Golf clubs, health clubs, the leisure industry, the country, most of the world, it’s all in lockdown, writes Matthew Orwin of Promote Golf. That may give rise to the impression you don’t have any members or customers anymore, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. Your customers aren’t gone – they’re just at home, and you need to engage with them now more than ever.
We know, from winters past, that many golfers can all-too-easily fall out of the habit of playing golf. Re-energising them when the sun comes out, or The Masters is on the TV, is a tough task made all the harder if they’ve been abandoned for the previous four or five months. It’s exactly the same, if not worse, now.
The task at hand is urgent – clubs have to work harder than ever before to stay in the consciousness of their members, golf society participants and green fee visitors, indeed, the broader target audience of prospective golfers generally. We have to ensure that we continue to try and engage them in the sport, albeit from afar at the moment. Because when this does end, and it will end, we want them to be so full-up on golfing content and enthusiasm that they’re just itching at the bit to get back onto the course.
- We’ve got to use all the mechanisms available to us to communicate our golfing messages, from social media to email to phone messaging, maybe even direct mail.
- We have to be consistently dripping a message out across all channels, not sporadic communications at hit-and-miss intervals.
- We’ve got to continue to profess the virtues of golf as a healthy, sociable, sport for all ages.
What to communicate though? It’s not like there’s much in the way of club activity at the moment.
Actually, the ‘what’ may not be as important than in normal times. As most people are at home, they’re not in the daily hustle and bustle of “normal” life. This is a rare moment when they’ve actually got time on their hands. If you send them something that’s not of particular interest, they may not engage with it – but they’ll be less inclined to unsubscribe or de-friend you as you’ve not interrupted them.
That doesn’t mean to say you can send them anything without regard for whether it’s actually worth sending at all. It just means you’ve got some leeway. Plenty will just be delighted to receive a consistent flow of ‘golf-themed-stuff’ to occupy their minds with momentarily.
The goal is simple – Simple Minds – Don’t You (Forget About Me). “We’re still here, golf’s still great and we can’t wait to welcome you back. In the meantime…”
Here is a glimpse of what Promote Golf is doing worldwide.
- Links to YouTube videos of famous golfing moments
- Weekly live social media videos with the Head Greenkeeper from the course, showing interesting topics and how good the course is looking.
- Picture-board quiz identifying famous golf courses
- Guess the golf logo competition – showing well-known golf logos without the brand name
- Links to different playing card games people can play – and there are a few themed around golf
- Zoom/Skype interviews with Members, questions such as favourite golf hole in the world, favourite food at the club
- Top-5 golf-themed films to watch
- How to become a master-putter in your own living room
- Conquering the short chip-and-run in your hallway
- Mastering the golf swing in your garden – the top 5 practice drills that don’t need a golf ball
- Get Golf-Fit at home
- Top-10 (clean) golf jokes
- Ask people to share their most favourite golfing memory
- Post the open-ended question – “I enjoy golf because…” and give a prize for the best response
- Share pictures of your course when it was looking at its best – “we’ll be here waiting for you as long as it takes”
- Share pictures of famous golf courses to tantalise the golfing taste buds
- Ask people what they’re doing to stay golf-motivated during the crisis
- Host a live golf quiz using Facebook Live, Zoom or Messenger
- Facilitate a ladies and/or seniors golf social evening by video or text chat
Never before has it been so important to stay communicative with your golfing customers. Supporting them through their period of isolation with fun, light-hearted and engaging material, will be appreciated and they’ll be much more likely to get back golfing quicker, and at your club.
Promote Golf want to help you achieve that, and we want to do it for free!
Our goal over the forthcoming weeks and months is to help golf clubs keep golfers engaged, because we know without that, participation in the sport may struggle to recover when the doors re-open.
We can help you with your website, email marketing and social media – all focused on keeping the communication flowing with your customers.
Get in touch today – call 01865 582365 info@promotegolf.com
