Tourists and Business
by Rick Crandall
Back in the late 1990s, there was so much building going on in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, that the locals dubbed the construction crane their state bird! The city’s key to standing out from other tourist destinations was combining the promotional budgets of multiple hotels and golf courses to market a "golf holiday." This gave them a major presence in golf publications with their ads. Combined with more traditional promotional activities through the Chamber, etc., it made them a destination city.
While this won’t work for most courses, public courses can expand on the concept of partnering with city and tourism groups. Does your city or region have a tourism web site? If so, get your course linked to it. Have you made concierges at local hotels aware of your course and the amenities you offer? (Leaving brochures with the concierge would be even beter.)
You get the idea – think of ways you can capture more tourist business.
Business on the Golf Course
It’s long been understood that a lot of business gets done on the golf course. How can you increase business golf at your course?
Hold a seminar on business golf etiquette. Maybe there’s someone at your club you can do this. If not, there are several companies who put on these seminars. Run a seminar for members only. Or, if a public course, invite the public or target specific companies in your area or women’s business groups. You’ll encourage current players/members to play more business rounds on the golf course and inform others as to how they can incorporate golf into their overall business strategy.
If your club has a newsletter, invite readers to send in their best stories about business done on the golf course. Have prizes for the best stories (for example, biggest deal, most unlikely deal, funniest). You’ll reinforce the idea with players that business and golf do mix.
copyright 2007. Rick Crandall is a business and marketing consultant and the author of Marketing Your Services for People Who Hate to Sell and 1001 Ways to Market Your Services. Rick can be reached at 415-209-9838 or through www.rickcrandall.com.