Page 20 - GBC winter 2016 Eng

BRAND PARTNERS OF THE FUTURE
We are known for our flexibility, little to no risk, either short term or long, and have multiple onboarding options. Most importantly, we have an agile business model and a product that is able to pivot and shift to meet the ever changing needs of our user. If we were unable to respond to and change things we may have opened and immediately been rendered obsolete.
I am generalizing, but as an industry we need to change how we think, act and guide our facilities and focus more on the brand partners of the future. I have a ton of respect for my fellow peers, but we need to be more mobile and faster thinkers, and I am also accountable to that statement.
It’s easy to sit back and sing the old refrain, pointing fingers at the common industry excuses. Be aware. When you point at those you will see three fingers pointing back at yourself. Try it. Yes, it’s an old trick, but to my point, the person most responsible for change is you. The reality is we are paid by our brand partner’s support of our facilities, and that’s who we ultimately report to – the brand partners!
For fun...I believe we need to toss our current job titles. One I had seen recently was “Wizard of Light Bulb Moments.” This title, popular on LinkedIn, describes the role of a Marketing Director. It works.
In a pure sense, marketing is the act of inspiring people to take action. So, if you could inspire people in the golf industry and change your title what would it be? Would “Wizard of Brand Partnerships” work at your facility? Likely not, but this IS our role – inspiring people to use our product and services over an extended period of time.
MEET THE GOLFER’S NEEDS
At The Links at Brunello, we were tasked to do something cutting edge in terms of a launch. The focus was to bring a less cumber- some approach to the traditional model, one that contained flexibility and had fresh and extraordinary components to stimulate the market and users.
Golf no longer fits as easily or can fit its user in its current form. While many are discounting rates and god forbid, offering 2 for 1 coupons, it’s being proven these types of strategies are not growing the game.
“The focus of 4Fun Tees is to have
the user play golf relevant to his or
her ability, level the playing field and play the game as intended played to a regulation 4 1/4-inch cup.“
How often have we heard, “I quit playing (name a sport) as I have no time anymore?” Why not change how the sport is offered to increase participation rates? It is my belief and assessment that people are not leaving because of money, but time. While they talk about the expense on a per round basis, it’s due to the erosion of time. The user plays less rounds at an effective higher rate per round.
As a result, they evaluate the increasing costs, and decide not to join a facility, leave quickly when they reach a life-changing milestone (kids / work) or they slowly wiggle off the line and leave. Think and rethink about the word tenure, it’s an important one.
Why not change the platform of access and usage and charge a rate appropriate for the person’s interests? Why not build a golf experience that kept a “fit them” approach, based on time availability, lifestyle and economic ability, rather than trying to have them “fit us”? We did. Fast forward, we knew we had it right as we sold out our first year program before the course even opened – remarkable!
The model is simple. We are focusing on making the infrequent or new golfer a frequent user and to recover the interest of those who left the game because of personal
20 Golf Business Canada