1. How Do PGA Professionals and
Commercial Clubs Achieve
Mutual Financial Success?
Stephen Lewis
Chief Executive Officer
Crown Golf

2. Introduction
How Do PGA Professionals and Commercial
Clubs Achieve Mutual Financial Success?
3 Key Questions
1 What do we need to stop doing that is not
making us successful?
2 What do we keep that works?
3 What do we need to start doing?
2

3. Stop!
What do we need to stop doing that
is not making us successful?
Anything that sets the professional
aside from the management of the
club and blurs the message to the
customer
3

4. Stop!
 Admin jobs that don’t create income or sales
 Anything that deflects customers and sales
 Stop being too generalist – trying to be all
things to all people and being average
through the process
4

5. Stop!
 Taking responsibility for activities, instead of
results
 Stop being a value extractor and start being a
value creator
5

6. What Do We Keep That Works?
Anything that builds relationships with
existing and/or new customers that
leads to
 new sales
 repeat sales
 retention
 improved customer service
6

7. What Do We Keep That Works?
 A love of the game – in it for the right reasons
 Excellent level of knowledge and skills
 An ambassador for the game and the club – they
are connected with the brand
 Communicate well
 High level of visibility
 Tee sheet and golf day service and retail sales
 Customer trust
7

8. What Do We Need To Start Doing?
Gearing the majority of their actions to
generating results that will grow the
number of people playing the game
8

9. What Do We Need To Start Doing?
Accessing Data capture External Increasing
funding/grants of all users promotions hire income
Producing Retaining
Generating
new golfers / Greenfee
new members
users users
Upselling Relationship
PR for the management
other services of local Staff training
club
in the club businesses
Influence other depts Producing activity to
through behaviour and keep the club “live” to
results members
9

10. Growing the Game
What are the actions in 2012 and beyond?
Retention
Attract new participants into golf
Find new ways to market
Improve yield
10

11. Growing the Game
Retention
11

12. Growing the Game
It is our members, guests and green fee
payers who play golf
We are in the HOSPITALITY business
Great customer service is an individual
policy, not a company policy
12

13. Growing the Game
The Customer Journey
INNOVATE OR DIE!!
 Value for money
 Good service experience
 Quality product
 Building relationships
- Microsoft – satisfied customers
- Apple - raving fans
13

14. Growing the Game
Attract New Participants Into Golf
14

15. Growing the Game
The Image of Golf
Are you concerned about the image of
Golf?
How do we move it forward?
15

16. Growing the Game
What Does This Mean?
 If we create an image of golf as a social
experience, will we attract more ladies?
 If we create an image of golf as a great way to
exercise, will we attract more 50+ entrants?
 If golf becomes ‘cool’, then younger players and
families increase participation
 Participation increases demand for range use,
green fees, retail and membership
16

17. Growing the Game
5 Key Strategies to Get and Keep Customers
 Customer insight
 Creative feedback mechanisms
 Innovate new products
 Be proactively trustable
 Maintain the right employee culture
17

18. Growing the Game
Find New Ways to Market
18

19. Growing the Game
The Role of
 The Internet
 Social Networking
 Mobile Media
19

20. Growing the Game
New Ways to Market or Just Do It Better
 New styles of teaching programmes to appeal
to wider market
 More creative and targeted marketing
 Create partnerships with local and national
organisations and businesses
 Use data capture and CRM more effectively
20

21. Growing the Game
Improve Yield
sell the quality of the experience
NOT
the discount
21

22. Summary
A PGA Professional in a commercial
environment needs to:
 Define and act on their circle of influence
 React to changing customer and demographic
trends
 Innovate to grow revenues
 Improve yields whilst providing the customer
with a value for money experience
 Embrace the technology of the internet, social
media and mobiles
22

23. Summary
 Set personal goals. Do they have a plan?
 Develop their skills, what else can they learn about
running a golf club?
 Stand out from the crowd, what sets them apart from their
colleagues?
 Retrain – keep up with industry trends. Golf is changing,
are they?
 Focus on the real key drivers in your business and align
your time accordingly. Why spend 80% of your time on
an element of the business that only contributes 5% of
the profit?
23

24. Summary
 Promote themselves. Network at every opportunity
 Develop their staff and be clear on their role by setting
deliverable objectives and measuring the outcomes
 Focus on growing participation both beginners and
established players
 Take responsibility for results not activity
 They are in a great profession with a great history but
dinosaurs also dominated the planet at one stage –
adapt and survive
24