Email marketing is an ideal way to bring in new customers. It’s also effective in keeping current customers coming back to the course. Branding expert Evan Tynan recommends that every single golf course owner create an email marketing strategy tailored to meet the needs of his or her audience. He offers some insight and advice that can help one do just that.
Evan Tynan says that segmenting the customer base is the first step in email marketing. Some golf courses are segmented according to booking channels. This means customers who book on the phone receive different emails than those who book on the golf course website. However, there are better options than this. A golf course should analyze its target demographics to create emails targeting people based on various factors. The needs of older golfers will be different from middle-aged ones. New golfers will appreciate some types of content more than experienced golfers. Women will likely have different interests than men.
Personalization is also key to success, Evan Tynan asserts. A congratulatory email for reaching a new milestone or a happy birthday email with a discount offer for the day can help a course build brand loyalty. At the same time, loyal clients aren’t the only ones who appreciate personalized emails. Email subscribers who open an email but don’t click on a promotional offer may appreciate a friendly reminder email. Someone who started filling out an appointment for a time slot but still needs to finish may appreciate a short note.
Finally, Evan Tynan advises golf course owners to write only a few promotional emails. About 90% of an email or newsletter’s content should be informative. Tell golfers how to improve their game, offer tips on the best times of the day or best days to play, or provide some fun insight into the game itself. Offer discounts or promotional deals at appropriate times. Subscribers who only receive promotional emails will only remain subscribers for a short time. They may even stop coming to the course altogether.
Tynan also cautions golf course owners against creating an email marketing campaign and letting it run without analyzing results. Email marketing is ideal for a golf course to get to know its customer base. If no one clicks on a particular discount, the product or service isn’t appealing or too expensive. A golf course owner may want to provide more content if a particular email or newsletter gets excellent results. A golf course owner will know who to target if people from a particular audience respond to emails more than others. Email marketing is versatile, and a golf course owner can adapt it to suit the needs of any course, Tynan explains. Furthermore, email marketing platforms can segment emails and time emails to be sent on certain days and times. All a golf course owner has to do is segment the audience, create winning content, and select a date/time of delivery to ensure emails arrive in a subscriber’s inbox at the best possible time.
