Coming
Next Month
PGA Magazine’s
April cover story
will consist of best
practices on how to
market your facility
more efficiently.
Industry experts
will explain how to
implement
marketing
strategies to grow
revenue and
rounds at the
facility level.
golfers we polled said they didn’t even know that
course was there. So awareness can be a problem.
It’s difficult to grow revenue if people don’t know
you’re in business in their community.”
The second step to generating revenue in Koppenhaver’s process is trial, wherein golfers know
you’re there, but have they tried said facility? “This
basically is offering golfers who have heard of your
facility an incentive to come out and try it,” says
Koppenhaver. “Send them an e-mail or an invitation to try the golf experience at your facility.” The
third step is loyalty, which involves providing reasons for the golfer to return time after time to
patronize a facility following an initial experience.
The final step in Koppenhaver’s revenue-generation process involves “net promoters.”
“Once you have determined that certain core
golfers are giving you the bulk of their play, the final
step is to turn them into ambassadors in the marketplace for your facility,” says Koppenhaver. “We conduct a survey among golfers and ask them if they
would recommend this facility to their friends or
family members. We determine our net promoter
ratio by simply comparing the positive responses to
the negative. A net promoter ratio of 11 to 1 means 11
golfers would recommend the facility to friends and
family, while one golfer said ‘no, I didn’t have a good
experience and would not recommend this facility.’
All four steps in the revenue-generation process and
customer- relationship process are important
because you need to determine how the public perceives your facility. Once you know if golfers are
aware of your facility, if they have tried it, if they are
loyal, and if they are net promoters, you can tailor a
wide range of programs, and marketing and promotional campaigns accordingly to strengthen your
revenue-generation capacity.”
Every Facility Needs a Niche
Understanding the competition and customers
is also paramount to growing revenues at golf facilities. What are neighboring facilities charging for a
round of golf and what distinguishes them from
other facilities in your market? More important,
what niche does your facility hold in the market
that will differentiate you from the competition? Is
your course the “hardest golf course in the state” or
does your course boast “the best greens in the
region?” Do you offer the “only lighted driving
range in the county” or can you guarantee a 4.5-
hour round of golf? To succeed in today’s challenging economy, Koppenhaver emphasizes that golf
facilities without distinction will eventually
become golf courses without golfers.
“It wasn’t as critical seven or eight years ago, but
it is absolutely critical today to differentiate your-
Private Facility Challenge
PGA Professionals who saw the economic going elsewhere,” says Dalzell.
downturn coming have already Dalzell also has empowered his staff to sell
implemented programs large and small to and promote merchandise in the Hidden
stimulate revenue generation at their Creek shop by offering incentives, and by
facilities. Their proven best practices can be involving his assistants in buying decisions
modified to succeed at facilities and vendor selection early in the
throughout America. year. In 2007, Dalzell asked one of
At the exclusive Hidden Creek his merchandising assistants to
Golf Club in New Jersey, PGA identify 20 club members who
General Manager and Head browsed the shop but didn’t buy
Professional Ian Dalzell has much. By focusing on those
organized trips to domestic and members’ specific wants and
international golf destinations, and needs through personalized
to pro-ams, with his members. The customer service and
organized group travel has “led to communication, those browsers
Ian Dalzell, PGA
stronger, more dynamic were converted into buyers,
relationships that assist the club in long- resulting in a $13,000 uptick in sales. Overall,
term retention of members and adds value empowering golf professionals to assist in
to the Hidden Creek membership,” buying and selling hard goods in 2007
according to Dalzell. Each trip also adds accounted for an additional $18,500 in sales.
$2,000 to the coffers, as well as incremental Hidden Creek also generated $48,000 in
equipment and merchandise purchases in fresh revenue by opening a lodge facility on
preparation for said travel. the property. Dalzell ties in instructional
Since Dalzell has many members who packages with overnight stays and wine
also belong to other clubs, he has dinners for members and their guests. The
introduced a “Members Reward Program” lodge brings incremental revenue to the
to encourage members to spend their golf entire Hidden Creek facility and encourages
and merchandising dollars at Hidden Creek. “stay and play” situations for members.
For a fee of $200 to join the “Rewards On the merchandising front, Dalzell also
Program,” members get 10 percent off all generated an extra $8,000 in sales by
merchandise in the shop. With 48 members allowing select members to sit in on sales
signing up, the initiative generated $9,600 appointments with manufacturers’ reps.
up front and “created loyalty at our facility, Dalzell says that program was a success
since members who signed up were because “the members personally shop in
invested to buy from us and increase their the appointment, which leads to instant
merchandise spend at our facility instead of sales with no overhead risk. They also feel
more important because we included them,
so they become more loyal customers.”
Programs for Private Clubs
Private clubs might seem restricted in the
creative department when it comes to
growing revenues since they must focus on
their membership base rather than
promoting programs at their facility to the
public. However, programs designed to
transform social or health spa members into
golf-playing members; programs targeting
spouse and family involvement; programs
exposing potential new members to the
facility; programs that include a food and
beverage component with golf such as an
evening “Nine, Wine and Dine” event, and
fun tournaments designed to increase the
monthly spend of members can be
important revenue generators in a tough
economy.
“Private clubs might be considered
handcuffed because you can only promote
programs to your members, while the
potential customer base for public facilities
is virtually unlimited,” notes Jack Barber,
PGA head professional at Meridian Hills
Country Club in Indianapolis, Ind., and
president of the Indiana PGA Section. “But
as PGA Professionals, we must look at every
aspect of our operations and at every
opportunity to grow revenue in this
economy. It’s time to re-evaluate and make
golf fun again. One of the most important
things to do is know your membership.
Know what they want in a golf experience,
