Entertainment Case Study: Go Kart Sport

GoKart Sport is an indoor go kart stadium and entertainment complex in Moorabbin specialising in corporate entertainment, team-building and event hosting for businesses and social groups in Victoria.

Online marketing investment is a necessity not a luxury for modern Australian business

Garry Dubois and GoKart Sport were one of roi.com.au’s first clients and have benefitted significantly from a lasting, successful online marketing strategy over the last number of years. GoKart Sport had invested in SEO without a great deal of success prior to partnering with roi.com.au but their fortunes soon changed and they began to see a consistent return from their online investment.

“We had used a previous SEO company but when we spoke to Ewan (Watt) he explained what could happen with ROI. I wasn’t exactly happy with the last company so I went with ROI,” Gary recalled.

“The impact ROI made was very strong initially but it’s been tough in corporate activities due to the economic downturn. We lost business but that’s just the nature of the economic downturn, discretionary spending is down, companies are not spending like they used to – they are minimising spend on entertainment and things of that nature.”

GoKart Sport’s approach to the economic downturn has been vital to maintaining their position as a popular entertainment and corporate event hosting venue in Victoria – a willingness to show faith in online marketing and increase their level of investment rather than cutting marketing spend has ensured that GoKart Sport are well-positioned to take advantage of future growth in corporate entertainment in Melbourne & Victoria.

While Garry has noted that the stream of sales and revenue from corporate entertainment has been curtailed somewhat since the global financial crisis, he acknowledges that a dynamic approach and sustained investment in online marketing is crucial to the continued success of GoKart Sport.

The proactive attitude included following ROI’s advice to invest in pay-per-click advertising for niche traffic wins – something Garry believes has had a positive effect.

“Hiring ROI has been good as a business decision. We were not getting to the front page of Google, you need to be top of the first page, if you are at the end of the first page or in the next page, you may as well not bother,” he remarked before adding:

“We later chose pay-per-click which I feel works well, even if it does cost more – sometimes you just have to bit the bullet and do it.”

Despite the economic downturn, Garry’s approach to online marketing remains extremely positive and he has trusted ROI with increased investment in order to get the most from his marketing investment. Proactive strategy evaluation and improvement over the last year has enabled GoKart Sport to maintain their robust online presence with a return to future growth on the horizon.

“We got more value out of ROI prior to the economic downturn and we know you have to pay more to get more out of it,” he said.

GoKart Sport’s online marketing experience doesn’t mirror the record-breaking month-on-month traffic success experienced by other clients at roi.com.au, but their story is typical of hundreds of Australian businesses affected by the Global Financial Crisis – adapting to the changing landscape is crucial to sustained success.

During the last 12 months GoKart Sport have enjoyed a consistent traffic flow which exceeds 50,000 visits from organic searches alone. Their proactive approach and willingness to maintain and grow their online marketing investment during difficult economic times is sure to provide GoKart Sport with a solid foundation for future business growth driven by their proven online marketing strategy.

Visit Go Kart Sport at: www.gokartsport.com

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