Warning: Content ahead has a dangerous level of puns involved.
Plenty of content promising to increase your ROI and help you engage your guests is stewing out there on the internet. The problem is deciding which ideas are good and which might get you fired.
Worry not! We’ve scoured the golf course marketing pantry, tossed out the bad apples, and taken stock of the best marketing ideas around to bring you a simmering soup of fresh content. (Side note: Certain content writers probably shouldn’t write blog posts on an empty stomach.)
On to the soup!
- Make sure your online presence is positive.
People have always made decisions based on the experiences of others – that’s why word-of-mouth marketing is so important. But nowadays, that looks like checking Yelp, Facebook, Golf Advisor, and Google reviews to make sure they’re not about to waste their time at a sub-par location, whether that’s to eat, relax, golf, or all three. If your online reviews are negative, do something about it! You can reach out to the reviewers using the myriad of tools those platforms give you and recover any guest who had a negative experience.
Responsive, amazing customer service is the kind of fuel that will power your golf course past negative reviews and into raving fan territory. Everyone loves telling their friends and family about the brand that turned their bad experience into something delightful, and these interactions can even create more loyalty than an experience that was good from the beginning. Even if your reviewers don’t respond to your attempts to set things right, the visibility of your efforts will resonate with potential guests. This practice sets a sturdy foundation for your other marketing efforts and prevents you from fighting an uphill battle for no reason.
- Form beneficial partnerships with local hospitality brands.
Many golf courses are neighbors to hotels and conference or event centers. Be a good neighbor – share! Tactics such as offering special course rates to hotel occupants or discounted hotel rooms to course customers will create a larger pool of potential guests that both brands can benefit from.
Significant events like conferences or golf tournaments are an even better opportunity to capitalize on increased traffic nearby, bundling amenities to maximize the influx of new guests that may not otherwise wander through your doors.
An important caveat to note is that a partnership can potentially be dangerous if the terms are not clearly delineated via contract from the beginning. And without a proper marketing plan to carry out the necessary foundational work, the goals of the partnership may not come to fruition.
- Invest in tools like email automation and optimized advertising.
Brick-and-mortar entities like golf courses forget about online advertising too often. Optimized PPC (Pay-per-click) advertising can multiply your ROI in startling ways. With the right solution, you can track the return on your ad spend and watch your revenue from online marketing skyrocket.
foreUP offers Ignite, a professional service that fine-tunes your Google advertising to 100% optimization. Case study after case study shows this optimization makes the kind of splash that can’t be ignored.
Email automation is another tool that every golf course should have in its toolbox. With foreUP’s built-in marketing solution, you have access to beautiful pre-made email templates that are easily customized with drag-and-drop functionality. “Set it and forget it” comes to life with emails you can schedule, set up to be triggered by an event (like a reminder for 10 minutes prior to a guest’s tee time!), or send immediately.
Our automatic tracking details open rate, clicks, and bounces, so you can be sure you’re reaching the audiences you need to engage.
Hopefully you’ve found a flavor you like in this autumn edition of our blog. If the scent of success and stellar marketing features is intriguing to you, click here to request a foreUP demo!
(Bonus points if you can find all the food puns in this post.) Happy marketing!
