Case Details

No one would deny that Jake Burton is an innovative guy. But he's quick to dispel the myth that he invented snowboarding or snowboards. He points out that the snowboard-a single board that looks and operates like a cross between a skateboard and a surfboard that athletes ride down snow-covered mountains-has been around since the 1920s. And Jake himself experimented with the Snurfer, a precursor to the snowboard, as a kid. But the Snurfer-a short, fat ski with a rope tied to the tip that the rider would hold like a rein in one hand-was marketed more like a toy, on the order of a snow tube or one-person toboggan. Certainly, no one thought of Snurfing as a full-blown sport.

No one, that is, except Jake Burton. Burton had grown up skiing and, after graduating from college in 1977 with a degree in economics, he moved from New York to Vermont to follow a hunch. "I felt like [snowboarding] could be a sport, but it wasn't a sport for the company that was manufacturing [Snurfers]," he recalls. So he set out to do two things simultaneously: build the boards and the market. "I was blindly optimistic," he says. In addition to developing a new product, he needed to develop the market for that product. He had to find a way to show people how snowboards would create utility. Then he had to build a relationship with these new customers. "I became more concerned with hyping the sport to make sure it happened so that I was right," says Burton. But at the time, most ski resorts viewed snowboarding as a fringe activity-and didn't allow it on their slopes. So the few pioneers that Burton recruited to his new sport and product had to climb hills, carrying the heavy boards, each time they wanted a single ride down. Meanwhile, skiers were whisked to the tops of the country's best winter resorts on high-speed lifts, warmed up in heated lodges, and skied down groomed slopes. It rapidly became clear that Burton not only had to build relationships with potential boarders but had to forge alliances with ski resorts as well-or there would be no future for snowboarding.

So he knocked on the doors of ski resorts until Stratton Mountain in Vermont opened up, becoming the first major resort to allow snowboarders to ride its lifts and slopes. At this time, Burton was manufacturing and selling only 700 of his Burton Snowboards a year-hardly enough to make a living. But snowboarding was beginning to catch on as more ski mountains followed Stratton's example and not only allowed snowboarders on their slopes but launched their own advertising campaigns to attract them. The timing was perfect, as the number of new skiers was gradually declining and people were looking for a different kind of winter sport. As more and more people tried-and enjoyed-snowboarding, Burton found he had to develop a third type of marketing relationship, one with distributors and dealers.

Today, Burton Snowboards, which is still based in Burlington, Vermont, is both the pioneer and the world leader in the development and sale of snowboards and related products. Burton markets its snowboards and accessory gear through a network of about 3,000 dealers around the world. The company continues to develop relationships with consumers by staging promotions featuring demonstrations at ski resorts-about 400 demos around the world per year, according to vice president and director of sales, Dave Schmidt. These events are conducted by Burton representatives who show up at a resort, unload Burton products, and let people try them for free. In addition, for the past 20 years the firm has sponsored a number of snowboarding competitions-including the U.S. Open for snowboarding-as another effective technique for developing relationships with its customers. Finally, Burton's Learn-to-Ride (LTR) program teaches snowboarding to anyone who wants to learn from instructors. The program includes lessons taught by certified American Association of Snowboard Instructors on Burton equipment specifically designed for beginners. All of these events and programs enhance Burton's relationships with its consumers and participating ski resorts by creating utility for both.

Burton's print catalog has proved to be a key contact with young consumers. According to Schmidt, teenagers read "every word" of each new Burton catalog, memorizing product names and specs. And recently, technology has helped the company keep in touch with ski resorts, its distribution network, and consumers. Burton has a Web-based e-commerce application that provides its dealers with access to real-time manufacturing, delivery, and account data they need to serve their customers efficiently. The company's Web site provides consumers with information about products as well as special programs and events.

In just a couple of decades, snowboarding reached what many consider to be the pinnacle of sport-it debuted as a medal event at the recent Winter Olympics. Perhaps to no one's surprise, the top medalists at the premier were American. Jake Burton may not have been on the podium, but his boards were.

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Questions

1. In what ways does Burton Snowboards create utility for its different types of customers?
2. How can event marketing help Burton expand the customer base for its products?
3. Suggest additional ways Burton Snowboards marketers can use the Internet to more effectively build relationships and market their products.
4. Relationship marketing is key to Burton's success. Suggest two or three steps that the firm should consider taking during the next five years to further enhance its relationships with consumers and ski resorts.