In the new digital era, competing for golfers and keeping the attention has become the $64,000 question for the golf clubs. We can already see a massive shift to digital consumption (e.g. mobile commerce, mobile apps, e-commerce). According to WARC, COVID-19 caused digital consumption to rise by over 30%.
We must admit that online and offline worlds are coming together in an effort to serve customers better.
You can be 100% sure that golfers’ expectations will continue to grow as they learn from other areas of their life that technologies are available that can help marketers to personalize their services (e.g. golf tournaments, tee time booking, food ordering, etc.) and products to a very high level.
Golf clubs must achieve as soon as possible a personalized, unified experience across all channels and all areas of golf club life (e.g. golf tournaments) + all stages of the customer journey.
To achieve long-term loyalty and greater engagement, we must deliver relevance to our golf club members and guests. This is why true 1-on-1 personalization is needed. Another important benefit of personalization is incremental sales growth.
The idea of personalization is not new, but the way golf clubs interact with their guests and members has changed. With more than two-thirds of consumers saying they want personalized experiences. It is clear that golf clubs need to adapt, or risk being left behind.
The need for personalization now extends to the organization and into the golf tournaments too. Golf tournaments may seem the same or very similar. However, the differences lie in the details, and these must be considered in order to achieve a memorable experience.
To move quickly in this fast-paced environment, golf clubs need to have the right golf tournament software with personalization features and services (e.g. Golf Genius Software) that are easy to use and comprehensive.
It is not enough to select the most suitable golf tournament software. Golf clubs should also invest in their people and ensure that they have the right skills to utilize the golf tournament software.
Let’s have a look at what we can already personalize in golf tournament management. Right at the beginning assess the unique needs of our golf club and what is at our disposal.
Do you know the smartphone and mobile application usage habits of your guests and members? I believe under age 65 it should not be an issue. What is the quality of your Wi-Fi on and off the golf course?
50 megabits per second (Mbps) is the threshold for adequate Wi-Fi these days, and some providers, like Google Fiber, offer up to 1000 Mbps.
I would check if the software can manage member events separately from non-member golf tournaments by custom online registration for instance.
If you care about the reputation of your golf club and its tournaments, then don’t fall for cheap or free solutions. Instead go with probably the most trusted golf tournament software: Golf Genius Software.
Golf Genius Software & personalization opportunities
This is how they help you to have a highly personalized golf tournament in your golf club:
- Club App – this is the member facing app. Where other ISV’s require each club to have the same looking layout, design and menu, Golf Genius allows for this to be customized on an account-by-account basis.
- Event Portal – a website that is generated per event which allows customers to create their own custom web portals. Common content you would see on here are results & live leaderboards, tee times, registration, photo galleries, news feeds and more.
- Mobile app pages – when using live scoring, a customer has the ability to create up to 18 different pages (adverts) that can appear once a hole is finished. Some customers will sell this as advertising space during the course of the season – essentially a digital tee sponsorship. It is also allowing users to advertise promotional offers and events within their clubs, as well as on course tournaments such as longest drives and nearest the pins.
- Scorecards – Golf Genius gives the user the flexibility to produce a scorecard for any type of format – individual, pairs, scramble, 6/6/6 – you name it! Once a customer designs their scorecard GG will save it in their tournament library to be used time and time again. Customers also have the ability to view other users scorecards in our community report center and use them for their own events. Scorecards are a great place to add logo’s and colors to help brand golf events – front and back. One very popular feature is the ability to add handicapping dots to show golfers what holes they get their shots on – very helpful in the confusing world of WHS and playing handicaps!
This article is brought to you by Golf Genius Software.