Experts call it “content marketing,” which is nothing more than selling a product or service through stories, not just of how you use those products, but how the products came to be. In retail, it’s the tale of the “sustainable source farm” that provides the eggs to your local market, or the story of the eco-friendly coffee grower who supplies your favorite restaurant.
Golf operators have missed an opportunity by failing to tell stories of those who keep the course green and the doors open. Instead of an ad for the latest drink special on the cart, course owners should share biographies of their staff members: the mechanic who has a daughter hoping to go to college, the cart attendant who’s a retired command sergeant major with a hero’s résumé, or the bartender who battled breast cancer.
These narratives might seem hokey and intrusive to an older generation, but they’re what motivate Gen-Y customers into buying decisions. Sharing your stories not only bonds younger customers to your facility, it gives those younger players a reason to bring their friends out to see you.