When is the last time you sent a player a text?
No no, let’s be more specific.
When is the last time a player sent you a text?
Unless you’ve been whipping out your personal smartphone and having one-to-one text conversations with your golfers, it’s safe to say you …haven’t.
Why would I want my players to text me?
No need to think outside of the box just yet. Below are five scenarios that scream pretty loudly, to us, that sending and receiving texts from your customers is going to take your course to a whole new level.
But first, a video!
Scenario One:
John is on hole six.
John is thinking about where to go for lunch after his round.
John receives a text from your front desk, asking if he’d like to have something started for him in the grill.
John responds with a food order.
John gets excited about going straight to his food when he’s done playing.
John tells his party to get in on the action.
Result:
- Increased F&B sales
- Customer experience skyrockets
- Positive buzz about your course spreads
- F&B staff efficiency improves
Scenario Two:
Judy is on hole six.
The group playing behind Judy is quickly approaching.
Judy receives a friendly text from the front desk, letting her know the group behind her is moving quickly, while her group is taking longer than usual.
The front desk suggests that Judy let the group behind her play ahead.
Result:
- Judy is happy, because she isn’t rushed.
- The group behind Judy is happy, because they don’t have to wait.
- The front desk is happy, because they didn’t have to send someone to manage pace of play.
Scenario Three:
Bob is starting his round.
While walking to the next hole, Bob gets a text from the Head Pro.
The text says, “Good morning, Bob! John, the Head Pro, here. Respond to this text to get a tip for hole five.”
Bob, anxious to improve his game any way he can, responds to the text while walking from hole four to hole five.
John responds with, “The greens are moving quickly today. Try to aim for the back left of the green, using a slow backspin.”
Bob follows the advice, nodding to himself as he notices the truth behind what John suggested.
Bob goes home, tells his friend about the cool “text a tip” service at your course, and leaves a great review for your course on Google Places.
Bob’s personalized experience leads him to walk through the pro shop and pick up a few things he wouldn’t have.
Result:
- Improved customer experience
- Increased new and repeat business
- Increased revenue for the pro shop
- More online visibility due to Bob’s online review
Scenario Four:
Carol is on hole 12.
Carol receives a text from the front desk that says,”Hi Carol! Please be aware that lightning is currently within 15 miles. As your’e finishing your round, keep in mind that we will have to pull everyone off the course if it gets within 8 miles. We will let you know, but–in the meantime–good luck on your game!”
Carol speeds up so she can finish her round without being kicked off the course by an inopportune lightning storm.
Result:
- The course saves time by notifying players easily.
- The pace of play improves, spurred by players worried about the storm.
- Players experience is much better, despite the impending storm.
*Keep in mind that, using our text marketing tool, you can ALSO send messages to everyone on your tee sheet for a specific day OR timeframe.
ex: Through foreUP, send a text to everyone on the tee sheet who has started within the last 45 minutes. “Hello golfers! Just letting you know that lightning is within 15 miles. If/when it gets within 8, we’ll notify you and pull everyone off the course. Thanks!”
Scenario Five:
Larry just got home from a less-than-pleasant morning on the course.
Larry receives a text from the course asking how his experience was.
Larry responds to the text, indicating that he’d gotten a late start and had to quit his game at hole 7.
Your team responds, suggesting that he come back in the next day for half price.
Larry takes them up on the offer, and has a great round the following day.
Result:
- Repeat business for the course
- Improve customer experience
- Increased new business due to Larry’s word-of-mouth referrals
If you’re using foreUP, you can use 2-Way Messaging–already! So what’s the first thing you’ll text YOUR players?
foreUP users can find a tutorial for the new feature by logging into their software and watching the video, here.