I've been a golfer on-and-off for 10+ years now, but suddenly this year, I have been bitten badly by the golf bug. I'm playing more than ever, and as a result, I'm starting to think it's time to invest in some nice equipment - I'm officially in the market.

Sifting through my email this morning, I was excited to see the below ad from my local Golf Galaxy store regarding the launch of the new TaylorMade irons:



It's always great when the manufacturer is in town, and I can speak to the reps directly about their product.

I was all set to attend until I got to the very bottom of the email, where the asterisk indicates "In Select Stores" only.

This was so disappointing. I signed up for this email communication in my local Golf Galaxy store. Why isn't this communication coming from my local store? They know where I'm located - and as I said, I'm in the market. I'm certainly not going to go to the store "hoping" that this event is being held in my local store.

This is a huge mistake that many national brands make - I have a relationship with Golf Galaxy, but my relationship is with the local store. I want to hear from them, I want to know what's happening in my town.

I don't mean to pick on Golf Galaxy here - they're a great retail store - but this communication is lacking the "local" touch that engages the customer. Local store marketing is a challenge, but it's the "last-mile" in the marketing communication that engages the customer. Local advertising and local internet marketing needs to be just that - Local.