Email Marketing
Your own email database is one of the best tools that you have to reach your customers. You likely know that. And you also likely know that the bigger the database the better. Because even with the best open rates its likely that only half of your people are seeing and/or reading each email you send. 

Collecting Emails
Winter is a great time to talk about how to collect more email addresses. Things like how to add boxes and buttons to your website and how to encourage your social fans to subscribe are important. But right now, today, you have an opportunity that many golf courses fail to take full advantage of. Right now, this month, is the time that you will likely have the most new (and returning) customers walk through your door. Is your staff trained well enough to get email addresses for them all? From 75%? From 50%?

Use your tools
We have used quite a few different POS systems lately and all of them have been able to spit out reports that tell us what % of email addresses we have for the golfers in our tee sheets. Some of the POS systems can even do this segregated by golfer category. For example at one course we have email addresses for 89% of members but only for 44% on non-members. Of those non-members the email addresses come from 60% seniors, 39% adults and 2 juniors.

~ Do all your staff understand the importance of collecting emails? Don’t just tell them to get them, explain why.
~ Run a contest. He who collects the most email addresses wins. This one is a bit tougher to administer but should be doable.
~ Offer an incentive. Just like big retail. ‘Give me your email address and get this coupon for a discount next time around’.
~ Offer a referral. Get your members to do the work. They give you a non-member email address or even better a full referral for memberships and you give them something in return.
~ Use your social media channels to go for the “ask” to sign-up. Not enough golf courses do this. Explain to the fan or follower why they should and what to expect when they sign-up.

Always make sure your content is relevant to your subscribers. You can figure out better what this is this with a semi-annual survey of your lists. Also the less questions you ask in the sign up process the greater number of subscribers you will get. 

Email marketing is still the best form of marketing (and cheapest) in our opinion. But it requires effort. Whatever you do ALWAYS focus on building your list, all year long, and not buying your list (which is illegal in Canada)!

 

We, Jeff and Tara Ciecko of CK Golf write two blogs, one is our 19th Hole Blog where we share personal experiences and the other an Industry Blog where we comment on general business and internet marketing best practices, sales strategies and give golf industry related opinions. We have owned CK Golf  for 9 years and provide marketing, social media and business services to the golf and other industries. As of August 2016 our life and our business have been ‘location independent’. Our 19th Hole Blog is about the places we visit and the things we do. If you have any questions or comments, or happen to be in the same location as us please reach out and contact us anytime.

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