Are Gift Cards The Way To Go?

Gift time is coming up and it might be time to consider a gift card program to enhance sales. These cards are becoming more and more popular and there is no question why. Gift cards are an excellent promotion to not only bump up sales but to bring in some cash from customers. And, giving a golf gift card to the avid or beginning golfer will make great holiday gifts.

Golf Business recommends the following things to consider when implementing a gift card program:

When selecting a vendor, answer these questions:

• What is the cost of the program?
• Can the card design be customized?
• Are attractive displays provided?
• Are current customers happy with the vendor?

Remember not to overlook security concerns when using a vendor with computerized processing. Recall that financial records for your store and your customers will be maintained on the vendor’s computers.

Also, to benefit from a gift card program, you have to promote it. Here are some ways to merchandise gift cards:

• Encourage last-minute purchases - Point-of-purchase displays are great vehicles. These cards are often impulse purchases, so display them at the cash register.
• Add value - Make the gift card complete by packaging each one in a little box with wrapping and ribbon. Promote during holidays.
• Keep drumming - Make sure customers are continually aware of your program. Post signs and imprint receipts with invitations to buy cards.
• Tie-in promotions - Once your cards are in your customers' wallets, think of new ways to attract them. You might give a percentage discount to shoppers who present their cards during certain periods. Think of reason after reason to give cardholders an incentive to visit your store.

Consider offering bonus cards and award gift cards to customers who make especially large purchases.

Traditional paper gift certificates usually sport expiration dates. The same holds for gift cards. Many cards have declining cash values based upon time retained by the customer. You have the opportunity to achieve higher profitability by capturing funds not redeemed after a certain date. Indeed, some percent of the funds loaded on gift cards are never spent. On the downside, customers may get angry when they find their cards have become worthless.

Whether to expire the card is a controversial question. Keep informed about pending regulations on gift cards and consider open-ended policies that sacrifice short-term profitability for long-term customer satisfaction.

Seeking Pro Sales For The Holidays?

It’s the holiday season and while you would think that golf courses would slow down for special days such as Thanksgiving, the fact is that holidays on the courses are busier than one might think. When family comes into town, they want to go golfing. It may be a good opportunity, however, to try to boost pro shop sales.

With the right strategy, your pro shop can bring in some good revenue during the holiday season.

More and more, off-course stores have been taking a percentage of retail business away from golf couurse pro shops.. But course owners have several advantages that, if used properly, can result in a successful retail strategy.

Golf Business Magazine has come up with some ways to increase a course owner’s share to compete with big-box retailers:

Club Fitting
One major advantage golf courses have over off-site retailers is the ability of a highly trained staff to properly fit customers with golf clubs and then allow them to demo that equipment on the course and on driving range.

Perhaps offer custom clubfitting and a free round of golf with the purchase of a set of irons.

Selection
Although pro shops generally cannot compete with off-course golf-specialty stores in terms of overall square footage and the broad range of brands, they can stock the most popular selling and profitable brands in an attractive setting.

Creating an Identity
Most courses have developed an individual logo, which can be one of the keys to help differentiate pro shop items from off-course competition. Creating the best logo possible is worth the money because the club controls its use and it can be coupled with nationally recognized brands. Use your logo on all items sold.

Merchandising
Drawing golfers’ attention to merchandise through creative displays is an important part of retailing success. Remember, presentation is important.

Additional Sales Efforts
Send out monthly pro-shop specials to an e-mail database of potential customers.

Customer Service
Course managers agree the key to competing with off-site retailers is customer service. Know your clientele and what they like and are willing to spend.

To make staff more knowledgeable and ultimately better customer-service representatives, invites vendors to come to your pro shop and explain to front-line personnel why a shirt is worth $80 or why a club line is among the best available.

The most important thing is getting to know your customers and figuring out who they are buying for and what they want.

Take time to do that.

Check Customer Service...When You're Away

Ever wonder what happens on a course when management is away?

Before you can even begin to comprehend and address the issues of customer service at your course, you need to have a full understanding of what is going on when you are not there. That is why I suggest secret shoppers. Many courses now are using secret shoppers to help pinpoint what is happening on a course and who and what makes things better or worse.

Golf courses are hiring marketing research companies to secret shop the quality of service in their pro shop, restaurant and course; these companies use the mystery shoppers to get information anonymously by assigning them particular purchases or to play a round of golf and then report on it.

The most important reason for conducting these mystery shops is to see your golf course and its operations through the eyes of your customers and to help the company focus on the areas that need improving... based on the customer’s reactions.

Too often course management believes that there needs to be changes in an area and the customer feedback shows that needs are elsewhere in order to keep them as a loyal customer. For example, a course owner may think that tightly merchandising their pro shop space is giving the customer the selection they want, and it turns out that the customer says it is too cramped to find anything or shop comfortably.

It is also a way to hold your employees accountable. If your employees are taught certain course protocols and they do not perform, the shop will tell.

The Cirlot Agency, a full-service public relations firm, lists the following tips when establishing a secret shopper program at a golf course.

Create Measurable Expectation – The mystery shopper evaluation form should include the employee’s job requirements and the overall impression you want customers to be left with after an encounter with an employee.

Advice Your Staff They’re Being Shopped – Employees should know mystery shoppers will visit your facility at some point, but they should not be informed of the date of the actual shop. Making staff members aware of the program conveys your commitment to customer service excellence and the importance of individual employee performance.

Hire Trustworthy Shoppers – Repeat customers make excellent mystery shoppers. Acquaintances and personal friends are effective too. By asking (and paying them) to participate, you should gain customer loyalty and create new players.

Share the Results – Discussing individual evaluations privately with each employee provides valuable feedback that can be used to improve their performance. This discussion could be part of a quarterly or annual review. Also, be sure to place a copy of each review in the employee’s file for future reference.

Recognize Top Performers – Mystery shopping can be used as a key element to any employee incentive program. It’s important to remember however, that excellence should be rewarded and areas of improvement should be identified with a set of objectives and clear tactics to accomplish them.

Mystery shopping is just one of the many ways businesses can utilize market research to their advantage with just a small expense. Utilizing a combination of market research to their advantage products such as focus groups, mystery shopping and competitive intelligence gathering will provide your business with the information and direction it needs to move to the next level. In the end, the return will far outweigh the cost of the service.

Marketing: Creating Specifics Of The Course

Now-a-days, nearly all businesses, even the most humble, have some sort of marketing material. Perhaps it is something as simple as a brochure or business card. However, for a golf course, creating good marketing material has to go beyond the basic flyers, letterhead and envelopes. It’s a totally different game - no pun intended.

In the "Beginner’s Guide to Press Kits" by Golf Business magazine, it lists some of the following marketing pieces that courses should consider necessary materials.

Brochures – A good brochure communicates in a fresh, lively language with specifics about the course. Stay away from saying things like “unique” or “spectacular” or phrases that are overused and many times not true. Show what sets the course apart in the brochure and steer away from creating a brochure that could be interchangeable with others.

Yardage Guides - This is said to possibly the single more important media piece distributed. The hole-by-hole descriptions are not created just to inform a player how many yards from bunker to bunker but to describe each hole in specific detailed manner containing photos, maps and tips on how to play the hole. Remember, golfers think these make great souvenirs.

Fact Sheet - A one-page document with a brief history of the course, yardages, slopes and ratings, numbers of bunkers and water hazards, grass types, terrain, flora, architect and other related statistics.

Rate Card - Redo your rate card every year as your prices change. The best rate cards list all golf rates, cart rates, packages, lessons, etc.

Scorecard - Use the scorecard to advertise, promote and brand your course. Personalize the scorecard by printing the names of the course architect, superintendent and head professional. Include a photo, graphic or logo that golfers will associate with your facility, as well as contact info.

Tear Sheets or Awards – If possible, tout your course by showing reprints and previous press coverage from other magazines and newspaper stories written about your property. List any awards or accolades including quotes from magazines or famous people the course has received. Is the course rated among the top 100 public courses in America? Was a hole chosen as the best par three in the county? Also, frame these in the pro shop in inform golfers.

In preparing your materials keep in mind that using specifics really generates the uniqueness of a course. Was the 15^th hole once a hot spot for certain wildlife? Did a famous golfer once hit an ace in the hole on the 18^th?

How many times have you been golfing on a course that was advertised it had “breathtaking views” or “challenging holes?” Does that sound unique? Even if your course does offer those things, details in marketing your course is about showing it, not telling it.

Creating specifics shows the story and although some of these marketing materials can be costly, remember good marketing pays for itself.

Especially quality photos. Don’t hand your assistant superintendent a camera and have him take snapshots of the course. Hire a professional photographer for quality imagery. The photos will pay for themselves when magazines or local media wants to review your course, thus free quality exposure.

Finally, the most informative marketing tool you can have is a website. Not only is a website crucial to brand your company and build a community, it reaches a broader audience and reduces printing costs by uploading all the marketing materials and course packets online.

Websites, such as the ones designed and powered by Cypress Golf Solutions, are affordable and cost effective. Annually, your cost of having a website may be less that the cost of any one-time printed promotional material.