Are golf clubs prepared for the “connected customers”?


By: April 19, 2016


Probably it is not an exaggeration to say that today’s customers are more empowered and connected. These people are multi-taskers and mobile. Before you would say that this is only true for certain age-group and generation, then I have to make you sad or at least draw your attention to the phenomenon of the transcend demographics. They are not Gen X, Gen Y or Gen Z; they’re the “Connected Customer”. For this generation, the experience is everything. They became accidentally narcissists (E.g. phenomenon of selfies!). Generation C is a generation of people who live a digital lifestyle.

The connected customers in many cases, they simply either hack or ignore company touchpoints. This is why I recommend giving up to think solely about touchpoints and focus on developing efficient customer journeys. Such customer journeys should be in line with the way connected consumers want to work. Let’s also not forget that these people want services and products NOW. It is also interesting to see, how shared experience matter to them. Therefore, companies/golf clubs must design for shared experiences.

All this will force golf clubs and marketers to come up with meaningful experiences and more meaningful customer engagements for their customers. In brief, marketers should provide dynamic customer experience. It seems like we will not be able to rely on NPS and CSAT alone. Those golf clubs who will be able to provide such customer experience they will gain a significant advantage.

Yes, you are absolutely right when you think that today’s always-on consumers are hard to please. Based on these findings, I see differently the recent investment of the Burhill Golf & Leisure Limited.

Is Burhill Golf Club prepared for the ‘connected customers’?

Burhill Golf and Leisure Limited (BGL), has taken delivery of 145 new Club Car vehicles, further enhancing the customer experience across all of its venues. For the 2016 season, BGL will replace its venues’ existing fleet, with 144 brand new Precedent i2 golf carts and one new Villager 6 utility vehicle (Club Car’s Carryall range), which will be used at its flagship site, Burhill Golf Club.

If I were at Burhill Golf and would consider the needs of connected customers, then I would rather select Club Car’s Precedent i3 golf cart because of its connectivity solutions (e.g. Visage).

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