Tag: market

Three Steps to Connect Marketing to Sales

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In theory, sales and marketing should be two of the most integrated and connected aspects of your Club’s operation.  The reality, unfortunately, is that in some businesses they are operating almost independently and singing entirely different tunes.  For the Club, what this divergence leads to is ineffective messaging and lost prospects.  The importance of connecting sales to marketing is clear, so the question is: how can we achieve it?

To understand how to improve this connection, it is first important to understand the difference between the two disciplines of marketing and sales.

Marketing is a management planning process; it is focused on the strategies and techniques of crafting goods and services, all the way from a concept to an end-product or service.

The sales process is focused on the strategies and techniques of convincing a customer to exchange their cash for that product or service.

The marketing process develops a perceived need for your product in the mind of a customer, and the sales process then allows the customer to satisfy their perceived need for your product by purchasing it.

Although separate and distinct disciplines, marketing and sales efforts must be carefully aligned to achieve their highest potential in generating a steady stream of customers for your Club.

Using this three-step procedure to connect your marketing to sales will put you on the path to generating more qualified prospects and selling more memberships.

Step One – Clearly Define Your Four P’s

Successful marketing captures your business through the lens of your customer’s needs – and the satisfaction of those perceived needs – by defining the “Four P’s” of your offering: Product, Price, Place, Promotion.

To test how well-defined your product is at this moment, ask each member of both your management and sales teams to give you their “elevator pitch”.  If those pitches are not identical, or if they are not focused on precisely what differentiates your Club from its competition, then you have work to do.

Defining your Product properly begins with your mission statement – the single sentence that describes why you exist.

Once you have that definition, you must develop your brand position – an expression of what makes your Club distinct, unique, and fills a particular consumer need in a way that none of your competitors can.

Your brand position is critical: If you do not understand what you are offering, neither will your prospects.  Even more disturbing is this reality: If you don’t define your product, someone else will, and you may not like their story.

After “product” comes Price, Place and Promotion:

Price is self-explanatory.

The definition of Place is a clear analysis and understanding of the specific target audience for your product, and the tactics you have selected and employed to reach that audience.

Your definition of Promotion is the complete list of methods you will use to broadcast your product to your audience – for example: brochures, a website, mobile apps, print or digital ads.

With your “Four P’s” clearly defined and in hand, let’s move to Step Two.

Step Two – Singing from the Same Sheet Music

Step two along the path to connecting marketing to sales is teaching your team, particularly your sales force, to “sing from the same sheet music”.

To do this you will need to train your team to:

a) be comfortable with presenting your Club according to this script

b) understand the importance of presenting a consistent image and message when promoting the Club in the marketplace

Consistently reinforce and remind your staff of its importance in all employee communications.  You could do this as part of your email signature, through a notice on employee message boards, or verbally during employee meetings.  Just as consumers are bombarded with over 3,000 messages a day, so are your employees.  Make sure it’s your message that sticks.

Constantly encourage employees to share how and when they have promoted the Club and reward them with both private and public recognition for their efforts.

With your marketing in place and your implementation team deployed, it’s on to Step Three.

Step Three – Track, Analyze and Adjust

Your Club is now positioned consistently across all communication channels and your employees are all singing from the same sheet music, but how do you know for certain that marketing is now connected to sales?

The answer is through data collection and analysis.

  • Ask consumers where they learned about you when they visit or call the club
  • Incorporate unique URLs and telephone numbers into published advertising to identify what technique connected with what specific audience
  • Google analytics provides a wealth of data about prospects who have visited your website: where they visit from, what pages they visit, how long they spend on your site and more
  • Social media sites also provide data on likes and engagement
  • Tracking pixels can also be added to emails and webpages to follow the activities of users

Review and analysis of this data will expose what is working and what needs to be adjusted to create maximum impact.

The combination of a clear and consistent Club message, the effective broadcast of that message to your target audience, your sales team singing the same song, and close attention paid to what is working and what is not will connect your marketing to sales – providing a steady stream of qualified prospects to your door and new members to your Club.

This article was authored by GGA Senior Associate and Marketing expert Linda Dillenbeck.

Harnessing the Power of Strategic Intelligence

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When a club undergoes a strategic planning event, they do so by assessing a number of key data sets: member preferences, club operations, finances and market forces.  All of these come together to help inform strategy and the action plan moving forward.

The fundamental challenge I see clubs struggle with all too often is keeping the information that informed their strategy up to date.

The intention is right, but the execution falls short.  Let me tell you why.

Most clubs are stretched for resources.  This typically necessitates a focus on immediate challenges, which tend to be operationally driven with solutions that are tactical in nature.  It is not surprising that most business intelligence utilized by clubs focuses on revenues, expenses and certain utilization statistics.

The research and insight required to monitor and adjust strategy on an ongoing basis goes beyond revenues and expenses.  It must provide club leaders with a 360-degree view of all forces impacting their club: from member attitudes and preferences to finances, capital sources and uses, from competitors to the economy, from real estate to a wide assortment of market conditions, the list goes on.

There is a tendency to assume many of these things do not change quickly, certainly not as quickly as daily operations; however, changes do occur significantly from year to year.  For clubs today, sustained competitive advantage is critical.  An off year in membership recruitment can hurt the club.  A few off years over a five-year period will hurt the club and can be significant.

This is where strategic intelligence is so important.  One of the biggest obstacles clubs encounter in their quest for better and current strategy is the sourcing, analyzing and visualizing of important strategic intelligence.  An effective strategic intelligence process requires careful planning and resources, and this is the obstacle GGA’s Strategic Intelligence program has been designed to help club managers overcome.

The strategic jigsaw puzzle

The key to harnessing the power of strategic intelligence is this: piecing the right data together in a cohesive way and creating a culture of staying in tune with current trends.

This is something that clubs have, historically, struggled with. However, by enabling clubs to stay connected to all of the factors impacting their long-term success, this is an area GGA can really make a difference.

One thing is clear: clubs who actively engage with current strategic intelligence to inform their decision-making perform better in the short, medium and long-term.

 

To discover how to leverage Strategic Intelligence for your club,
connect with Derek Johnston

Strategic Intelligence at Work

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Guest author – Lonnie Lister, General Manager, Portland Golf Club

Lonnie Lister attended the University of Arizona for a degree in music education.  He worked on the wait staff at private clubs during his college summers and found that he was drawn more to club management than to a music career. Prior to joining PGC as its GM in January 2017, Lonnie was the GM at Skyline Country Club in Tucson, AZ where he spent 23 years working in various areas of the Club. Lonnie is active in CMAA and has served on the board of the Greater Southwest Chapter.

Portland Golf Club has a rich history, but like other private clubs it faces ongoing challenges.

The city of Portland has grown tremendously over the last decade, leading to dramatic shifts in both the market and demographics.

While this growth brings opportunity, it also brings about change.  For us that change impacts a number of areas – specifically around membership recruitment and retention; staff hiring and retention, and being able to control operating costs without compromising the service we provide to members.

With this in mind, the board of Portland Golf Club voted last year to adopt GGA’s Strategic Intelligence (“SI”) platform, which features several components: a Market Scan, a Member Survey, and an assessment of the Club’s “Operational Vital Signs” which compares our performance to clubs of similar stature both within our market and in other markets.

Selective targeting

The initial Market Scan, which revealed potential member households within a two to five-mile radius of the Club, was fascinating.  We learned that within a five-mile radius of Portland Golf Club there are more than double the number of golfing households than is typical for private clubs nationally.  That was a welcome surprise.

Though our Club is still very selective, the Market Scan revealed that there was much more potential for outreach than we’d been aware of before.

As membership recruitment and retention was our number one issue, what we learned inspired us to send a “welcome letter” from the Club to home buyers in our prime market neighborhoods.  This was not a recruitment package, but rather a gently informational welcome note – letting people who might be new to Portland know that this wonderful club exists nearby.

Taking the time to listen

As a club manager, one can often find themselves guilty of favoring (or at least focusing on) one ‘R’ over the other – namely, recruitment over retention.

But retention can fuel recruitment.

A Member Survey can inform what changes are necessary based on the actual needs that current members identify, which is vastly more effective.  And the satisfaction and sense of positivity this can create reverberates beyond the four walls of the clubhouse.

What was critical for us was surveying our membership in a way that was specific to the Club, not just a broad-brush approach.  This meant we could directly address concerns of our membership and maximize the effectiveness and insights of the survey.  Already this has delivered responses that are candid and honest, and provided a robust foundation to inform strategic decisions.

Reassuring the Board

The SI platform has also been incredibly helpful in reassuring the Board that the Club is operating efficiently.

We can see in the Operational Vital Signs report that in almost every measure Portland Golf Club is performing well.  Where we find anomalies, we can take a closer look to understand what these are, and we can then decide if they are something we need to act upon or factor into our strategic decisions.

One such anomaly we found at Portland Golf Club was that most golfers prefer to walk, explaining why our cart revenue is below national benchmarks.  This is not a trend we see changing, so rather than acquire more carts or attempt to upsell them at every opportunity, we decided to focus our efforts in other, more fertile areas for business development.

Going deeper

There’s no doubt Portland Golf Club has embarked on a journey which places strategic intelligence at the forefront of the decisions we make.

Now we are in the second year of our SI subscription and have engaged in a Market Analysis to take a deeper look into what we learned from the original Market Scan.

As analysis looks at trends, rather than simply a snapshot of the market, this will allow us to plan better in what is clearly a fast-changing region.

Portland’s metro region now numbers more than 2.4 million people.  Almost 50% of the adult population has a college degree, and in Portland Golf Club’s primary market areas that percentage is even higher.

Armed with this knowledge, we can embark on our membership recruitment and retention activity with a clear sense of who our prospective customers are and where they are situated in relation to the Club.

Empowering the manager

Given my history working in a number of different roles in the club environment, I have always felt very comfortable on the operational side of the business.  However, the three most important issues we face at Portland Golf Club are all byproducts of local market growth outside of our Club’s operations.

Strategic research is providing us with data and insights we need to address each of these issues and is helping the Club in both the short and long-term.

This journey is changing the way I think and the way our team strategizes.  It provides me with more data than I have ever had available to me at other clubs and is full of relevant information that we depend on daily.  Our management team and committees routinely refer to the intelligence reports, our budgeting process benefits from the availability of current data to support assumptions, and our Board meetings are more productive and efficient.

I now feel that there is a greater connection between the service we deliver on the ground to the level and breadth of service prospective members are looking for – because we are armed with the data and knowledge to have confidence to be more aware of market needs.

Moving forward

So, where do we go from here?  Whereas before we were a Club reacting to changes and adjusting plans for the following year, now we are a club looking 2, 3, 4, even 10 years into the future.

For a time, it felt as though the city of Portland’s growth was getting away from us.  Now, we are ready for how it will develop and who will move here, giving us the ability to refine the value proposition that this Club offers them both now and well into the future.

Learn more about Strategic Intelligence here. 

Averting Surprises

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On the west coast of Scotland, between the islands of Jura and Scarba, lurks a monstrous whirlpool so menacing that it even has its own name. Fed by a tidal surge that picks up speed as it races through the narrow strait separating the islands, Corryvrekan is a devilish surprise awaiting ill-prepared sailors, taking unsuspecting ships to a watery grave.

Though not quite so devilish, it’s often the unknown that sinks a good year and an otherwise solid strategic plan in the golf business. But rather than chalking up performance setbacks to something out of your control, consider five planning suggestions that will help avert those ever-lurking surprises.

Align Your Core Values

Know what you stand for and what you mean to accomplish. Ask yourself:

What’s most important to me? Your work and interactions with others demonstrate your value system, whether you are a hard-nosed money manager or a touchy-feely departmental manager. See that your actions are consistent with your core values.

How does my work serve others? In management, one is often a servant leader who must place the needs and expectations of others ahead of his or her own. Study your course or club and understand what values are most important to your customers, members and staff. Organize your work to fulfill their priorities and your desire to serve others.

What legacy do I wish to leave? Most people do not consider the lasting impact of their countless hours of dedicated work. But they should because the best way to serve the interests of your facility and the environment is to make sure your work is building the reputation you want to leave for your successor and generations to come.

Understand Your Market

What do you know about your market? Is it primarily golfers? Families? Non-golfers seeking socialization? You should know. Are your golfers mid-level managers or high-flying wheeler-dealers? Are the women of your club working professionals or those who do not work outside the home?

Three ways to know more about your market:

  1. Understand the demographic profile of the most current member survey.
  2. Obtain the demographic profile for the local area that you serve (www.census.gov).
  3. Host discussion groups or roundtables so that your market segments can tell you about themselves and what they want from you.

Establish Clear Goals

Be specific in what you expect of yourself and your staff. Set goals that align with your long-term vision, then confirm that they align with those of management and board of directors.

Your goals for next year should be set by now. If they’re not, have a conversation with your manager and make sure you’re both on the same page. While you’re at it, set up regular meetings during the year when you both can sit down to review progress and make adjustments.

Develop a Realistic Action Plan

Convert your core values, goals and objectives into an action plan that is sized appropriately to your resources, including staff and budget. Then align authority and accountability to make sure everyone knows their roles, responsibilities and deadlines. reckoning as certain as the Corryvrekan.

Refer to the action plan and chart of accountability every week, month and quarter to ensure that you are on-course. Good or bad, report your progress up the organization. Transparency builds and sustains trust.

Re-evaluate Constantly

Few plans are perfect and most goals and objectives requires adjustment from time to time. Be flexible. Stay current and measure everything accurately and without bias.

Similarly, ask your staff to evaluate their own work and yours. Ask members and regulars for feedback. Listen to the most frequent critics … they often know what they’re talking about! Hold yourself and your plan accountable for the results being achieved.

Sometimes, as was the case with ships encountering the vagaries of the Corryvrekan, surprises are out of our control. Often, though, some careful planning will give us the opportunity to steer clear of turbulence that lurks ahead.

This article was authored by GGA Partner Henry DeLozier for Golf Course Industry.

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