beyond
a Web site
To avoid spending a lot of time and money,
use third-party vendors to tame the
Internet, says Doug Smith, VP of business
development for 3balls.com. Here are some
firms that can help you.
· Legendary Marketing
· WhatCounts (one of many that can help with
e-mail marketing)
· Position Technologies (search engine
optimization)
· LinkShare, Commission Junction (affiliate
marketing)
· Channel Intelligence, ChannelAdvisor
(shopping comparison site optimization)
Before choosing any company, make sure
you know what you want your site to do.
“There is no one template aside from return
on investment,” says Smith.
neous, automated Internet auction. This
kind of search requires even more care, because, as Bader says, “if you don’t know
what you are doing, you can spend tens of
thousands of dollars a month” and not
have anything to show for it.
• E-mail marketing. “One of the best forms
of retention marketing,” says Smith. By
using a third party, he says, you can segment and analyze your customer data to
target your campaigns. For instance, when
a certain sweater comes into the shop,
your shop software can send an e-mail
alert to people who have shown a tendency
to buy from that line.
• Shopping comparison sites. Third-party
vendors will take an electronic feed from
you that highlights products you want to
sell, then optimize it for the shopping Web
sites.
• Affiliate marketing. Sites that 3balls puts
its own ads on bring business back to the
3balls site. This kind of marketing requires
rich knowledge of what works best.
• Shopping/search hybrid. A relatively new
form that combines natural product
search and shopping search. It too
requires an optimization vendor.
As sophisticated as Smith and 3balls are,
however, there is a relatively new form of
Internet marketing, one that resembles
nothing so much as word-of-mouth marketing on electronic steroids.
Commonly used social networks are
MySpace, Facebook and the business-orient-ed LinkedIn. They all present ways for individuals with common interests to connect and
share, anything from music to writing to embarrassing videos.
In golf, social network communities have
the potential to create a huge market demand
for anything from a golf club to a teacher to a
newly renovated classic golf course.
While social networking is largely untapped in the world of golf, some are taking
the leap.
Robert Tau is president and CEO of Sport-genic, a sports-based marketer that bought
the golf community site, GolfBuzz, late in
2007. The company’s goal, he says, is “to
provide a platform for the golf community …
to interact with each other.”
Among those that are using the technology
is Colorado Avid Golfer, which is using GolfBuzz to make itself an online meeting place
for avids in the state (and those who travel
there). Canongate Golf Leagues in Atlanta and
Houston use the power of the network to allow
members of the leagues to track their progress
across time and multiple courses.
Tau sees success potential in the teaching
field, with Golf TEC and Dave Pelz looking to
create communities around their online
and in-person instructional offerings. He
recognizes attempts by club manufacturers to
create communities, although sites such as
Golf WRX.com have been communities for a
number of years, and since they are independent, they can have more credibility than
manufacturers’ sites.
Tau says social media is still in its infancy.
But, he adds, “This is where clubs could take
advantage of technology.” But before clubs
can tap into social networks, clubs must learn
how to build online communities and match
the expectations of their customers to create
a compelling experience.
■
GolfBuzz.com (above) and
FGmagazine.com (below) are
two Web sites where consumers
can read opinions from other
golfers and share their own
thoughts.
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.
