Here are your top tips to maximise the impact of National Golf Month:

COLLECT CONTACT INFORMATION

So, you’re seeing some unfamiliar faces at the club – both people who play golf already and complete newcomers to the game.

DON’T LET THEM ESCAPE without getting contact information from them.

If you have no way of communicating with them after they’ve left, it will be a massive wasted opportunity because you’ll have no way of encouraging them back to the club in the future.

If you don’t already have any, create some contact information slips for people to complete.

– Name, telephone number and email addresses are essential.
– Email addresses are often long – give plenty of room for people to write
– Ask if they’re a member of another club. If they are, they’re a prime new member prospect.
– Add the line “Please use block capitals” – it will make them easier to read.
– Ask for their postcode. If they live far away you may not want to communication membership offers to them.
– Tell them you’re on Facebook/Twitter/Google+ and give them a reason to connect with you – exclusive offers, prize draws etc.
– Make their completion compulsory. Incentivising people to give their details just gives them an option to not bother.

And don’t forget your opt-in or opt-out statement.

GIVE THEM A REASON TO COME BACK – SOON!

Loads of new faces are visiting your club and enjoying the facilities and hospitality you have to offer. They are at their most engaged and enthusiastic to continue enjoying the golfing lifestyle.

INCENTIVISE THEM to visit the club again.

Encouraging repeat custom is the most cost-effective way to increase your club’s revenues. It doesn’t need expensive advertising and it’s targeted at the very people most likely to spend money at your club i.e. those who already have.

Think about what mechanisms you can implement in time for May that will dangle the carrot in front of your National Golf Month visitors. Here are our favourite two:

LOYALTY CARDS

They’re simple, they’re easy to understand and they’re versatile across multiple departments.

Collect the stamps and receive…

your 5th round free.
your 6th bucket of balls free.
your 4th coffee free.

There are so many opportunities.

Remember to add an expiry date though. The expiry date is a strong call-to-action that pro-actively encourages repeat custom

RAPID RETURN CARDS

A simple business card sized piece of collateral incentivizing their return within a short window. It may be three days, five days or a week – whatever you feel is appropriate.

Come back within 5 days and…

Play for just £XX
Receive a 25% discount
Enjoy a complimentary bucket of balls

Again, the opportunities are endless.

Don’t loose the momentum – keep your National Golf Month visitors engaged in your club.

KEEP COMMUNICATING and then communicate some more!

With so many new faces visiting the club, you can be lured into the sense that you’ve cracked it. However, when National Golf Month finishes you’ve got to keep the momentum going.

The only way you can achieve this is to keep communicating with your National Golf Month visitors.

– Create email newsletters with newsworthy content targeted directly at the National Golf Month participants.
– Get on social media and target your newfound leads with more newsworthy content.
– Find the time to give them a call and ask them how they enjoyed their experience at the club.
– Show real-life examples of people who first used the club during National Golf Month and went on to become golf addicts.
– Resist the temptation to bombard them with offers. Remember, it’s as much about ‘engagement’ as it is about promotions.
– Don’t stop communicating – not for a good 8 to 10 months at least. People may put you on their backburner immediately after the event, but they can still be won over.

And remember; take lots of photos during the month. You’ll need these for your newsletters and social media communications.