I promised last time to talk more about data and I will deliver, but I had to mention something that came up. I was speaking with a prominent course architect about optimizing his website and came to the realization that most people don’t have a clear idea of what a website is and what it can be.

Please do not misunderstand- a great looking, professional website it an absolute necessity to everyone in the golf industry. According to a study sponsored by NGF, 87% of all golfers use the internet on a regular basis to do research, communicate, etc.

At the very least your website should be an online brochure- creating a snapshot of your operation for potential clients and giving you legitimacy to a growing segment of consumers. That is the very least it should do, but it can do so much more. It can provide the most efficient and cost effective means of marketing yourself and your services.

In order to do this, your site must-

1) Be properly optimized: if your site is not properly indexed and optimized, you will not appear when a potential client does a relevant search in Google, Yahoo or some other search engine. The cost for properly optimizing your site is so ridiculously small compared to the potential revenues that can be generated through free searches that it isn’t even worth mentioning.

2) Be systematically updated: a site that is still exhorting individuals to come out to the 2001 Member Guest Tournament shouts emphatically to the virtual universe- I DON’T CARE ENOUGH ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS TO TELL YOU WHAT IS GOING ON NOW!

3) Capture Data: the number one function of your site should be to capture data and initiate a line of communication (i.e. newsletters, email specials registration, rss feeds). There is no greater way to market your business- whatever that business- than to offer prospects the opportunity to ask you for information.

4) Look Professional: everyone knows an eighth grader who knows enough html to update their MySpace page. That doesn’t make them qualified to build you a website. A professional business is expected to conform to certain aesthetic rules and guidelines. Don’t make your course a virtual ugly duckling. No website is better than an ugly website.

The good news for you is that most companies in the golf industry do a fairly poor job of utilizing the electronic universe to sell themselves. This gives you a great opportunity to differentiate from the competition. So, as the commercial says, Just Do It- But Do It Right!

Next time- more data discussion.

In graduate school, I worked as an assistant golf professional at an economical muni in West Virginia. We catered to a combination of blue collar workers and college kids. It was an eclectic mix of individuals united by a common love of golf and a lack of discretionary income.

The head golf professional / local bookie / general manager was hardly a marketing genius, but he knew who his market was and how to appeal to them. Much of the advertising that we did (and there wasn’t much) was very event driven and was almost always funded by sponsoring companies. The pro had developed a very low tech, low cost approach to marketing that kept the tee sheets full and the owner happy.

When he left, the new pro came in with a head full of ideas. He raised the rates and began aggressively marketing in new areas. His impulses were good ones, but he made a fundamental error. He forgot the core identity of both the course and its clientele. That course is now being developed into moderately priced housing.

Despite the visual fantasies presented in Hollywood exports, few supermodels actually choose the nerd. As a friend of mine says- water seeks its own level. This is as true in the world of consumerism as it is in the world of dating.

It is great to read that 42% of new golfers are women and say- we are going to go after the female market in our area. It is quite a different thing to be the type of course that new women golfers want to play. Believe it or not, your 145 slope rating and 74oo yards don’t appeal to all golfers.

You must first know yourself before you can know your customer. Once you have identified the core group that you appeal to- get them and keep them. How you ask?

(coming next time) Commandment Number Three- Capture and Cherish Data

Today the announcement came that the Democrats swept into power in both the House and Senate in a clear mandate against the inattentiveness of the president to the wishes of those he was called to serve.

Since this election will be sure to serve as a metaphor for an inability to react pragmatically in the face of obvious obstacles, I will jump on this bandwagon early and give a warning to the golf industry- don’t bush things up.

The business of golf has changed. The economic environment requires that those of us in the industry react decisively to the changes and take advantage of the opportunities that these changes create. Companies that maximize their marketing efforts and establish themselves in their respective markets will be able to distance themselves from their competition. I believe that there are 10 fundamental keys- or

10 commandments

- that are key to this effort. We will be going over each of these points individually.

Number one- Know thyself: In an arena with so many competing voices, knowing who you are, as a golf club, is fundamental. You must first be able to clearly define yourself and then have the ability to communicate that identity to the public. This requires a coordinated effort of all aspects of your marketing efforts (public relations, advertising and web branding). All messaging needs to be consistant and unified with clearly defined enunciations of a succinct identity.

I’ll give you an example. I have a number of different private clubs as clients who have a public restaurant as part of their operation. A consistent challenge with each of these clubs is keeping the message straight. If handled properly and consistantly, this arrangement actually creates real potential, but improper handling can be disasterous. Two clubs- we’ll call them A and B took different approaches.

Club A took the issue head on and created a branding strategy that consistently enunciated and amplified the arrangements. We trumpeted it as an advantage to the members to keep costs lower and give them the chance to have some diversity in controlled social events without sacrificing the private experience they craved. They kept some areas of the club specifically for members and made a big deal about access. The public was constantly teased with a taste of the private club feel. Visitors to the restaurant helped feed memberships and created a great revenue stream. We worked to celebratize the chef and the arrangement has been very successful.

Club B chose, despite our best advise, to ignore the issue. The result has been that they have no clearly defined position in the industry and have lost money as a result.

You must define, define, define- over and over and over.

Can you sum up your club in one easy to understand and easily repeatable phrase (Sample Golf Club is a golf-first, public-access Nicklaus design with the best conditions available in the area ). This simple phrase would serve as the backbone of all communications. Whether you position yourself as family friendly with ammenities for the kids or as a high-end private club featuring a premium designer, that message needs to ring clear in all communication.

This short phrase becomes the skeleton upon which all the ancillary elements of your course identity hang. These added elements (like having a celebrity chef) must all reinforce rather than detract from that primary positioning.

The danger of not clearly understanding who you are leads directly to an inability to react properly to the Second Commandment. Next time- Know your customer.

The single most common mistake that I see in the golf industry is the utter disregard that most golf professionals, courses and management companies demonstrate in relation to their most valuable asset- customer data.

The golf industry, historically, has been thoroughly insulated from the need to practice good marketing. Before the overbuilding of the 1990s, it was generally enough for a course to hire a good professional, maintain good conditions and let the money roll in (this is a fairly substantial over-simplification, but suffice it to say that the competitive environment has changed significantly). Over the past decade the number of courses has rison dramatically without a significant number of new golfers- resulting in a 20 percent increase in demand, coupled with no new demand.

Industry Fast Facts

Over the last two years, for the first time, the number of courses that have closed has actually outpaced new course openings. These new circumstances necessitate that in order to survive courses be more efficient and more aggressive marketers.

Next time we will take a closer look at the absolute necessity of treasuring your transactional data.

I am embarking on a new journey. This blog is being written in conjunction with authoring a new book- the purpose of which is to explore the varied landscape of the 21st Century golf course and compile the best and worst marketing practices in the industry. Please feel free to offer your comments, questions and complaints. Should you choose to leave ideas behind- I reserve the write to publish them and thank you very much, have a nice day.

I will be conducting interviews with industry leaders and picking the brains of the best and brightest. Stay tuned for more.