CourseTrends Newsletter - New Year's Resolutions We All Need to Keep

If there was a lesson to learn in the financial markets over the last five years, it was 'tend to your investments'. For those who didn't, 2000 to 2002 exacted a heavy toll on your stock profile, and if you were like most pulled from stocks and dumped everything into bonds missing a huge stock run up in 2003 and a moderate performance in 2004. For those that did, they weathered the storm and are now benefiting from staying the course.

That's a lesson that should carry into many of our daily activities. Let's explore how we can apply that lesson to your Golf Marketing Solution.

First and foremost, the value of your solution is directly tied the size of your customer database. You and your staff's daily activities primarily drive the size of your database. Collecting email addresses this year will ensure your investment pays dividends. The good news is there are 'best practices' that we can all follow to ensure your investment is growing and the dividend it pays increases.

The first question you need to ask is how many golfers pass through your course on a given day? For the sake of argument, let's say you have an average of 80 golfers per day. How many of those golfer's email addresses are you capturing?

You CAN do better — and fortunately, we have developed some best practices to guide you. Below are a few of our database growth tips. I'd encourage you to evaluate your own practices and decide how you can improve.

Manage the process. If your staff is being measured on email collection, including the management team, you can expect email address collection to improve. Add email collection to your management team's bonus structure and you can expect immediate improvement.

Set realistic goals. Setting goals for each staff member makes the list-building process clear and attainable. With 80 golfers passing through, if you collect just 50% (that's 40 emails) each day, translates into 280 per week, well over 1000 emails per month. After three months, you should have a database exceeding 3000 emails!

Emphasize the importance of collecting email addresses on an on-going basis. After your initial efforts, it's typical to see email collection fall off. Make sure there is regular communication, training, and emphasis on email address collection and your database will continue to grow.

Use incentives. Incentives work, whether in the form of a bonus or contest. If your staff is performing on email collection, motivate them, implement a bonus structure or run a contest with a prize. Get your vendors to donate the prize and be sure to have employee memos, signage or other communication vehicles to remind them of the contest or bonus each time they clock in.

Incent your customers. A monthly give-away or drawing to encourage customers to provide their email can accelerate email collection too. Make sure the contest is visible with proper promotional material, and make sure you publicize winners to help make the promotion concrete in your customers' eyes.

Don't be afraid ask. Email addresses change as people switch jobs, email providers, or move. Make sure they always have an opportunity to join. Your Golf Marketing Solution should handle any bounced emails and redundant emails, so keep adding them.

Use all your 'face time'. You can leverage many areas in your club to promote joining your email program: on your scorecards, menu stands, coasters, bathroom stalls, and so on. Just as importantly, promote your website url on all promotional materials to leverage you on-line registration feature as well.

These are just a few ideas to help accelerate and maintain your database growth. Tending to your database is tending to your investment — these steps are not difficult and if your database isn't growing in at least the hundreds or thousands (peak season) on a monthly basis you need to seriously assess your in-club practices to improve.