Bom Sucesso in Portugal has been announced as the latest member of the exclusive European Tour Properties network, becoming an official European Tour Destination. This year 2 other golf clubs joined the European Tour Properties network so far: the Bulgarian Lighthouse Golf & Spa Resort and the Czech Albatross Golf Resorts.
Bom Sucesso, the Óbidos resort is located not far north of Lisbon and offers not just an 18-hole, par-72 Championship golf course (an area exceeding 600 thousand sqm) designed by Donald Steel. It also offers 601 houses. A five-star hotel is under development as part of the site, complete with an extensive range of leisure facilities and services including a luxury spa.
It seems like that golf clubs from countries with low participation rate like Portugal (0.1%; Czech Republic: 0.6%; Bulgaria: less than 0.1%, Hungary: less than 0,1%; source: KPMG: Golf Participation in Europe 2016) choose either to join the European Tour Properties to gain awareness and attract international golf tourists or select an international golf club management company (e.g. the Bulgarian Thracian Cliffs Golf & Beach Resort has selected IMG Prestige; the Hungarian Zala Springs Golf Resort has selected World of Leading Golf Courses).
Unlike the previously mentioned Eastern European golf clubs, Bom Sucesso is also helping the European Tour player Ricardo Gouveia. He is the highest ranked Portuguese golfer in history by reaching the 84th in the Official World Golf Ranking after winning the NBO Golf Classic Grand Final.
How could Bom Sucesso gain more awareness?
What many golf clubs neglect is the usage (or not able to exploit it due to lack of knowledge, budget for content development and community management etc.) of social media to promote their business. Today, it is not enough to have a profile on golf social media platforms (e.g. Golfscape, Golfboo, 1golf.eu etc.) we should also build a relationship with online influencers (aka influencer marketing) and co-create content with them.
This way, people will be “info-tained” and inspired to engage with our golf club/resort. In such a cooperative scenario, influencers can gain exposure, golf clubs can reach new audiences. So everybody wins.
To achieve engagement it is essential to develop a holistic storytelling strategy with our customers in mind. While we are telling our stories and respond to their comments, we have to deliver real, contextual value when and where consumers demand it most.
