.
 
A limited number of track operators just can't help themselves and respond with stupid comments to any critique that they perceive as negative. Basic business marketing would indicate that most people don't complain they just go elsewhere. The opportunity to embrace your customers even when they make negative comments is a unique opportunity to improve your customer experience and build relationships with potential customers. Its hard when the track is in your back yard and you have spent a great deal of sweat and real equity building something you are proud of, very understandable. But there are times when stepping away from the keyboard for an hour before responding would definitely help.
 
Route 62 mx park said:
It's not us that don't post on here.. We post every week we are open. Just talking with other promoters about them posting on here and the response I get is its just a negative site. I think it's a great place to post! And we will continue to post here
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We love having you on here Lonnie. I'm sure you'll be a real positive influence on these others in 2015. I can't wait to see what happens.
 
This world is rough if a mans gonna make it he's got to be tough. I say buck up, toughen up, thick skin is the only way to survive this business. At the same time it's give and take in my opinion, I will listen to people until they piss me off or they are wrong, usually both. I think the other promotors are intimidated, if they are intimidated by a bunch if keyboard nazis then they will never survive the new generation of riders. Truth.
 
BriarcliffMx said:
This world is rough if a mans gonna make it he's got to be tough. I say buck up, toughen up, thick skin is the only way to survive this business. At the same time it's give and take in my opinion, I will listen to people until they piss me off or they are wrong, usually both. I think the other promotors are intimidated, if they are intimidated by a bunch if keyboard nazis then they will never survive the new generation of riders. Truth.
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Spit the truth my brother... Can I get an AMEN????
 
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