Why golf clubs should invest in Wi-Fi as a marketing tool

In an age where people compulsively ‘check in’, ‘load up’, and stay connected every minute of their day, the importance of Wi-Fi connection to be readily available to customers in hotels, restaurants and shopping malls are imperative – so why would golf courses be any different?

Simple, they’re not!

In a society where people cannot bear to be separated from their mobile for more than ten minutes, phones on the golf course has become common sight. For many it might seem a nuisance, but when employed as an effective marketing tool, players staying connected during their rounds might not be such a bad thing after all.

And here’s why…

It’s widely known that an increasing number of golf courses are facing challenges of dwindling membership figures, much due to insufficient marketing efforts. Accompanied with fiercer competition from the broader hospitality and leisure sector, the demands for clubs to reinvent themselves and convert opportunities into more members, and effectively into more dollars, has never been higher.

Keeping up with the rest of the industry is paramount in the survival of a golf club, and connectivity via Wi-Fi is a small price to pay to stay connected with your guest and members. Wi-Fi cannot be considered a luxury; it’s a necessity!

Connectivity is much more than just a crowd-pleasing feature – it’s also a powerful marketing tool. As your golfing members are there to play golf, this means they are tied into your venue for an elongated period of time. It’s a perfect opportunity to market to them.

Free Wi-Fi on site enables clubs to reach online users through landing pages, and to gather valuable personal information through log in processes, which can help influence your marketing activity – dictating which adverts are seen by which users.

This in turn will assist you in targeting your online ads and offerings to a narrower segment of the overall audience, increasing the likelihood of sales, and without any unnecessary cost.

But Wi-Fi can also help you enhance your guests’ experiences. By monitoring customer’s online habits and behavioural patterns – when do they browse what, and where – you’re able to highlight particular services that may be of interest, and to refine all sorts of other operational processes: restaurant opening hours, or club related events for example.

Keeping your members connected is also a great way to boost word of mouth promotion. We all have heard how powerful social media is supposed to be, and most of us are now getting involved with it for our businesses. As society has changed, consumers are tired of one-sided relationships. They want their voice heard, to provide feedback on experiences, and to be part of the decision making process within the club.

It’s now common practice for people to ‘check in’ to their golf course on social media, and by doing so, they put your name in front of their followers and friends who may not have seen it otherwise.

From booking golf classes, to accessing historic scorecards online and posting selfies as they play, people are using their mobile devices anywhere and everywhere, and golf clubs must learn how to capitalize on such activity for all-important marketing purposes.

Without decent connectivity, this isn’t possible.

If you are need of any assistance with your marketing drop me a line at mike@golfindustrycentral.com.au or (+61) 415 682 259.