The Online Marketing Roadmap

We have processed hundreds of requests for our whitepaper - “Have you missed the boat with online marketing? What successful golf course operators know that you don’t.”

The whitepaper contains important information for golf course operators who want to take advantage of the latest in online marketing. It discusses the advantages on online marketing over conventional advertising and explains how to implement a 10-step online marketing roadmap.

Most of the feedback we received on the whitepaper was focused on the 10-step roadmap and how it helped golf course operators guide their online marketing initiatives. So we decided to publish that portion of the whitepaper here on our blog so everyone can benefit from the information.

Hopefully you are already traveling down the online marketing roadmap and this will only reinforce your plans and maybe fill-in some gaps. There are steps on the roadmap that can be implemented the minute you get done reading this paper, others will take more time and require some outside assistance.

1. Capture Your Golfer’s Email Address
   
   Even if you complete no other step on this roadmap you should do this one right now. Whenever you decide to implement an online marketing plan you will need a database of your golfer’s email addresses.
   
   
   Start by creating a simple signup form and stack them on the counter in the pro-shop. Ask every golfer to fill one out. If you don’t have a system to enter the data into, you can put the completed forms in a shoebox for now. (We provide a sample form in the whitepaper.)
   
   


2. Register a Domain Name for Your Golf Course
   
   If you have not reserved your golf courses place on the world wide web now is the time. It only takes a few minutes. Try to register the name of your course using the .com extension.
   
   
   There are many registrars available online, GoDaddy.com is a good value. You can register your domain name there for around $9 per year (www.godaddy.com).
   
   


3. Build a Website for Your Golf Course
   
   Build a simple, easy to navigate website with good course content, lots of pictures and a sign up form for email specials. The site should be integrated with an online editing tool so you can easily make changes and updates to your site.
   
   
   There are many partners that can build a website for you; several specialize in sites for golf courses. You shouldn’t have to spend a lot of money here. Some partners will give you a website when you subscribe to other services on the roadmap.
   
   


4. Add a Specials Booking Engine to Your Website
   
   Here is where online marketing gets really smart. With an online booking engine you can control special offers and pricing at the tee time level. This is something that can’t be done with conventional advertising.
   
   
   You will need to find a partner that specializes in providing this type of service. If you have an electronic tee sheet your vendor may offer this capability.
   
   


5. Aggregate Your Tee Time Specials
   
   Here is where online marketing can really close the gaps in your tee sheet and bring new golfers to your course. You need to get your tee times in front of a wider audience of golfers by putting them on sites offering tee times for other courses in your area.
   
   
   You will need to find a partner that has access to a large network of golf related websites on a national and local level. Ask for hard numbers in terms of revenue and rounds sold and make sure they are willing to share customer data with you.
   
   


6. Communicate With Your Customers
   
   With your growing list of customer email addresses from the sign-up forms and from golfers booking tee times on your website, start communicating with them.
   
   
   Using an email marketing tool, start sending your customers a weekly email communication. If the tool allows, include specific tee time specials based on the current state of your tee sheet and your golfer profiles.
   
   


7. Install an Electronic Tee Sheet
   
   There is only so much you can do with online marketing without an integrated, electronic tee sheet. Steps 4 through 6 will be more effective and easier to manage if you have one, and steps 8 and 9 require one.
   
   
   There are many options for an electronic tee sheet. You can visit http://teesheets.cypgolf.com for a list of tee sheet companies that integrate with partners who provide other services on the road map.
   
   


8. Add a Full Rate Booking Engine to Your Website
   
   The full rate booking engine is different from the specials engine because it allows the golfer to book almost any tee time at regular course rates. The specials engine only offers limited times.
   
   
   The full rate engine requires you to have an electronic tee sheet so any tee time can be made available for online booking. The tee sheet vendor may offer this booking engine or a marketing partner may offer one that is integrated with the tee sheet.
   
   


9. Aggregate Your Full Rate Tee Times
   
   Just like with your tee time specials, you will want to get your full rate inventory out there. With these times, you want the widest exposure possible.
   
   
   You will need to find a partner that has access to a large network of golf related websites. Ask for hard numbers in terms of revenue and rounds sold.
   
   


10. Market Your Website
    
    Now that you have a website with all of the booking options available, you should use your conventional advertising to drive customers to your website. In addition, there are online options such as paid search engine listings and website optimization services.
    
    
    Change your ads to promote your website and online booking. Encourage golfers to signup for your email specials. Paid search engine listings can be done through Google.com, Yahoo.com and others. There are also companies that will help optimize your site for search engines.
    
    

We hope you find the roadmap useful. If you would like a complete copy of the whitepaper, which includes the roadmap along with a Cypress case study and a comparison between conventional and online marketing, just complete the request form on our website www.cypgolf.com.