Try these 5 things to maximize your members’ online shopping experience.
Traditional e-commerce marketing strategies don’t always apply at golf and country clubs.
On one hand, when the goal of your online shop is to maximize revenue, it’s important to be strategic about marketing. On the other hand, though, if your main objective is to improve your members’ shopping experience as an added amenity, you’ll likely need to take a different approach.
Members love to wear their home club merchandise, but it’s a fine line between bombarding them with emails about the store and tastefully educating them about the online shop.
If your goal is to turn your online shop into an amenity for your members, try these 5 tips to get started.
Use the shop as a tool for member gifting.
Many clubs give their golfers a gift at the beginning of the year. Instead of handing them a standard gift, try giving them a code to redeem their free gift(s) (or gift option) through the online store. Maybe the gift could be custom with their initials? Regardless of how you do it, this helps educate members about the store in a tasteful way.
Put up a display rack with a QR code in the physical shop.
Try putting up a display rack of items available in the online shop. It lets members know about the store so that they can purchase at a later date if they don’t live nearby, are seasonal, or want to order something for a guest and have it shipped to them.
Offer a free gift redeemable through the online store.
This is one of my favorites. Do you ever give your golfers gifts such as a bag tag? You could give them a code to redeem their free bag tag or gift through the online store, which educates them about the online store and/or may lead them to purchase something else while redeeming their free gift.
Offer limited edition products and logos.
The last thing you want to do is bombard your members with spam emails about the online store. Offer limited edition logos, shirts and products for holidays such as St. Patrick’s Day, Fourth of July, the annual member-guest, etc.
Do you have non-golf events at the course? Have people register through the online store so they’re aware that you have one.
Many clubs have movie nights, concerts or other events. Even if these events are free, have folks register through the online store for the event. This is a chance to educate them about the store, while it’s also an opportunity to give them access to lifestyle merchandise and gear. For example, “Want to purchase an XYZ Country Club blanket to lay out on the grass for the concert?”
Every club is different, so there is no one-size-fits-all solution, but try out some of these actionable steps to help you drive awareness tastefully and effectively.
Don’t have an online store yet and are stuck on where to begin?
Shopify is a good option if you want to put the site together yourself and sell items off your shelves. They have some great tools and were specifically built for that purpose. If you like the idea of offering an online store to your members and golfers without having to invest in inventory or do the behind-the-scenes work, there are certainly options out there.