Do you think your golf club guests and members remember every single moment during their stay in your golf club? I am sure that they will not.
People usually remember peak moments and pits during their stay in a golf resort or a golf club. I would dare to say that the moments most likely to be remembered are the pits.
This is why most of us are focusing almost solely on filling the pits. However, your job is not done with it. It is just the first stage of successful customer experience.
I encourage you to go for the moments that make a golf club guest’s or member’s jaw drop.
Today it is NOT enough to meet customer expectations since you are competing with millions of experiences, plus your customers are really smart and empowered. You must exceed customer expectations and create a memorable experience.
A recent Accenture study found that 93% of consumers agree it’s important that every interaction they have with a brand is excellent, whenever or wherever they happen in the decision to purchase from a brand or retailer.
We are living not just in a content tsunami (E.g. 500 million daily active Instagram Stories in January 2019), but in an experience tsunami as well.
This is why it is so hard to remember moments and impressions.
This is why we must avoid flat/”mostly forgettable” experiences and create moments that matter.
Defining moments
In my interpretation „defining moments” are both memorable and meaningful. Usually, they don’t last a long time…maybe a few minutes and rise above the everyday.
The defining moments often spark positive emotions. You can call it “peaks” as well. Let me give you a memorable moment example from my visit to Öschberghof.
During my stay, I was happy to discover that they have got a very impressive cigar (100 kinds, including their own brand) and whiskey (120 kinds) offer.
At the same time, they also have got a very knowledgeable team that understands every aspect of whiskey drinking.
The first question we must ask ourselves what can elevate our guests. You ask yourself what will make them feel extraordinary. To achieve this, we must:
- Boost sensory experience (e.g. pleasant scent in the clubhouse, cozy clubhouse interior design, etc.);
- Give them something that is highly relevant to the person;
- Give them something that is unexpected, but highly esteemed (e.g. based on the person’s game performance and pace of pay, you can offer customized golf lessons, golf equipment recommendation that fit much more to the level of the person, etc.);
- Make them feel special! This requires you to analyze CRM data, their past purchasing behavior, what they share with us on review sites and social media. Personalization is the new marketing!
Pride moments
Pride is also an important part of a defining moment. Remember how proud you were at your first birdie/eagle/albatross and of course at your first hole-in-one.
We can add also many-many more achievements that make you feel proud, like being a member of the club for more than 10 years, being a member of a high-end golf club, etc.
This can be used also for our golf club employees. Our employees really care about if we appreciate their work and contribution to our businesses.
Social and emotional connects to a golf club as a workplace can strengthen the bond between people and to the place.
Transitions – moments
Not just milestones, but transitions are also important in our lives. Just think about these important moments:
- First time in a new golf club: think about what would ignite these golfers and feel more comfortable and how to present your golf club in a compelling way. E.g. highlighting social proofs, awards, connecting them with like-minded people, etc.
- First time in a new position in a new workplace (see employee onboarding process). Gallup’s Workplace Report found that 88% of businesses (in the US) do not do a good job of onboarding new employees. Measure your new hires’ satisfaction and expectations! The first 90 days are the most crucial days. It’s critical to make employees feel welcome, appreciated, and comfortable during the onboarding process. Harvard Business Review found in 2015 that 22% of businesses don’t have a formal onboarding program. In a recent study by LinkedIn, 72% of respondents listed one-on-one time with their direct manager as the most important part of any pre-boarding or onboarding process.
- Moving to a higher position within the hierarchy of your golf club.
All this might sound were simple ideas and thoughts, but frequently overlooked. In short, missed opportunities. I consider them as ‘low-hanging fruits’ that we should utilize to create exceptional customer & employee experience in our golf clubs.
We should start to think in moments to spot opportunities when we can impress our guests, members, and employees too.
If you are already using customer journey mapping to understand your guests’ and members’ needs, expectations, and goals, then you can use it also for defining the moments of truth when and where you can create for them defining and memorable moments.
To be able to exceed your golf club’s guests’ & members’ expectations you must know first those expectations.